WB and UPN forms CW network.
POSTED BY: Haken
UPDATED: Wednesday, January 25, 2006 04:19
VIEWED: 5828
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UPN and WB formed a new network today. I'm wondering if Firefly/Serenity can find a home at the newly formed network. Joss is definately in a good position to be a major player at the newly formed network because of his past affiliation with both UPN and WB.
Any thoughts?
Here's an article about the newly formed network from The New York Times.
Quote:
UPN and WB to Combine, Forming New TV Network
By BILL CARTER
Two part-time broadcast networks moved to become a combined larger one today as CBS and the Warner Brothers studio announced they were joining forces to form a new network, called the CW, out of the pieces of the UPN and WB networks.
The new venture will cherry-pick the best programs off the two decade-old mini-networks, each of which has struggled to turn a profit. The owners, each of which will take a 50 percent stake in the new venture, expressed the hope that an expanded fifth network - which will program 30 hours a week, including prime-time and some daytime shows - will succeed where a fifth and sixth in competition with each other could not.
Both the WB and UPN will continue operate independently until September, when they will be formally shut down. The new network - whose name, CW, is meant to be a combination of CBS and Warner - will commence operations on a new lineup of stations made up of the UPN group owned by CBS and those owned by the WB's station partner, Tribune Broadcasting.
Those stations will reach about 48 percent of the United States, and the new network has agreements with other affiliates to extend its distribution to 95 percent of the country.
For many of the biggest cities, the move will leave a station without network programming. In New York, the new network will be broadcast on Channel 11, which has been the WB station, with Channel 9, which has been the UPN station, dropped from the network.
Leslie Moonves, the chairman of the CBS Corporation, and Barry Meyer, the chairman of Warner Brothers Entertainment, a unit of Time Warner, made the announcement jointly at a news conference. Each executive said that the agreement to dissolve the two networks and start up the new one had been driven by the timing of affiliation agreements.
Both CBS's deal with UPN stations owned by the News Corporation and Warner Brothers deal with the Tribune stations were due to expire in September. "If we didn't come together now, we were going to be locked out for a long time," Mr. Moonves said.
The most significant advantage of bringing the two networks together will be the opportunity to build a prime-time schedule made up of the best shows from each of the two networks. "It's a scheduler's dream," Mr. Moonves said.
The shows highlighted in the presentation today included "America's Top Model," "Veronica Mars," and "Everybody Hates Chris" from UPN and "Gilmore Girls," "Smallville," and "Beauty and the Geek" from the WB.
The move is a further consolidation of broadcast power under Mr. Moonves, who earlier this month gained full executive control over the CBS Corporation, under the agreement that divided Viacom's media assets in half. The CW will likely perform far better than UPN, Mr. Moonves's previous secondary network, ever did.
In probably the most significant executive announcement tied to the new network, Mr. Moonves's lieutenant at UPN, Dawn Ostroff, was named the president of entertainment for the new network. Both top executives at the WB, Garth Ancier and David Janollari, were not given positions at the new network, though Mr. Meyer thanked them for their efforts at the WB.
The new network will aim to reach an audience of younger adults, those aged 18 to 34, who are especially sought by many advertisers. Mr. Meyer noted that Warner Brothers film division is a heavy advertiser, trying to reach that group.
link: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/24/business/media/24cnd-network.html?ei
=5094&en=dbda2b1a607616ca&hp=&ex=1138165200&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print
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That was bound to happen eventually since Time Warner owns both those networks. Maybe now Time Warner can start a successful broadcasting network.
Oh, and play Cantr II at www.cantr.net.
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Note also that Dawn Ostroff, the new president of entertainment for CW, has worked with Joss in the past and likely knows him well. I'm just guessing here, but I'm sure if both parties wanted to cook up something for the newly formed network, now is a very good time to do it.
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I think it would be better if WB and UPN combined to form WUPN and show nothing but street fighting, 
The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule. – H.L. Mencken
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The first thought that popped into my mind was CW is a name for morse code in radio. (kinda, CW technically is the type of emission, not the manner of sending the data).
The second thought was hey, I can pick up WB but I can't pick up UPN worth crap. Maybe I'll get to see their shows after September.
My third thought had to do with shrimp cocktails, and has nothing to do with tis topic.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Haken:
Note also that Dawn Ostroff, the new president of entertainment for CW, has worked with Joss in the past and likely knows him well. I'm just guessing here, but I'm sure if both parties wanted to cook up something for the newly formed network, now is a very good time to do it.
I hope your right Haken. I don't even live in the States but as a BIG fan of such show as Veronica Mars and Gilmore Girls, this news makes me nervous for their future. I know the respective parties have given mention to both VM and GG as becoming part of CW's schedule next autumn, but somehow, I won't really believe it until I see it. I'll understand if GG comes to an end as it's in it's 6th season(still going strong IMO) but VM is just a baby and needs a chance to find i's feet.
RE. Joss and any possible involvement with CW, we can only hope but something tells me Mr. Whedon will be focusing on his movie career for the forseeable future....
But I soooo want more Firefly!!
Storm's getting worse.
We'll pass through it soon enough.
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Quote:
Originally posted by JubelLate:
I think it would be better if WB and UPN combined to form WUPN and show nothing but street fighting,
The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule. – H.L. Mencken
that was bad. but it made me lol
___________________________________
The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry
Arizona Browncoats can find me at Gamers Inn on Southern and Gilbert, best chances to find me are Friday nights, playing the Serenity RPG
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werealljustfloating, I know exactly what you mean about Veronica Mars, but I see the fact that it's being mentioned is one of the shows to be moved to the new network can only be a good thing. Fact is the show has been on the bubble it's entire life, and this would be the perfect time to drop it. Obviously the fact that it's being talked about as an asset means that someone is looking out for it and wants it to continue past the current season.
Then again, we've all been burned--so I really do understand the anxiety.
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Any news (especially here lately) that involves a real network president that has actually worked with Joss before is good news.
Even if they take smallville's timeslot!
Thanx for the news HAKEN!
U gonna be smart here Riva?!?
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