NEW YORK - Two small, struggling television networks, UPN and WB, will merge to form a new network called The CW, executives from the companies that own them said Tuesday.
The announcement was made by executives from CBS Corp., which owns UPN, and Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc., which owns WB.
Both UPN and WB had struggled to compete against larger rivals in the broadcast TV business, including Walt Disney Co.'s ABC, News Corp.'s Fox, General Electric Co.'s NBC and CBS Corp.'s CBS.
The new network will launch in the fall, the executives said, and both UPN and WB will shut down. It will be a 50-50 partnership between Warner Bros. and CBS, and the network will be carried on stations owned by the Tribune Co., which is a minority owner of the WB network.
Among the Tribune's TV stations that will join the new network are its flagship WGN in Chicago as well as WPIX in New York, and KTLA in Los Angeles.
Leslie Moonves, chief executive of CBS Corp., said the new network will air 30 hours of programming seven days a week aimed in part at young audiences.
Barry Meyer, the head of Warner Bros., said the network would be run by the current executives of UPN and WB.
I just went and read the complete article, this is what I call the "White Out" (for lack of a better term). Black shows can stick around until networks want to go "mainstream" (the white audience) and looks like the only show that will stick around is Everybody Hates Chris. But what will happen to shows like Half & Half? What about Girlfriends, which is truly the best show they have on UPN?
These are the sad days, much like WB's "White Out", which followed after Fox when they killed New York Undercover and Living Single in almost one full swoop. I was never a big fan of Martin, but at least they got to end. I think this is something to blog about definitely. More tonight.
I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.
- Bill Cosby
The guy who takes a chance, who walks the line between the known and unknown, who is unafraid of failure, will succeed.
- Gordon Parks
While I agree there needs to be more diverse programming, you can't fault the networks for appealing to a wider audience. They can put on certain shows that are geared more toward minorities that pull in mediocre ratings but that isn't going to make a profit.
I don't think there's a sinister effort to purposely pull the plug on shows depicting African-Americans, for instance, just a plan to make a profit, and unforunately with the programming that's on WB and UPN right now you can't do both.
HECK said this in post #5 : While I agree there needs to be more diverse programming, you can't fault the networks for appealing to a wider audience. They can put on certain shows that are geared more toward minorities that pull in mediocre ratings but that isn't going to make a profit.
I don't think there's a sinister effort to purposely pull the plug on shows depicting African-Americans, for instance, just a plan to make a profit, and unforunately with the programming that's on WB and UPN right now you can't do both.
-HECK!
Oh I know there's no sinister plan, but they often kill good shows.
I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.
- Bill Cosby
The guy who takes a chance, who walks the line between the known and unknown, who is unafraid of failure, will succeed.
- Gordon Parks
01-24-2006 05:01 PM
These are the sad days, much like WB's "White Out", which followed after Fox when they killed New York Undercover and Living Single in almost one full swoop. I was never a big fan of Martin, but at least they got to end. I think this is something to blog about definitely. More tonight. 
