Wb & Upn To Combine To Form New Network

[citykid09]

(1/24/06 - NEW YORK) - Two small, long-struggling television networks -- UPN and The WB -- will shut down this fall and programming from both will be used to launch a new network aimed mainly at young and minority viewers.

The new network will be called The CW -- "C" for CBS Corp. and "W" for Warner Bros. -- each of which will own half of the new entity and contribute programs, assets and executives to the venture.

Tribune Co., a Chicago-based media company, will relinquish its 22.5 percent stake in The WB in exchange for a 10-year affiliation deal to carry the new network on 16 of its stations. The rest of The WB was owned by Time Warner Inc., parent of Warner Bros.

The CW will also be carried on the 12 stations owned by UPN, a unit of CBS Corp., guaranteeing the network carriage in 48 percent of the country and 20 of the top 25 TV markets in the country. Network executives said they hoped to have agreements in place to cover most of the rest of the country by the time it launches in the fall.

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=...orld&id=3841020

What will happen to Wb39 and UPN in Houston?

Bryan/College Station just launced it's new UPN yesteday (Jan 23, 2006) after about 4 years of being gone.

[TJones]

UPN 20 is owned by FOX, so i wonder what that channel will become.

[VicMan]

I remember when Pokemon was on UPN 20 before it ended up on Kids WB. Some silly Tex Avery knockoff always came afterwards...

[dalparadise]

The next time I watch either of these "networks" will be the first time.

Perhaps the new combined network should be called the "WC," as it will, undoubtedly, continue the tradition of being the dumping ground for the other networks.

[zaphod]

according to what i've read WB 39 will be houston's CW affiliate(we get one since houstons a large market, lots of lower level WB channels will just die), and who knows what happens to 20.

I'll put 10 dollars on it becoming a spanish channel in the next 2 years

[editor]

according to what i've read WB 39 will be houston's CW affiliate(we get one since houstons a large market, lots of lower level WB channels will just die), and who knows what happens to 20.

I'll put 10 dollars on it becoming a spanish channel in the next 2 years

39 got the CW affiliation because it is owned by the biggest, most important station group in the CW is the Tribune Company. Tribune will have CW stations in 16 of the top 20 markets including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Those markets where Tribune didn't get the CW are ones where CBS owned the UPN station (Philadelphia) or where Tribune already owns a Fox, ABC, or NBC station (Hartford, for example).

Thw CW deal was deliberately structured to screw Fox and all of the Fox-owned UPN stations, like WTXH/Houston. This is because for the life of the UPN network, Fox tried to screw with CBS in tems of promotion, money, and other things. Leaving Fox with a fist full of stations with no network programming is CBS's way og getting back at Fox.

Because 39 is owned by Tribune, and making more than a healthy profit, the chances of it going Spanish are extremely remote. In fact, not too long ago there was talk of Tribune sucking up Post-Newsweek, which would have mean that 39 would have bought KPRC.

The Tribune/Post-Newsweek merger won't happen now because Tribune is having financial trouble with its Los Angeles Times newspaper. When Tribune bought the LA Times, the newspaper was being sued for $1.1 billion by the IRS. Tribune felt confident that it would win in court. It didn't, and late last year made the first payment of $800 million. This has gone a long way toward hurting Tribune's cash and stock position. That coupled with circulation downturns and scandals at its Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles newspapers have made this a very tough few years for Tribune.

On the broadcast side of Tribune, the news is rosier, and the creation of the CW makes Tribune's broadcast side much healthier. Tribune puts out a lot of original programming that is syndicated around the country, and being the largest most important player in the CW gives it a voice in the network that no single group had in the WB. This, in turn, gives KHWB/Houston a much more solid position for the future.

The speculation about KTXH has been running thusly:

1. It might go Spanish.

2. Fox may put together a second network. This seems more likely because Fox owns a crapload of original content, plus the Fox News Channel. But it will take some time to get everything organized, and what happens to Fox's UPN stations after September is still a very open question.

In fact, Tribune, Fox and CBS are the only TV group owners that know what's going to happen with their stations at this point. The other 200 stations are only just now receiving their first CW brochures in the mail, and there's not a lot of information about how the new network will affect them, or if they'll be left without a network come Fall. Negotiations with all of the station owners are expected to start in the next few months.

Another interesting bit of speculation has the name of the network changing from The CW to something else by the time it goes to air.