WB and UPN Networks to Merge into the CW Network
Warner Bros. Entertainment and CBS Corporation announced today that they would end their two television networks, WB and UPN, in favor of a brand new combined network to be called the CW Television Network.
Daniel M. Kimmel, Boston area TV and film critic, said that the move makes sense. "There's probably not room for both of them," he noted when asked by this reporter. "Together they will be a lot stronger than they were separately, as they were going for the same audience."
Kimmel, the author of the award-winning book "The Fourth Network: How FOX Broke the Rules and Reinvented Television" (Ivan R. Dee, 2004), is considered by many to be the leading expert on the history of recent network television.
Kimmel noted that the news was so sudden, it's hard to predict how it will affect the Boston television scene. He confirmed that in the Boston area, the new network would be carried by WLVI, channel 56, leaving WSBK, channel 38, in a quandary. "I don't think channel 38 knows what they'll do yet," he said. He speculated that they may go with movies or repeats of CBS shows, since CBS owns the station.
Daniel M. Kimmel, Boston area TV and film critic, said that the move makes sense. "There's probably not room for both of them," he noted when asked by this reporter. "Together they will be a lot stronger than they were separately, as they were going for the same audience."
Kimmel, the author of the award-winning book "The Fourth Network: How FOX Broke the Rules and Reinvented Television" (Ivan R. Dee, 2004), is considered by many to be the leading expert on the history of recent network television.
Kimmel noted that the news was so sudden, it's hard to predict how it will affect the Boston television scene. He confirmed that in the Boston area, the new network would be carried by WLVI, channel 56, leaving WSBK, channel 38, in a quandary. "I don't think channel 38 knows what they'll do yet," he said. He speculated that they may go with movies or repeats of CBS shows, since CBS owns the station.
Quasi-related trivia: in the movie "The Weatherman" starring Nicolas Cage, his TV station "WCH-6" was heavily based on WGN-9...in fact, the TV scenes were filmed on an old WGN studio and Tom Skilling (noon weather reporter) served as technical consultant. Skilling noted that besides being a very friendly person Cage picked up on Green Screen Technique pleasantly quickly. :)
Now since I don't watch any of those I admit I'm a bit biased.
I wonder if WB will put all the UPN comedies on one night (Saturday?)
(No, wait -- Creature Double Feature was on 56. But the idea is still sound.)
Honestly, I wonder what a non-affiliated station goes for these days -- wouldn't it be neat to get a bunch of folks together and run our own geek indie station? Like Weird Al in "UPN."
(Anonymous)
Weird Al
(Anonymous)
The LEADING Expert?
Dan
In the meantime, I don't think there's a single current show I'd be watching on CW. Last time I watched WB was the Angel series finale, and for UPN it was the Enterprise finale.
(Anonymous)
It seems like EVERY studio wants a network of their own, so they can produce, buy and sell their own programming. It doesn't normally work out that way, but that's the bean-counter rationale.
-Jayme Lynn Blaschke