Can two niche networks merge to create one major player? It certainly seems like a sound strategy, but will combining the most popular programming from UPN and the WB equal double the ratings for the CW? Don’t bet on it.
In merging UPN and the WB, the CW may have a line up of some of the most popular young adult programming (prompting CW president of entertainment Dawn Ostroff to liken it to " playing fantasy football but with TV shows"), but that does not guarantee success. The problem is that the WB and UPN never became more than specialty networks catering to the Gen Y and /or African American demographic. Wedding the two networks’ schedules doesn’t necessarily create a line up strong enough to attract the audiences the CW wants. Instead, it just creates one large specialty network.
Additionally, the CW faces a real estate issue - audiences have to find it. Not only do the former WB and UPN audiences have to figure out where it is on their dial, but new audiences have to care enough to seek it out as well. If the CW wants to make big Nielsen numbers, it’s going to have to bring in more than these niche viewers.
"The CW needs two big hits," says Robert Thompson, trustee professor of television and popular culture at Syracuse University. "Fox had Married with Children; the WB had teen dramas. UPN had WWE." Now that Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dawson’s Creek have ridden into the sunset, and critical favorites such as Gilmore Girls and Smallville have never reached the top of the ratings heap, where does that leave the CW? In desperate need of a top 10 hit, which it does not have with their current fall line-up. No wonder they brought back 7th Heaven, probably their best bet along with WWE.
That puts pressure on the CW’s new shows and the network’s marketing efforts. Judging from the current ratings (not to mention the jolly-rancher green 1970s- style logo,) this network has a tough road ahead.
Karen Woodward - Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, I've lived in Los Angeles since 1994. A communications major at University of Colorado, ...
