The CW: Difference between revisions

The CW Television Network
Type	Broadcast television network
Country	United States
Availability	United States ; Canada ; Puerto Rico ; Mexico
Owner	CBS Corporation - 50% ; Time Warner - 50%
Key people	Dawn Ostroff ; John Maatta
Launch date	September 18 2006
Official website	www.cwtv.com

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Revision as of 13:00, 5 June 2007

The CW Television Network, casually referred to as The CW, or most recently as The New CW (due to it being a new network) is a television network in the United States launched during the 2006 television season. It features a mixture of programming from both UPN and The WB television networks, which ceased independent operations on September 15, 2006 and September 17, 2006 respectively. According to CW's President of Entertainment Dawn Ostroff, the network's "shows are going to appeal to the 18- to 34-year-olds."^[1] The CW is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, owner of UPN, and Warner Bros. Entertainment, a subsidiary of Time Warner, majority owner of The WB. Its name derives from the first letter of the names of these two corporations (CBS and Warner Bros.).

The network began operations on Monday, September 18, 2006 with two nights of reruns and launch-related specials; however, The CW marketed its formal launch date as Wednesday, September 20, 2006 with the 2-hour season premiere of America's Next Top Model.^[2]

In trade magazines like Variety, The CW is referred to as The Green Network, most likely due to the fact that its first logos and campaign were (and still are to this day) in green.

Affiliates

Following the network announcement, The CW immediately announced ten-year affiliation agreements with the Tribune Company and CBS Television Stations Group. Tribune committed 16 stations (including its flagship broadcast stations WGN-TV in Chicago, KTLA in Los Angeles and WPIX in New York) that were previously affiliated with The WB, while CBS committed 11 of its UPN stations (including WKBD in Detroit, WPSG in Philadelphia and WUPA in Atlanta). These stations combine to reach 48 percent of the United States. Both groups also own several UPN/WB stations that did not join The CW in overlapping markets. As part of its agreement, Tribune agreed to divest its interest in The WB and did not take an ownership interest in The CW.

The network stated that it would eventually reach 95 percent of the United States. In markets where both UPN and The WB affiliates operate, only one station became a CW affiliate. Executives were on record as preferring the "strongest" stations among existing The WB and UPN affiliates. In most cases, it was obvious where the new network would affiliate; there were only a few markets where the WB and UPN affiliates were both relatively strong.

However, as the "merger" was structured not as a merger in the legal sense, but as a new network launching at the same time as two others shut down, The CW was not obligated by existing affiliations with The WB and UPN. It had to negotiate from scratch with individual stations.

As a result, in several markets, the CW affiliate is a different station than either the former The WB and UPN stations. In Helena, Montana, ION affiliate KMTF became a CW station. In Honolulu, Hawaii, The CW did not appear until early December 2006 where it is carried on a digital subchannel of local FOX affiliate KHON-TV. In Las Vegas, Nevada, independent station KVCW signed for CW affiliation. The network has also affiliated with some digital channels, usually newly-launched subchannels of a local Big Four affiliate, in several other markets.

While WGN-TV in Chicago is part of the new network, its out-of-market Superstation WGN feed, which stopped carrying WB programming in 1999, similarly does not air programs from The CW Network.

Due to the availability of "instant duopoly" digital subchannels that will likely be easily available on cable and satellite, and the overall lack of a need to settle for a secondary affiliation with shows aired in problematic timeslots, both The CW and MyNetworkTV launched with far greater national coverage than that enjoyed by UPN and The WB when they started in 1995. UPN for several years had gaps in the top 30 markets, and by 2005 managed to cover only 86% of the country. This resulted in secondary affiliations with other networks and the resulting diluted ratings when programs were shown out of their intended timeslots, or the lack of the program airing at all (a problem experienced by many Star Trek fans with Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise).

Launching Repercussions

The announcement of The CW caused the largest single shakeup of U.S. broadcast television since the Fox/New World Communications alliance of 1994 and the subsequent launches of UPN and The WB the following year. While The CW debut affected more markets, it was unlikely to cause the same degree of viewer confusion, as no affiliates of the four major networks dropped those affiliations to join The CW. (Some "big four" affiliations did change at this time, but for unrelated reasons.)

The WB and UPN were the first major television networks to close since the collapse of the DuMont Television Network in 1955, although other small broadcast television networks have also ceased operations over the years.

In those media markets where there were separate The WB and UPN stations, one local station was left out in the merger; most of those stations have signed with MyNetworkTV while others elected to become independent stations. Some stations (mainly digital subchannels, some WB 100+ cable channels, and struggling low-power stations) which received neither network's affiliation opted instead to sign off permanently and cease to exist.

It became clear that the Fox Television Stations Group, which purchased several UPN affiliates from former UPN co-owner Chris-Craft Industries in 2002, was impacted. Its UPN affiliates in five major markets would not be affiliated with The CW, due to the agreement with Tribune, and Fox made it clear it would not even seek the affiliation for its four UPN stations elsewhere. All UPN logos and network references were quickly removed from their stations. Shortly thereafter, Fox announced that it was starting MyNetworkTV, a programming service meant to fill the two nightly prime time hours that opened up on its UPN-affiliated stations after the start of The CW. Fox also offered the service to other stations.^[3]

Problems with Time Warner Cable

A number of households around the country were not able to see the new network when it premiered on September 18, due to stations in several markets not being able to strike a deal with Time Warner Cable (TWC). In markets like Charleston, South Carolina; El Paso, Texas; Honolulu, Hawaii; Palm Springs, California; Beaumont, Texas; and Corpus Christi, Texas, where the CW is broadcast on a digital subchannel of the station's primary affiliate, there have been unsuccessful attempts in getting Time Warner Cable to carry The CW on their basic cable lineups.^[4] The CW is 50% owned by TWC's parent company, Time Warner.

Some affiliates have since signed deals with TWC, but not all stations have landed within the analog listings. For example, WSTQ in Syracuse, New York can only be viewed on channel 266.^[5]

Currently, the largest market without a known affiliate is the Johnstown / Altoona market, Nielsen's DMA #98. WPCW channel 19, in Pittsburgh, is the closest affiliate and is carried on both Johnstown and Altoona's cable systems.

On Saturday, April 21, 2007 at 12:01AM, KCWQ-LP made its broadcast debut on channel 5 on Time Warner Cable in the Palm Springs area.^[6]

On Friday, April 20, 2007 at 11:00AM, KVIA-TV, began broadcasting the CW on Time Warner cable channel 13. The signal is also available on digital television 72.^[7]

Marketing

File:The CW.jpg

A screenshot from a CW promo featuring a special CW remix version of "Here I Come", a song by Fergie and will.i.am. Note the "Free to be" branding.

The network's first full marketing campaign, "Free to Be", was created internally and by the Troika Design Group brand agency.^[8] The campaign included advertisements in bus stops, on billboards, on the Internet, in magazines, and on television. It contained stars of the CW shows such as Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars, Supernatural, America's Next Top Model, Smallville and One Tree Hill with their signature green background. The "Free to Be" was followed by a word unique to the character, show, or scene. Such descriptives have included "witty" (to describe Gilmore Girls), "super" (Smallville), "scary" (Supernatural), "fierce" (America's Next Top Model), "cool" (One Tree Hill), "funny" (Everybody Hates Chris), "fearless" (Veronica Mars), "fabulous" (Girlfriends), "family" (7th Heaven) and "tough" (WWE Friday Night SmackDown!). Some additional spots are themed for other purposes without CW stars, for example "Free to be tricky" for Halloween and "Free to be famous" for The CW Daytime. The ads normally include one more descriptive—"together"—used to unify the network and its programming with the viewer.

Imaging and presentation

Like The WB, The CW displays the program credits on the bottom 1/3 of the screen along with The CW logo and website address. The top 2/3 displays previews of upcoming programming from The CW.
Similar to The WB's localizing branding, CW affiliates added their city or region to their new bugs. For example: WLVI-TV was "Boston's CW" at launch but has since rebranded as "CW56" under new ownership, WUPA is now "CW Atlanta", KWTX DT 2 is now "CW Waco", and KVCW (formerly KFBT) is now "CW Las Vegas". However, some stations opted to use their channel number: WNAB in Nashville is now "CW58", and WPIX in New York and KSTW in Seattle are now "CW11". Some stations will still use the call sign in either the station logo, on-air identification or both. Some examples include WGN in Chicago, KTLA in Los Angeles, WNLO in Buffalo, New York, WWHO in Columbus, Ohio, and WBNX in Cleveland. In Omaha, Nebraska, KXVO uses "CW15" and "Omaha's CW". In Honolulu, Hawaii, KHON-DT2 is branded as "Hawaii's CW 93" (the "93" refers to the subchannel's cable channel position). The branding used by WKRC-DT in Cincinnati, Ohio is "CinCW", a portmanteau with "Cincy", a common nickname for the city.

Content Wraps

From time to time, The CW airs short programming breaks called "Content Wraps," to advertise one company's product during an entire commercial break. The CW pioneered "content wraps" and some products featured were Herbal Essences, Crest, Guitar Hero 2, Cover Girl, and recently Toyota. Toyota Yaris will have comic book like minisodes featuring Toyota vehicles for the remaining Smallville episodes.

The CW used to air programming blocks during Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars sponsored by Aerie by American Eagle. It consisted of "real" high school girls talking about the events in that particular episode. The fan (and critic) response was very negative. The segments were shortened and then eventually dropped.

CW Now was inspired in part by the success of the Content Wraps as it will be a series with product placement.

The five-second commercials, intended as shorter versions of content wraps, are called "Cwickies" -- a play on the network's name, just as the initials of "content wrap" are "CW."

Online Media & Music

On January 18, 2007, The CW began streaming full-length episodes of several programs.

The CW's official website includes more features than either UPN's or The WB's combined. The site features ringtones, wallpapers, an online store, games, a message board, promotional pictures, an episode guide, advertisements for the next episode, cast information, and, in some cases, an online poll that discusses upcoming show story lines.

On December 15, 2006, CBS Corporation revived its record label, CBS Records, whose artists' music will be available to programs on The CW.^[9]

Programming

The CW Network airs a 13-hour primetime lineup including Monday through Friday nights from 8:00-10:00 p.m. ET; Sundays from 7:00-10:00 p.m. ET; Sunday from 5:00-7:00 p.m. ET outside of prime time as well as a Monday-Friday afternoon block from 3:00-5:00 p.m. ET and a five-hour Saturday morning animation block. Altogether, the new network programs 30 hours a week over seven days.

Summer Primetime

All times are Eastern and Pacific (subtract one hour for Central and Mountain time).

COLOR KEY: DRAMAS | COMEDIES | SPORTS | NEW DRAMA

Primetime	7:00 PM	8:00 PM	8:30 PM	9:00 PM	9:30 PM
Sunday	7th Heaven (R)	Hidden Palms (E)		Supernatural (R)
Monday	Local Programming	Everybody Hates Chris (R)	All of Us (R)	Girlfriends (R)	The Game (R)
Tuesday		Gilmore Girls (R)		Veronica Mars (R)
Wednesday		Hidden Palms (N)		One Tree Hill (N)
Thursday		Smallville (R)		Supernatural (R)
Friday		WWE Friday Night SmackDown! (N)

(R) - Reruns
(E) - Encore
(N) - New Episodes

Cancelled/Ending

Reba (2001-2007)
Runaway (2006)
7th Heaven (1996-2007)
Gilmore Girls (2000-2007)
All of Us (2003-2007)
Veronica Mars (2004-2007)

Specials

The CW hosted the BRICK Awards, America's first award show about changing the world. The show averaged only 1.1 million viewers in its time Thursday slot-well under the average repeat viewer number for the slots usual occupant Supernatural.

1st Year Season Average[1]

Show	Total Viewer's (Rounded To The Nearest Tenth
Runaway	2.0 Million
America's Next Top Model Cycle 7	7.4 Million
Beauty and The Geek	4.0 Million
Reba	3.6 Million
Pussycat Dolls Present	3.0 Million
Girlfriends	2.5 Million
7th Heaven	3.3 Million
Everybody Hates Chris	2.7 Million
All Of Us	2.4 Million
The Game	2.3 Million
Gilmore Girls	3.7 Million
America's Next Top Model Cycle 8	5.4 Million
Smallville	6.9 Million
Supernatural	2.1 Million
Friday Night Smackdown	4.5 million
Veronica Mars	2.5 million
Hidden Palms	1.8 million

Schedule notes and updates

For shows in developments see Lists of programs broadcast by The CW

Veronica Mars originally in its first two and a half seasons featured serialized season-long story arcs. Its final segment of five episodes for the currently in its third season, by contrast, feature standalone mysteries, more similar to crime procedurals such as CSI. The so-called "mystery of the week" has previously appeared throughout Veronica Mars episodes as a counter storyline to the larger multi-episode story arc. On May 17, 2007, Veronica Mars was officially canceled by the CW, but repeats are scheduled for the summer.

On March 30, 2007, Kristin Veitch of E! Online reported that 7th Heaven had been canceled ^[10], making the 11th season its last. The CW has since confirmed this. ^[11] 7th Heaven, which had ceased production after 10 seasons on The WB, was given a last-minute 13-episode renewal. It originally kept its traditional Monday timeslot; however, in early October, the show was moved to Sundays at 8 p.m.^[12] In late October, The CW officially gave the series a full-season order.^[13] The final episode aired on May 13, 2007.

Briefly, there was talk of the possibility of obtaining the FOX drama The O.C., which was suffering from low ratings due to heavy competition and loss of actress Mischa Barton for a fifth season in mid-December 2006, [2] but the network passed in late-February 2007 [3]in hopes of trying to establish its own identity with its own new shows.

In May 2006, The CW renewed Reba with a 13-episode order,^[14] reportedly to fulfill a syndication contract worth $20 million.^[15] In November 2006, The CW announced that the show would be paired with 7th Heaven, Sundays at 7 p.m., beginning later that month.^[16] Reba encores are scheduled for Sundays at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT, with a new episode at 7:30 p.m. Reba became the top-rated sitcom on the CW, also surpassing the dramas Supernatural, One Tree Hill, and Veronica Mars.^[17] The final episode aired on February 18, 2007.

Former UPN comedies Everybody Hates Chris, All of Us, and Girlfriends began the season on Sundays starting at 7 p.m. However, due to low viewer response, the CW announced on October 5 it would switch its Sunday and Monday nights of programming, in turn resurrecting the Monday comedy night tradition from UPN and Sunday drama night from The WB.^[18]

The EasyView repeat block from The WB, which airs before Sunday primetime from 5-7 p.m. Eastern, is retained under The CW, although it does not retain the name. To date, it has aired encores of the previous week's sitcoms, though in a different order (specifically, All of Us, Girlfriends, The Game, Everybody Hates Chris).

On October 18, 2006, Runaway was pulled off the schedule, effective immediately. At the time of the axing, it averaged only 1.9 million viewers per episode with a 0.7 rating, according to Nielsen Media Research data.^[19] This made it the least-watched primetime program on the five major U.S. English-language broadcast networks.

2007-08 Fall Schedule