Sign of trouble for the CW

[DToTheJ]

Is WPIX still "CW11"? The website seems to say so but as we've seen with KWGN this doesn't necessarily mean anything.

I wish they weren't, but they still are.

Give them time. Maybe all the other Tribune O&O's are phasing out the "CW" part of their names before WPIX follows suit.

Again, if I see the big golden "CW" letters being removed from the big building at 220 East 42nd Street, I'll let you know...

 

[KML0224]

Tribune-owned WTXX-TV/DT channel 20/digital 12 of Waterbury/Hartford is still calling themselves CW-20.

 

[arnoldevns]

Note that MNTV has already modified that split downward -- originally, the affiliates got 9 minutes of ads per hour, with the network keeping only 5 minutes.

Agreed that the better split and lack of reverse compensation would make MNTV appealing, if the network carried any programming that would actually enhance a station's ratings and image. Unfortunately, up to this point, MNTV has not done so -- perhaps this will change after Smackdown moves to MNTV, but so far the MNTV primetime lineup is roughly the equivalent of a station filling it's primetime schedule with the absolute bottom rung programming available in syndication. Staying independent and keeping all 14 minutes of advertising time would be preferable to filling primetime with the crap that MNTV runs...

And, in the end, I think we both believe that Tribune would do better with the independent route than it would by going to MNTV.

You may have better info than I do about the commercial split. I had heard it was an equal split, but maybe it was 9/5 for affilates.

Really the main point I'm getting at here is that My Network TV has far more upside potential for Fox and the MNTV affiliates than the CW does. MNTV has improved quite a bit since it launched. They now run movies from the Fox library at least two nights a week - and many are in HD. The ratings are up, but are still pretty low. If Smackdown can pull most of what it did on CW, it'll immediately put MNTV within sight of catching CW in the ratings. (particularly since CW will likely not be able to attract the same kind of audience for whatever they put on in Smackdown's place)

 

[jal41]

I read in BusinessWeek from late July that Tribune has to pay $72 million a year for the CW. I think Sam Zell is trying to get out of the payments. Their credit is junk (probably more like fecal matter now).

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_32/b4095000408330.htm (Click on Page 3)

Also...the people that were behind Clear Channel during the radio station buying spree (Randy Michaels, et. al.) are now at Tribune. We know they are not known for any business practices that creates results (at least positive ones).

 

[Markxxx]

I read in BusinessWeek from late July that Tribune has to pay $72 million a year for the CW. I think Sam Zell is trying to get out of the payments. Their credit is junk (probably more like fecal matter now).

So there are 13 CW affiliates owned by the tribune... Let's see..

$72,000,000/13 or $5,538,461.54 per station per year

$5,538,461.54/52 = $106,508.88 per week per station

$106,508.88 /14 hours per week = $7,607.78 per hour

$7,607.78/60 minutes per hour = $126.79 per minute

------> OK I probably screwed up the math somewhere, but if I didn't you tell me is this worth it? Hmmmmm

 

[ChaseW]

Not sure if this is already mentioned but as of yesterday KWGN here in Denver has relaunched their web site as KWGN.com.

 

[bostonmediaguy]

Tribune-owned WTXX-TV/DT channel 20/digital 12 of Waterbury/Hartford is still calling themselves CW-20.

Not for long. They're branded as "TXX" on the website (www.wtxx.com)

 

[arnoldevns]

A report on the TV news website "newsblues" says that Zell has given the Tribune stations until around September 1st to rebrand themselves without the CW logo. Looks like they're going to meet that deadline.

 

[MarcB]

Tribune-owned WTXX-TV/DT channel 20/digital 12 of Waterbury/Hartford is still calling themselves CW-20.

Kevin is right and they are still calling themselves CW-20, but starting either 9/1 or 9/8 they will be calling themselves "TXX". CW20.COM now forwards to WTXX.COM and this new logo is on their site.

http://www.wtxx.com/css/images/wtxx.png

 

[nathannah]

Is WPIX still "CW11"? The website seems to say so but as we've seen with KWGN this doesn't necessarily mean anything.

I wish they weren't, but they still are.

Give them time. Maybe all the other Tribune O&O's are phasing out the "CW" part of their names before WPIX follows suit.

Again, if I see the big golden "CW" letters being removed from the big building at 220 East 42nd Street, I'll let you know...

With all the Tribune site redesigns popping up, I did some poking on the WPIX page since all of the stations have a universal place to place the station logo in the top of the page (it's the webpage address, then css/stationcalls.png). Looking at WPIX's image, they're staying CW11 for now.

 

[BobRogers]

I was never a fan of the CW logo anyways...

Why did they allow Smackdown to go to MYNetworkTV? If I remember right wasn't that one of CW's highest rated shows?

 

[KML0224]

Maybe because CW is becoming a women's network of sorts and WWE tends to skew more towards men? Who knows? I think WWE Smackdown! was their highest rated show, despite the Friday night time slot. As for MY, they only have three full-powered affiliates in the 6 New England states. I hope this move is a good one for them.

 

[liradioisbad]

Yeah, the CW really wants to be a young women's network. In spite of Smackdown getting good ratings for the CW, it's among the lowest ad revenue-generating shows on television due to the historical perception of wrestling's audience. It figures that they would go after the more lucrative market when all is said and done.

 

[andreajesus]

Yeah, the CW really wants to be a young women's network.

Four words, dude (or dudess ) - "America's Next Top Model"...there's the CW's demographic in a nutshell...

Andrea

 

[KyDXIn]

It looks like WTTV in Indianapolis has also gotten into this game. Some promos are referring to the station as "Indiana's Four", not "CW Four". But some still say CW Four. I didn't notice a bug at all when I was watching this weekend.

WTTV is also a Tribune station.

That's a throwback to what it was when it was Independent.

 

[KyDXIn]

So there are 13 CW affiliates owned by the tribune... Let's see..

$72,000,000/13 or $5,538,461.54 per station per year

$5,538,461.54/52 = $106,508.88 per week per station

$106,508.88 /14 hours per week = $7,607.78 per hour

$7,607.78/60 minutes per hour = $126.79 per minute

------> OK I probably screwed up the math somewhere, but if I didn't you tell me is this worth it? Hmmmmm

[/quote]

Did you go to the Jethro Bodine School of Cipherin?? If anyone tied in with CheapChannel is involved, their doing more number-crunching than this...

 

[Markxxx]

So there are 13 CW affiliates owned by the tribune... Let's see..

$72,000,000/13 or $5,538,461.54 per station per year

$5,538,461.54/52 = $106,508.88 per week per station

$106,508.88 /14 hours per week = $7,607.78 per hour

$7,607.78/60 minutes per hour = $126.79 per minute

------> OK I probably screwed up the math somewhere, but if I didn't you tell me is this worth it? Hmmmmm

Did you go to the Jethro Bodine School of Cipherin?? If anyone tied in with CheapChannel is involved, their doing more number-crunching than this...
[/quote]

What's your point? If you have a theory say it.

 

[Markxxx]

I was never a fan of the CW logo anyways...

Why did they allow Smackdown to go to MYNetworkTV? If I remember right wasn't that one of CW's highest rated shows?

Correct, it was also the highest UPN show too, but it really isn't a CW show, nor was it a UPN show. WWE simply bought time on the network, similar to the way infomercials buy time.

And while a rating is a rating, it doesn't show that the CW (nor UPN before it) has any ability to create new programs capable of getting ratings

 

[jal41]

If anyone tied in with CheapChannel is involved, their doing more number-crunching than this...

Actually, anything CC does turns into fecal matter, at least in Atlanta (take a look at the Atlanta radio board, and you will quickly see).

Zell wants out of the CW deal...plain and simple. He doesn't want to pay for programming with no ratings. He is starting with local station rebranding, that way they are prepared for the minute he can get out of paying for the CW. Expect CW programming to be dropped at a moments notice (and I mean a moment...the day the press release is issued that night there will be local programming on the affected stations). I suspect the lawsuit pending involving KSWB/San Diego's switch to Fox will play a key factor in when and if.

And yes...that will spell the end of the CW. There is no other station in most of these markets that the CW can go to (at least if the want to be in prime time).

It is not the CW itself that will be responsible for the downfall of the network...it will be Tribune and Sam Zell.

 

[JeeperOne]

Hi everyone:

I don't think Tribune will switch a bunch of their stations over to My Network TV though. I think they may just go back to being independent stations. I think the numbers I just mentioned show that they can probably make that work pretty well for themselves.

They likely won't switch ALL of their stations to MyNetwork TV, but they'll gladly and gleefully take it wherever they can get it just the same though.

As for ruining KWGN's heritage, it was ruined when it signed on with the now-defunct The WB network back in the 1990s. As such, switching to either FOX or MyNetwork TV wouldn't do anything to change this.

JMO...

Cheers

Pat