UPN, WB to Merge Into New Network
Jan. 24th, 2006 11:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
groovychkBy Matea Gold, Times Staff Writer
NEW YORK — UPN and the WB Network will cease operations this fall to make way for a new broadcast network called The CW aimed at young, ethnic viewers, CBS Corp. and Warner Bros. Entertainment executives announced today.
Both companies will own 50% of the new venture, which will be carried by the Tribune Co. and the CBS UPN affiliates and offer 30 hours of programming a week, including shows like "Smallville," "Everybody Hates Chris" and "Beauty and the Geek."
The news about the launch of the new network — which will dramatically reshape the broadcast television landscape — was kept tightly under wraps until this morning, when reporters were summoned to a news conference at the St. Regis Hotel in Manhattan.
"We're coming here with a pretty historic announcement," Leslie Moonves, president and CEO of the CBS Corp. said.
"The CW is going to be a real competitor, a destination for young audiences, diverse audiences and a real favorite with advertisers," Moonves added. "The CW will be able to do something truly remarkable: program already hit shows every single day of the week, programs that consistently rank number one or number two in their time slots in the most coveted young adult demographic."
Barry Meyer, chairman and chief executive officer of Warner Bros. Entertainment, called the new network "a partnership whose time has come."
"The CW is a brand new network that will be a 50-50 partnership between Warner Bros. Entertainment and the CBS Corp., with both companies contributing the best of their strategic assets — assets including existing hit television series, access to new programming, the strongest executive talent from both the WB and UPN and a solid national distribution system," he said.
Dawn Ostroff, currently president of UPN, will serve as entertainment president of The CW, while John Maatta, currently chief operating officer of The WB, will take on that role at the new network.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-012406tv_lat,0,5458802.story?coll=la-home-headlines
NEW YORK — UPN and the WB Network will cease operations this fall to make way for a new broadcast network called The CW aimed at young, ethnic viewers, CBS Corp. and Warner Bros. Entertainment executives announced today.
Both companies will own 50% of the new venture, which will be carried by the Tribune Co. and the CBS UPN affiliates and offer 30 hours of programming a week, including shows like "Smallville," "Everybody Hates Chris" and "Beauty and the Geek."
The news about the launch of the new network — which will dramatically reshape the broadcast television landscape — was kept tightly under wraps until this morning, when reporters were summoned to a news conference at the St. Regis Hotel in Manhattan.
"We're coming here with a pretty historic announcement," Leslie Moonves, president and CEO of the CBS Corp. said.
"The CW is going to be a real competitor, a destination for young audiences, diverse audiences and a real favorite with advertisers," Moonves added. "The CW will be able to do something truly remarkable: program already hit shows every single day of the week, programs that consistently rank number one or number two in their time slots in the most coveted young adult demographic."
Barry Meyer, chairman and chief executive officer of Warner Bros. Entertainment, called the new network "a partnership whose time has come."
"The CW is a brand new network that will be a 50-50 partnership between Warner Bros. Entertainment and the CBS Corp., with both companies contributing the best of their strategic assets — assets including existing hit television series, access to new programming, the strongest executive talent from both the WB and UPN and a solid national distribution system," he said.
Dawn Ostroff, currently president of UPN, will serve as entertainment president of The CW, while John Maatta, currently chief operating officer of The WB, will take on that role at the new network.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-012406tv_lat,0,5458802.story?coll=la-home-headlines
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