Raph's Girl
07-18-2006, 12:31 PM
The new CW network will officially launch September 20 with a two-hour premiere of the reality show "America's Next Top Model" at 8 p.m., executives said Monday.
Formed by the merger of the soon-to-be-defunct UPN and WB networks, the CW will boast 14 prime-time series -- all but two of them salvaged from the old lineups.
CW president of entertainment Dawn Ostroff unveiled the schedule at the Television Critics Assn.'s summer press tour, where she was pressed by reporters on topics ranging from the decision on which shows to cancel and which to bring back in the fall, executives' measure for success for the new network, and the decision to stick with the name CW.
In addition, the CW said Monday that
Whoopi Goldberg will appear in two episodes of the comedy series "Everybody Hates Chris," which will have its second-season debut October 1 along with fellow comedies "All of Us," "Girlfriends" and the new series "The Game." In "Chris," Goldberg will portray a woman who moves in next door to Chris' family and whose granddaughter is the latest object of his affections.
During the session, the CW announced the premiere dates for all of its series. Following the seventh-cycle debut of "Top Model," "Friday Night Smackdown" will debut September 22; "7th Heaven" and the new series "Runaway" will premiere September 25; "Gilmore Girls" returns September 26; "One Tree Hill" follows "Top Model" starting September 27; "Smallville" and "Supernatural" make their CW debuts September 28; and "Veronica Mars" has its third-season premiere October 3 in the post-"Gilmore" slot.
In her opening remarks, Ostroff again emphasized the network's strategy for reaching its target demo of adults 18-34. Among the initiatives are anchoring every night of programming with established series, making a concerted effort to program to a multicultural audience and striving to reach viewers through a highly interactive Web site that includes a section called the CW Lab, where viewers can create their own promos, as well as an online community dubbed the CW Lounge.
Ostroff doubted the new network would match the combined ratings of UPN and the WB.
"I think that ultimately we'll wind up with more viewers than either network," she said. "It's going to takes us time in the beginning to get everybody into the house and to communicate that there's going to be a new channel that they are going to find their favorite shows on. But I do believe that as the years go on, we will wind up with stronger ratings."
She added that one reason she expects the CW to be successful is because no other network is focusing solely on targeting the 18-34 demo.
The executive also was interrogated about the decision to cancel "Everwood" while bringing back "One Tree Hill" as well as the process behind the choice to resurrect the canceled "7th Heaven." She noted that "Everwood" was the oldest-skewing show off both WB and UPN's schedule and would "never be able to anchor a night," but executives wanted to give "One Tree Hill" a chance to grow.
Ostroff said that one reason "7th Heaven" was brought back was because of the "devoted and loyal" fans. She added that there will be new characters along with returning cast members including
Stephen Collins,
Catherine Hicks and
Beverley Mitchell but that the status of some of the other regulars is still being worked out.
Haylie Duff, who made appearances this past season, also will become a regular next season.
One reporter asked why the network's executives had decided to stick with the name CW, which might make many people automatically think "country and Western." (The moniker combines the first letters of the network's parent companies, CBS Corp. and Warner Bros. Entertainment.) He then went on to point out the network's logo and visual branding elements, describing the color as "John Deere green."
Ostroff responded that they had intended to "explore" other titles after the announcement of the new network in January. But once the execs did some research, they were "shocked" to find that 48% of the target demo of adults 18-34 already knew what the CW was and were inclined to watch the network.
"When we looked at changing it, it was really hard to justify because it was already so established," she said. "It would have costs us tens of millions of dollars to ever get that kind of brand recognition if we had started over."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060718/tv_nm/cw_dc_1
and to see where the CW will be showing in your area go here:
http://www.cwtv.com/cw-affiliates.html
Raph's Girl note:
CW Network Exec 1: "So...what day should we launch?"
Network Exec 2: "How about....Sept 20th!"
Network Exec 3: "But...that's a Wednesday!"
Network Exec 1: "Who cares! It's brilliant! Yes! Start on a wednesday!"
Network Exec 3: *mumbles and posts in Wikipedia that it starts on Sept. 18th instead just to piss off the others*
Well yea it's true.. it starts on a Wednesday but Wikipedia says otherwise. :lol:
Formed by the merger of the soon-to-be-defunct UPN and WB networks, the CW will boast 14 prime-time series -- all but two of them salvaged from the old lineups.
CW president of entertainment Dawn Ostroff unveiled the schedule at the Television Critics Assn.'s summer press tour, where she was pressed by reporters on topics ranging from the decision on which shows to cancel and which to bring back in the fall, executives' measure for success for the new network, and the decision to stick with the name CW.
In addition, the CW said Monday that
Whoopi Goldberg will appear in two episodes of the comedy series "Everybody Hates Chris," which will have its second-season debut October 1 along with fellow comedies "All of Us," "Girlfriends" and the new series "The Game." In "Chris," Goldberg will portray a woman who moves in next door to Chris' family and whose granddaughter is the latest object of his affections.
During the session, the CW announced the premiere dates for all of its series. Following the seventh-cycle debut of "Top Model," "Friday Night Smackdown" will debut September 22; "7th Heaven" and the new series "Runaway" will premiere September 25; "Gilmore Girls" returns September 26; "One Tree Hill" follows "Top Model" starting September 27; "Smallville" and "Supernatural" make their CW debuts September 28; and "Veronica Mars" has its third-season premiere October 3 in the post-"Gilmore" slot.
In her opening remarks, Ostroff again emphasized the network's strategy for reaching its target demo of adults 18-34. Among the initiatives are anchoring every night of programming with established series, making a concerted effort to program to a multicultural audience and striving to reach viewers through a highly interactive Web site that includes a section called the CW Lab, where viewers can create their own promos, as well as an online community dubbed the CW Lounge.
Ostroff doubted the new network would match the combined ratings of UPN and the WB.
"I think that ultimately we'll wind up with more viewers than either network," she said. "It's going to takes us time in the beginning to get everybody into the house and to communicate that there's going to be a new channel that they are going to find their favorite shows on. But I do believe that as the years go on, we will wind up with stronger ratings."
She added that one reason she expects the CW to be successful is because no other network is focusing solely on targeting the 18-34 demo.
The executive also was interrogated about the decision to cancel "Everwood" while bringing back "One Tree Hill" as well as the process behind the choice to resurrect the canceled "7th Heaven." She noted that "Everwood" was the oldest-skewing show off both WB and UPN's schedule and would "never be able to anchor a night," but executives wanted to give "One Tree Hill" a chance to grow.
Ostroff said that one reason "7th Heaven" was brought back was because of the "devoted and loyal" fans. She added that there will be new characters along with returning cast members including
Stephen Collins,
Catherine Hicks and
Beverley Mitchell but that the status of some of the other regulars is still being worked out.
Haylie Duff, who made appearances this past season, also will become a regular next season.
One reporter asked why the network's executives had decided to stick with the name CW, which might make many people automatically think "country and Western." (The moniker combines the first letters of the network's parent companies, CBS Corp. and Warner Bros. Entertainment.) He then went on to point out the network's logo and visual branding elements, describing the color as "John Deere green."
Ostroff responded that they had intended to "explore" other titles after the announcement of the new network in January. But once the execs did some research, they were "shocked" to find that 48% of the target demo of adults 18-34 already knew what the CW was and were inclined to watch the network.
"When we looked at changing it, it was really hard to justify because it was already so established," she said. "It would have costs us tens of millions of dollars to ever get that kind of brand recognition if we had started over."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060718/tv_nm/cw_dc_1
and to see where the CW will be showing in your area go here:
http://www.cwtv.com/cw-affiliates.html
Raph's Girl note:
CW Network Exec 1: "So...what day should we launch?"
Network Exec 2: "How about....Sept 20th!"
Network Exec 3: "But...that's a Wednesday!"
Network Exec 1: "Who cares! It's brilliant! Yes! Start on a wednesday!"
Network Exec 3: *mumbles and posts in Wikipedia that it starts on Sept. 18th instead just to piss off the others*
Well yea it's true.. it starts on a Wednesday but Wikipedia says otherwise. :lol: