Rodney Ho of the Cox News Service checks in on how the CW, the child of the defunct UPN and WB television networks, is doing. Replacing two networks with one gave Disney’s ABC Television Network less competition, but also meant Disney had one less network to bid on the rights to broadcast Disney films and television shows. The CW network is owned jointly by CBS and Time Warner. Many of the actual television stations are owned by Tribune, which also owns the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and Orlando Sentinel. The loss of UPN left a lot of Fox-owned stations that were not Fox Network broadcasters to attempt something called MyNetworkTV.
The ratings on many nights have been no better and, in some cases, far worse than either the WB or UPN last season. For the 2005-06 season, the separate networks averaged about 3.1 million viewers. This season through April 29, the CW has averaged 3.2 million viewers a night.
Expect to see a lot of new shows tried next season.
The network has commissioned 15 pilots, and at least a half-dozen may land on the fall schedule.
Click on the link to see how your favorite CW show performed.