I usually don't post on the weekend but I want to shift from my usual emphasis on 95X and on music news.

I've been keeping up with the emergence of a new broadcast network that unveils this fall. This new network is the largest shakeup for broadcast network television in over 40 years. I thought I'd give you some background as well as some observations on the development of the new, awkwardly-named CW Network (combining letters of its owners CBS and Warner Brothers).

The brief lives of UPN and The WB will come to an end this fall as the two are combined to form the CW Network. Both UPN and WB debuted in January 1995 to focus on young, urban viewers that had previously been the domain of the FOX network. As FOX began to move toward more mainstream audiences, Paramount (who later sold UPN to CBS) and Warner Brothers saw the opening and went for it, launching new broadcast networks. Unfortunately, their success has been anemic at best. While some shows have achieved modest growth in their targeted demographics, both networks have bled money for most of their lives and have consistently ranked at the bottom of the broadcast network ratings chart.

So last winter, the two rivals unexpectedly came together and fleshed out a deal to merge the two and presumably bring together each of the two network's best assets (shows and affiliate stations) to create a new fourth broadcast network targeting young demographics.

The first drama played out was which stations would be affiliated with the new network. Over the last few months most stations have been selected. Those not chosen as a CW station will lose their WB or UPN affiliation and be left without a network. (Some may sign up with a new mini-network that Rupert Murdoch's FOX is forming called My Network TV but that's a story for a different time).

Midland/Odessa will see the CW network on the current WB affiliate, KWWT-30.

Many cities will receive CW on digital subchannels of stations affiliated with the "Big Three" networks. Abilene will get CW digitally through KTXS DT2. It's not known whether KTXS, which feeds San Angelo ABC, will also be serving CW to the Concho Valley or if San Angelo will pick up CW on the current WB cable-only affiliate KWSA "WB14."

CW's current network distribution is 91.6% of the country.

The second drama to unfold was the waiting game to see what shows from UPN and WB would make it to the new network. It seems simple but UPN had begun to shift its focus to younger males with hard dramas and the highly popular WWE Friday Smackdown as well as to urban audiences with sitcoms such as Girlfriends, Eve and Everybody Hates Chris.

Meanwhile the WB had shifted toward younger, female audiences with fare such as 7th Heaven, Everwood and its successful Gilmore Girls.

The idea is to bring the best of the two networks together on the CW.

Neither network, particularly UPN, developed flow throughout the week. Both had pockets of success but neither achieved the kind of audience recycling to hang onto viewers night after night. Trying to mesh together these two different networks is challenging and would seem to not correct the issue of flow.

This week in New York, all the broadcast networks, including CW, held their yearly presentations for their fall schedules. What CW brought to the table is intriguing.

Weeknights (Monday-Wednesday) will target young, female viewers with soapy dramas like the WB's Gilmore Girls and 7th Heaven and UPN's Veronica Mars. UPN's reality series America's Top Model also makes it to CW.

Weekends (Thursday, Friday, Sunday) will aim for young, urban men with a mix of harder dramas like the WB's Supernatural, urban comedies, including UPN's Everybody Hates Chris and UPN's WWE Smackdown.

Saturdays have long been abandoned for serious programming by the nets and have never been attempted by UPN or the WB.

Going for men Sunday nights this fall might be tricky with NFL holdover games from the afternoon as well as the Sunday night prime time games NBC is debuting with John Madden. But how do you shoot for women when ABC has a lock with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Desperate Housewives? That's a no-win situation but CW's moves make sense. Viewers to those urban shows are very loyal and are likely to follow them to Sunday nights. Besides, football's only an issue for the first half of the TV season.

Being able to mine for shows between two established networks has its advantages. CW has only ordered two new shows for the fall...the least of any network. That's great this time but this will be the only season CW will be able to do that. In addition, some of the shows it's picking up are long in the tooth. No one expected the creaky 7th Heaven to return for an eleventh season because it has been hemmoraging viewers for the past few years. It's questionable whether Gilmore Girls will return after next season.

Another factor is the lack of minorities on the tube. Several years ago, all the broadcast networks pledged to bring more Hispanics and African Americans to their schedules. For the most part, that hasn't happened. What has been tried has mostly been abandoned. ABC cancelled My Wife and Kids and FOX has cancelled Bernie Mac.

To a small degree, UPN's strategy of aiming for urban audiences has paid off. However, with the exception of Chris, Girlfriends, and the Will Smith-produced All of Us, most of those comedies will go away. Overall these shows never achieved major success but within African American demographics, they were top ten ranked.

I'll be curious to see if CW maintains the Sunday night urban comedies or if they eventually let them quietly die.

Back to the schedule, CW has also mined shows from the current networks to line up mid-season replacements, including the WB's Reba and Beauty and the Geek. Both have 13-episode commitments.

WB shows not returning include Everwood and What I Like About You. UPN shows that get the boot include those urban comedies I mentioned before...Cuts, Eve, One On One, Half & Half, and Love, Inc.

Overall, UPN/WB shows picked up by CW seem compatible and its scheduling makes sense. It will be interesting to see the CW find its identity with this unique style of block programming.

There are already cracks appearing in this marriage of corporations and networks. Rumor has it that some corporate suits and network affiliates are unhappy with the name CW. There have also been issues among current WB and UPN affiliates as they struggle to align themselves with CW. Those who do not get the nod from CW may find themselves without a network and will have to scramble to fill a lot of airtime. However, as mentioned before, My Network TV, created by FOX as a program strategy for stations losing programming at the end of summer, is set to debut Sept. 5, which aligns with the beginning of the syndication season. It has already gained clearance in over three-quarters of the country, gaining on CW. I'll post more on that network soon.

This fall, The WB and UPN will cease independent operations. Word is the launch date for CW is Monday, September 18, although nothing official has been announced.

Obviously, a network targeting 18-34 year olds better not ignore the new media. CW has announced it will offer broadband and wireless extensions of its shows. Deals to stream full-episodes of shows and offer iTunes downloads are in the works. Its multiplatform offerings are also reportedly going to include user-submitted video that could air on the network.

Here's the CW network's day-by-day schedule:
MONDAY
7pm 7th Heaven
8pm Runaway (new show)

TUESDAY
7pm Gilmore Girls
8pm Veronica Mars

WEDNESDAY
7pm America's Top Model
8pm One Tree Hill

THURSDAY
7pm Smallville
8pm Supernatural

FRIDAY
7pm WWE

SUNDAY
6pm Everybody Hates Chris
6:30 All Of Us
7pm Girlfriends
7:30 The Game (new show)
8pm America's Top Model repeats

Sources:
Medialife
answers.com
Wikipedia
pwinsider.com
tv.com
tvweek.com