For New York television viewers and those who get the classic WPIX-TV/New York CW affliate station...I have noticed a lot of branding in recent promotions touting their call letters WPIX instead of calling themselves the CW-11....their website also is now wpix.com as well.........hopefully this is a change in direction that could steer them away from the horrible cloning of independent stations...I'm sure the CW network is strong enough, even though rumors have been floating around the CW could be gone in a year but having the station using the brand WPIX can only be a good thing!

Is WPIX owned by Tribune? I heard all Tribune stations were getting away from the CW branding and going back to being their own identity.

I've realized it and I'm liking it. I'd love if they'd go Independent. The CW is a tragic piece of crapola anyways, lol. I'd love if WPIX got the rights to old WB11 shows and aired them in primetime (aka 7th heaven, everwood, summerland, reba, what i like about you, etc). Boy, I sure miss the WB!

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2008/10/28/2008-10-28_ch_11_drops_cw_tag_and_goes_back_to_wpix.html

WPIX/Ch. 11 is changing its image - again.

After years of being the WB11 and now the CW11, the station will revert to being called WPIX/Ch. 11.

"We really think that the station has a very rich history," said station president and general manager Betty Ellen Berlamino.

Management started to think about the move during the recent celebration of Ch. 11's 60th anniversary, said Berlamino.

"The words WPIX and PIX just have a very positive meaning and a very good place in people's hearts here in New York.

"WPIX is part of New York, WPIX is New York," Berlamino added. "Along the way we may have kind of forgotten that."

The station began teasing a new logo over the weekend and will continue to do so until the transition is complete by year's end.

So, in December get ready to say so long to the "CW11 Morning News" and the "CW11 News at Ten" and hello to "PIX Morning News" and "PIX News at Ten."

The promos that began over the weekend are the first phase, Berlamino said. The goal now, she said, is to reintroduce the look to viewers.

In a memo to staffers, Berlamino likened bringing back WPIX to reintroducing an old friend.

The move is significant in that it downplays the CW name, and goes back to a logo and station brand that was in place for decades until 1995, when The WB launched.

The CW debuted in 2005, after a merger of The WB and UPN, both struggling networks. The CW has had a slow start, but has generated good buzz and ratings this year with "Gossip Girl" and "90210."

Berlamino said the shift in no way signals a move away from The CW, which is owned by CBS and Warner Bros.

"We are not abandoning our network affiliation by any stretch of the imagination," Berlamino said. "We're very happy with The CW and enjoying year-to-year ratings growth.

"WPIX has a strong history, and a very highly rated history, and there's no issue with the network," she added. "We are one of their strongest affiliates."

Hm. Notice "The CW" isn't even in the logo..like the new one, it looks sorta retro.

WPIX is one station that acknowledges its place in both NY and TV history. They revived the Yule Log, run Honeymooners marathons, and even brought back the classic Chiller Theatre for one night last month. There was also a daylong anniversary marathon last June capped with an original special covering the history of the station. If the CW tanks, as has been predicted elsewhere, I would love to see them embrace the independent status they lost when they became a WB affiliare.

That's pretty cool. As someone who has grown up in the NYC viewing area, I missed the old WPIX name.

But how can the staion just go back to thier old name. Aren't they owned by the CW?

Looked it up--it is a Tribune station and it is the flagship for the CW, but it isn't a good sign when the flagship decides to abandon the branding, is it?
I honestly don't see the CW lasting another season or so.

:yeahthat

They had better hope thier primetime shows get better ratings, or they might have to call it quits.

no, it won't fold, they have Gossip Girl and that is such a SMASH HIT - LOL. Seriously, I find them lasting after next season very difficult, especially when a flagship station drops the branding. That shows how much confidence they have in it. Handwriting is on the wall.