CW has had a pretty good year - Young CW puts brand into focus

[TMC]

http://www.variety.com/article/VR111...goryid=14&cs=1

Young CW puts brand into focus
Network zeroes in on drama to find its identity
By RICK KISSELL

Its overall ratings may suggest otherwise, but it's been a pretty good season for the CW network.
After jettisoning the popular but brand-busting wrestling franchise "Friday Night Smackdown" and then cutting loose its ratings-challenged Sunday lineup that was outsourced to indie producers, the young network can focus on its core assets Monday through Thursday.

And on these nights it has zeroed in on dramatic storytelling geared toward an urban, young-female audience, with shows like "Gossip Girl," "America's Next Top Model" and "90210" helping forge an identity.

Sure, there's room for improvement in various timeslots across the week, but the move away from wrestling and comedy is a smart start. And for the first time in its three-year history, you get the sense that CW is closer to flourishing than folding.

Although the loss of wrestling has resulted in a year-to-year loss of about 15% in broad categories like adults 18-49 and total viewers, CW is flat year-to-year in its target audience of adults 18-34, according to Nielsen.

And on a Monday-through-Thursday basis (which takes wrestling and comedy out of the mix), the net is up 7% in adults 18-34 and an impressive 18% in its core women 18-34 audience.

While it doesn't pay much attention to 35-plus categories, one area for CW to address is its poor performance among teens. Monday through Thursday, the net is off 18% among the 12-17 crowd, and it could really use a show that is relevant to today's teens (and, sorry, that isn't "Gossip Girl.").

Here's a closer look at CW at midseason:

HIGHLIGHTS: The Monday tandem of "Gossip Girl" and "One Tree Hill" has worked nicely despite some brutal competish of late. In the fall, CW stood as the No. 1 network on Mondays in women 18-34, and "Gossip Girl" shot up by 35% in adults 18-34 vs. its performance on Wednesdays a year ago.

And "One Tree Hill" has defied the odds by leaping by 21% in 18-34 in its sixth season.

"90210," which came back to earth after its monster preem last September, has nicely improved the Tuesday 8 p.m. hour for CW, while "America's Next Top Model" consistently wins its Wednesday hour in 18-34.

And Thursday has been a nice surprise, as "Smallville" remains one of the net's top draws and "Supernatural" has actually grown some in 18-34 on a night when most other vets are fading.

On a percentage basis, CW has some of the shows with the largest jumps when all same-week DVR playback is included. This isn't necessarily a good thing, though, as every net is struggling to monetize such delayed viewing.

LOWLIGHTS: Sunday has been a bugaboo for CW since its inception, and the programming supplied by Media Rights Capital bombed from the outset. Ratings have improved since the net started running movies, but a rethink is clearly required.

This may be CW's last hurrah in comedy, as "Everybody Hates Chris" and "The Game" have predictably struggled in their move to Friday, and the net no longer has a comedy development division. The night is off 50% in 18-34 from last year's "Smackdown," but don't look for the net to address too many resources here until all of its other weeknights are clicking.

Lost behind fellow newbie "90210," "Privileged" hasn't clicked in the ratings. An off-putting title didn't help, but it's also a smaller kind of show that doesn't mesh well with what's working for the net.

MIDSEASON CHANGES: Rather than take a chance on a late-season reality newcomer, CW has opted to play it conservatively this spring. It ordered more episodes of its top series to minimize the number of repeats and is kicking off the second season of "Reaper," which will play March through May in the tough Tuesday 8 p.m. slot opposite "American Idol."

The "Reaper" skedding make sense, though, since it has more male appeal and could hold up reasonably well. And it allows "90210" to get away from "Idol" at 9 p.m., although there it faces brutal competish for female eyeballs.

A LOOK AHEAD: Advertisers and affiliates seem to like the net's approach to drama, so CW has smartly ordered more high-concept pilots. A spinoff of "Gossip Girl," a new take on "Melrose Place" and a vampire drama are in the works.

Among current shows, "Privileged" deserves a relaunch, and vets "One Tree Hill," "Smallville" and "Supernatural" could all return.

CW should brand its nights to help with marketing, and it should look at ways to use the letters "C" and "W" to connote something that resonates with its core aud.

And then there's scheduling, and the net needs to continue to look for creative ways and timeframes to avoid the major nets' big guns. It might consider, for example, running only returning dramas October through April and launching new shows June through September.

BOTTOM LINE: Despite so-so overall ratings, CW finds itself perhaps in its strongest position to date.

[TV-aholic]

The CW is a sinking ship. Its ratings get worse and worse, even within its targeted demos. No way its getting stronger.

It may have 1 more season in it before it is either gone or the next MyTV.

[comedyfreak]

I hope they don't renew Smallville, the series has run its course.

[TV-aholic]

Originally Posted by comedyfreak

I hope they don't renew Smallville, the series has run its course.

Smallville should be on the schedule next season. It is the Networks highest rated program. The CW can't afford to cast of another show that can grab 4 million viewers.

[Brent88]

The CW is the worst network ever and an embarrassment. Dawn should have been fired 2 years ago but it's way past that now. They only program TEN hours a week and still air a repeat every week(90210 on Wednesday). It's ridiculous. Not to mention because of their dumb scheduling every show is going on extremely long hiatus(90210 is off the air til March 31st and almost every show is in repeats this entire month), which is the quickest way to kill a new show(and 90210 isn't exactly setting the world on fire). They've already sold off Sundays which turned into an even worse miserable failure, and I wouldn't be surprised if they stop programming Fridays soon, and I give it another season or maybe two before the network goes away. They cannot survive on the teenage girl audience yet for 3 seasons now Dawn has shoved it down everyone's throat.

[TV-aholic]

CW took back Sundays, so they are now programming 13 hours, of which 5 are repeats.

MyTV should beat the CW, yet again, this week in the ratings.

[Brent88]

Originally Posted by TV-aholic

CW took back Sundays, so they are now programming 13 hours, of which 5 are repeats.

Oh right, well that makes it look even worse. At least with my post they were only 1/10th repeats, now it's over 1/3rd. Even more pathetic

But it's sad either way that MyNetworkTV is beating them. They should have never gotten rid of Wrestling, but it didn't fit with their teenybopper audience.

[Mr. Television]

The CW airs too many reruns...that's why MYNetworkTV keeps beating them. 90210 is off for a month. Smallville and Supernatural are off for a month....and in the middle of February too. Very bad business.

[TV-aholic]

Originally Posted by Clint Eastwood Fan

The CW airs too many reruns...that's why MYNetworkTV keeps beating them. 90210 is off for a month. Smallville and Supernatural are off for a month....and in the middle of February too. Very bad business.

MyTV is almost all repeats too. Has been for a while and will be until sweeps start. WWE was the only program they had last week that was original and this week, only the 1 hour Skating special on Monday is the only other show original.

[rsandcm1]

I am thrilled that the channel is failing. All of their programs suck. Maybe if those morons had not cancelled Reba, they might still have one popular program on their line-up. Idiots.

[Mr. Television]

Originally Posted by TV-aholic

MyTV is almost all repeats too. Has been for a while and will be until sweeps start. WWE was the only program they had last week that was original and this week, only the 1 hour Skating special on Monday is the only other show original.

Don't they show mostlly reality shows on that network? I never watch it. I'm not trying to say the CW is in great shape. I think they're going to die. They don't care if I watch it or not...I'm not a teenage girl. lol I do watch Smallville and Supernatural but they are WB holdovers and they are probably in their later years. 90210 I do watch but mostly out of nostalgia for the original. It's not a bad show but it's not a hit. The CW has to move it out of AI's way in March because it was getting destroyed.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by Brent88

The CW is the worst network ever and an embarrassment. Dawn should have been fired 2 years ago but it's way past that now. They only program TEN hours a week and still air a repeat every week(90210 on Wednesday). It's ridiculous. Not to mention because of their dumb scheduling every show is going on extremely long hiatus(90210 is off the air til March 31st and almost every show is in repeats this entire month), which is the quickest way to kill a new show(and 90210 isn't exactly setting the world on fire). They've already sold off Sundays which turned into an even worse miserable failure, and I wouldn't be surprised if they stop programming Fridays soon, and I give it another season or maybe two before the network goes away. They cannot survive on the teenage girl audience yet for 3 seasons now Dawn has shoved it down everyone's throat.

Part of Dawn Ostroff's problem is that she seems to want to take television backwards to when she was a kid or young woman. That's why she's bringing up shows like Dynasty and Dallas and trying to reinvent old FOX shows like 90210 and Melrose Place. The fact that Ostroff pubically said that only the young female demographic matters (hence the elimination of SmackDown! and underpromotion for Smallville and Supernatural) isn't suprising, knowing her background at Lifetime. If I were Dawn Ostroff, I would want to be seen as the equal if not superior than ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX. Instead, she just wants to put the CW's programming in a little pigeonhole. She only cares about the shows that she personally likes, rather than what might be best as a whole (hence, the urban shows like Everybody Hates Chris and The Game also getting the short end of the stick).

[TMC]

Originally Posted by Brent88

The CW is the worst network ever and an embarrassment. Dawn should have been fired 2 years ago but it's way past that now. They only program TEN hours a week and still air a repeat every week(90210 on Wednesday). It's ridiculous. Not to mention because of their dumb scheduling every show is going on extremely long hiatus(90210 is off the air til March 31st and almost every show is in repeats this entire month), which is the quickest way to kill a new show(and 90210 isn't exactly setting the world on fire). They've already sold off Sundays which turned into an even worse miserable failure, and I wouldn't be surprised if they stop programming Fridays soon, and I give it another season or maybe two before the network goes away. They cannot survive on the teenage girl audience yet for 3 seasons now Dawn has shoved it down everyone's throat.

Fire Dawn Ostroff

[MikeLutton]

when is dallas coming back mean as new series r reruns