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The CW Affiliate Apocalypse of 2016


The Frog

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If KTLA ever drops the CW affiliation, KCAL is going to pick it up. Whatever history and longevity Prime 9 News has is irrelevant. If CBS has the opportunity to put the network it owns on the station it owns, they are going to do it. Period.

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I just don't see the CW going to KCAL. UPN didn't go to KCAL when CBS bought it and they had a chance to move it before FOX Stations Group renewed UPN affiliation deals. The newscasts on KCAL is too much of a money maker for CBS. One other place the affilation could go to is independent KDOC 56. Its on all major cable providers even though the station is based in Orange County.

That doesn't mean CBS won't keep KCAL news-intensive even if it does affiliate with the CW. Look at WGN, its news-intensive yet a CW affilate. CBS would rather make the cash for both local spots on KCAL9 and from the CW rather than deal with a third-party in moneymaking operations.

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I wonder about KCWE-TV being independent if The CW fails to survive past 2016

I have a hard time believing CBS won't keep the CW in existence in the near future (even beyond 2016). Time Warner might pull out (that's a huge if), but the network continues.

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Sorry, CBS is not going to give up KCAL newscasts during primetime hours. They pull in higher ratings than the CW does on KTLA. Yes, WGN is news intensive as well as KTLA, but KCAL counterprograms with news in primetime. After thinking about it, I can see the CW move to KCAL but it won't be in the traditional 8-10pm slot. I see it being on after their news from 11p-1a or even a 10p-12a slot.

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Why would CBS hurt their own investment? The more likely option is wrapping newscasts around CW prime time. (7-8p, 10-11p)

 

I could see them adopting that format for all their CW stations.

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Sorry, CBS is not going to give up KCAL newscasts during primetime hours. They pull in higher ratings than the CW does on KTLA. Yes, WGN is news intensive as well as KTLA, but KCAL counterprograms with news in primetime. After thinking about it, I can see the CW move to KCAL but it won't be in the traditional 8-10pm slot. I see it being on after their news from 11p-1a or even a 10p-12a slot.

You obviously don't know what you are talking about. Just because a newscast is high-ranked doesn't mean it will not be moved to another timeslot. CBS doesn't care how high rated a newscast is if they want to move then they will do. If the CW does move to KCAL 9 and become an O&O, the primetime news will move to 6-8PM along with 10 & 11PM.

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I have a hard time believing CBS won't keep the CW in existence in the near future (even beyond 2016). Time Warner might pull out (that's a huge if), but the network continues.

You know I do have a hard time trying to think if the CW is worth saving or on is on life support. Remember, in the 1950's DuMont Television Network ceased in 1956 after they lost all of their network presence back then. Also, remember that UPN and WB closed its networks in 2006 in order to make the CW and My Network TV respectively.
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I have a hard time believing CBS won't keep the CW in existence in the near future (even beyond 2016). Time Warner might pull out (that's a huge if), but the network continues.

You know I do have a hard time trying to think if the CW is worth saving or on is on life support. Remember, in the 1950's DuMont Television Network ceased in 1956 after they lost all of their network presence back then. Also, remember that UPN and WB closed its networks in 2006 in order to make the CW and My Network TV respectively.
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You know I do have a hard time trying to think if the CW is worth saving or on is on life support. Remember, in the 1950's DuMont Television Network ceased in 1956 after they lost all of their network presence back then. Also, remember that UPN and WB closed its networks in 2006 in order to make the CW and My Network TV respectively.

UPN and WB merged to make CW.

 

MyNetworkTV, as a News Corp owned product, was/is unrelated to UPN, WB, or CW, except in that many former UPN stations picked up MyNetworkTV to fill the void.

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@jero23- CBS 2 already has a 6 pm newscast and there is no overlap between CBS 2 and KCAL 9 newscasts so that won't happen.

 

We are all speculating on a possible scenario. Just because i have a difference of opinion from you does not mean I do not know what I am talking about.

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I just don't see the CW going to KCAL. UPN didn't go to KCAL when CBS bought it and they had a chance to move it before FOX Stations Group renewed UPN affiliation deals. The newscasts on KCAL is too much of a money maker for CBS. One other place the affilation could go to is independent KDOC 56. Its on all major cable providers even though the station is based in Orange County.

The reason UPN didn't move to KCAL when CBS bought it is not because CBS didn't want to, but rather because FOX threatened to yank other stations it owned that were affiliated with UPN in different markets.

 

And for the record, you are entitled to your opinion, but if you know anything about how this business works, you would know that it is all but certain that if KTLA drops the CW, KCAL will get it and air the shows in traditional time slots.

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You know I do have a hard time trying to think if the CW is worth saving or on is on life support. Remember, in the 1950's DuMont Television Network ceased in 1956 after they lost all of their network presence back then. Also, remember that UPN and WB closed its networks in 2006 in order to make the CW and My Network TV respectively.

DuMont failed because Paramount was a minority owner of the network. Which wouldn't be an issue if it weren't for the fact the FCC claimed what is now WBBM-TV and KTLA as de facto O&Os (even though neither station carried a single DuMont program) and as such, they couldn't buy any other stations beyond WABD, WDTV and WTTG. They nearly merged with ABC in 1955 (who already merged with Paramount's court-divested theatre chain) but Paramount held their foot down and killed the merger.

 

Fox only created MyTV because the WB/UPN merger was lopsided in CBS and Tribune's favor. None of Fox's UPN affils were chosen as CW affils. That omission was obvious and pre-planned, likely from the point Fox bought the Chris-Craft station group. MyTV only served to provide a programming service to spurned UPN or WB affils, and so far has mollified any positive effects the UPN/WB merger might have had (it could even be argued that My and the CW are worse off than UPN and the WB ever were.)

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The WB and UPN only ever existed for two reasons: the abolition of fin-syn laws, and the rise of the Fox network (though Fox was able to get around fin-syn laws by programming just under the number of hours to be legally considered a network). Neither of them were supported by their owners the way Fox had been (I heard that Paramount Television mostly offered UPN pilots that were rejected by other networks), and both of them suffered from a problem that was passed down to both The CW and MyNetworkTV: competition with not only the Big Four, but an ever-growing array of cable channels, video games, and the Internet.

 

MyNetworkTV was a joke from the beginning, and by the time it and The CW came along, people seemed to be over the notion of a fifth major network.

 

And can you really blame The CW for leaving out the Fox-owned UPN stations? What Fox did there was pretty much the business equivalent of beating up the kid in the wheelchair.

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@jero23- CBS 2 already has a 6 pm newscast and there is no overlap between CBS 2 and KCAL 9 newscasts so that won't happen.

 

We are all speculating on a possible scenario. Just because i have a difference of opinion from you does not mean I do not know what I am talking about.

Oh well, that doesn't stop an hour-long slot from 7-8PM then. Our difference of opinion is based on the fact that the CW isn't going to migrate to some other station in the LA market when CBS owns KCAL. It is obvious that CBS will move the CW to its O&Os before it deal with another 3rd party.

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I think the reason Viacom even bought it was so they could yank UPN from KCOP...

Young Broadcasting put KCAL on the market so Young could justify their $800M purchase of KRON (which was foolish well before Young told NBC to take a hike). It was an easy pickup for Viacom.

 

Any thought that CBS would move UPN onto KCAL was countered by Fox threatening to yank UPN affils off of all the Chris-Craft stations. Since then, KCAL has evolved into serving as a brand extension for CBS2 News and has never needed a network affiliation.

 

If - and I say, IF - KCAL somehow becomes the CW affiliate in 2016, I wouldn't be shocked to see them invoke "early prime" and run the CW network programming either from 7-9 or 6-8, leaving for the most part their prime-time newscast schedule unchanged. They will do all they can to keep that VERY valuable block of news as intact as humanly possible.

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Young Broadcasting put KCAL on the market so Young could justify their $800M purchase of KRON (which was foolish well before Young told NBC to take a hike). It was an easy pickup for Viacom.

 

Any thought that CBS would move UPN onto KCAL was countered by Fox threatening to yank UPN affils off of all the Chris-Craft stations. Since then, KCAL has evolved into serving as a brand extension for CBS2 News and has never needed a network affiliation.

 

If - and I say, IF - KCAL somehow becomes the CW affiliate in 2016, I wouldn't be shocked to see them invoke "early prime" and run the CW network programming either from 7-9 or 6-8, leaving for the most part their prime-time newscast schedule unchanged. They will do all they can to keep that VERY valuable block of news as intact as humanly possible.

Here's a thing that some of you are forgetting or neglecting...CBS could always move the KCAL primetime newscasts to the planned CBS Plus channel, if and when they ever launch it here in L.A.

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Rumored CBS - Time Warner merger.

 

If that comes to pass, The CW isn't going anywhere.

It's been rumored for a good minute. I don't think its going to happen. Should it does occur, the company would have two big premium networks, HBO (TW) & Showtime (CBS). I don't think its going to fly.

Sony is mulling a spinoff of Sony Pictures Entertainment... and CBS wants that.

 

Which would reunite CBS with TriStar (it had one third of the studio along with Columbia Pictures and Time, Inc. upon its' 1983 founding) and, if Sony includes Sony Music, the former CBS Records (and CBS would probably relish the thought of rectifying one of Laurence Tisch's biggest mistakes).

 

That I could see as more believable, as Sony doesn't have cable channels to cause overlap with CBS's Showtime, and a CBS/Columbia would be effectively autonomous from Viacom/Paramount.

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It's been rumored for a good minute. I don't think its going to happen. Should it does occur, the company would have two big premium networks, HBO (TW) & Showtime (CBS). I don't think its going to fly.

They would probably just sell one of those off. Last I checked, HBO had more subscribers and a more valuable brand, so Showtime would be the likeliest to be divested.

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Sony is mulling a spinoff of Sony Pictures Entertainment... and CBS wants that.

 

Which would reunite CBS with TriStar (it had one third of the studio along with Columbia Pictures and Time, Inc. upon its' 1983 founding) and, if Sony includes Sony Music, the former CBS Records (and CBS would probably relish the thought of rectifying one of Laurence Tisch's biggest mistakes).

 

That I could see as more believable, as Sony doesn't have cable channels to cause overlap with CBS's Showtime, and a CBS/Columbia would be effectively autonomous from Viacom/Paramount.

Well in the old days, CBS used to be known as the Columbia Broadcasting System. But if it does happen, with TW and/or Sony, it would take eons to get approved. Anti-Trust, FTC, FCC and several other regulatory approvals. That alone would be a huge pill to swallow.

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Well in the old days' date=' CBS used to be known as the [b']C[/b]olumbia Broadcasting System. But if it does happen, with TW and/or Sony, it would take eons to get approved. Anti-Trust, FTC, FCC and several other regulatory approvals. That alone would be a huge pill to swallow.

Maybe, but you saw how quickly the FCC has turned around on the Capital-Fox deal and how relatively quick the Fisher-SBG deal has gone through.

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