Having lost the new CW Network to current Cleveland market WB affiliate WBNX/55, UPN affiliate WUAB/43 has decided to go with the OTHER “new network” to start this fall.
As part of a deal involving two other Raycom Media stations, Broadcasting & Cable magazine reports that WUAB will indeed air the FOX/NewsCorp-owned “My Network TV” starting in September. Other Raycom stations going with “My” include WBXH/Baton Rouge LA, and KFVE/Honolulu HI. The latter is rather significant, as KFVE is a popular VHF (Channel 5) general entertainment WB affiliate station. UPN in Hawaii currently airs out of pattern early afternoons on a station that otherwise airs Japanese and other non-English programming.
Like Sinclair’s David Smith, Raycom CEO Paul McTear praised the My Network TV “business and programming model”. That first part is TV station group code for “unlike CW, they’re not asking us to pay for it!” McTear also praised the track record of NewsCorp and its FOX TV network, now the nation’s fourth major broadcast network.
The move also means Youngstown market viewers, and many outside Cleveland, should be able to watch “My Network TV” on cable. WUAB enjoys wide cable coverage in Youngstown and surrounding areas as the defacto UPN affiliate for most of Youngstown’s TV audience.
Speak Your Mind