The WB Television Network
Encyclopedia
The WB Television Network (commonly shortened to simply The WB) is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros.
and Tribune Broadcasting
. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation
and Warner Bros. Entertainment announced plans to shut down the channel and launch The CW Television Network
later that same year. WB Television Network shut down on September 17, 2006, and merged with UPN
(which had shut down two days earlier).
The WB Television Network was re-launched as an online network on April 28, 2008 by Warner Bros. The new website allows users to watch shows of the former TV network. The website can only be accessed within the United States.
, the WB Television Network was a reaction primarily to new FCC
deregulation of media ownership rules that repealed fin-syn, and partly to the success of the upstart Fox
and first-run syndicated programming during the late 1980s and early 1990s such as Baywatch
, Star Trek: The Next Generation
and War of the Worlds
, as well as the erosion in ratings
suffered by independent television stations due to the growth of cable television and movie rentals. The network can also trace its beginnings to the Prime Time Entertainment Network
, a joint venture between Warner Bros. and the Chris-Craft Industries
group of stations.
On November 2, 1993 the Warner Bros. Entertainment division of Time Warner
announced the formation of the WB Television Network with Tribune Company holding a minority interest; as such, Tribune signed an agreement with the network to affiliate with the majority of Tribune Broadcasting
's television stations, which at the time consisted largely of independent stations. The WB originally was slated to launch with two nights of primetime programming in the first year, with two additional nights of primetime, a late primetime half-hour strip, 4½ hours of weekday daytime programming and a four-hour Saturday morning children's lineup in the second year; by the third year, a fifth night of primetime and 1½ hours of weekday programming outside of primetime would have been added, followed by an additional hour of primetime and 1½ hours on weekday afternoons by year four, and a seventh night of primetime in the fifth year of operation. However, the plan was scaled back dramatically, particularly as only one night of primetime programming debuted as the network launched; and by September 1995, The WB added only one additional night (Sundays), plus a three-hour Saturday morning and one-hour weekday morning children's block.
The Tribune stations (which included the television group's flagship station WGN-TV
in Chicago
, as well as WPIX
in New York City and KTLA
in Los Angeles) became de facto owned-and-operated stations of the network through Tribune's minority interest in the network. Warner Bros. Entertainment appointed many former Fox network executives to run the network, including the network's original chief executive Jamie Kellner
, who served as president of Fox from 1986 to 1993; and president of programming Garth Ancier
, who was the programming chief of Fox from 1986 to 1989.
appeared on-air as the network's official mascot, and would remain in the network's branding in one form or another until 2005. The WB's schedule was similar to Fox's when it launched, as it started with one night a week of programming (essentially rendering its affiliates as largely being independent stations initially) and then gradually added additional nights of programming over the course of several seasons: the network started with a two-hour Wednesday night lineup of sitcoms, airing from 8–10 p.m. ET. The network's first programs were mostly sitcoms targeted at an ethnically black audience. Even though four of the five shows shown in the netlet's first nine months (The Wayans Bros.
, The Parent 'Hood
, Sister, Sister
(picked up after being cancelled by ABC
), and Unhappily Ever After
) were renewed beyond the first year, none of them made a significant impact.
From 1995 to 1999, the network received additional national cable distribution through Chicago
-based superstation
WGN-TV, whose local Chicago-area feed
served as a charter affiliate of WB, in order to give the network time to find affiliates in markets where the network was unable to find a station to carry the network at launch. The decision to have WGN's superstation feed act as a de facto affiliate of the WB Television Network to markets that did not have an affiliate was made one month after the announcement of the network's launch on December 3, 1993.
The WB Television Network began programming on Sunday nights in the 1995–1996 season, but none of the new shows (including the Kirk Cameron
vehicle Kirk
and night-time soap opera Savannah
) managed to garner much viewing interest. Still, the network continued to expand in the 1996–1997 season, adding programming on Monday nights. This season gave The WB modest hits in the family drama 7th Heaven
and comedies The Steve Harvey Show
and The Jamie Foxx Show
.
The network also added the Kids' WB
programming block in 1995, which mixed Warner Brothers' biggest hit animated shows (Tiny Toon Adventures
, Animaniacs
, and later Batman: The Animated Series
, all of which originated either on Fox Kids
or in syndication), with new productions and original shows (such as Freakazoid!
, Histeria!
, Superman: The Animated Series
, Road Rovers
, "Pokemon
", and Batman Beyond
).
Inspired by Buffy' s success, The WB intentionally shifted the focus of its programming, trying to capture what it perceived to be a heavily fragmented market by marketing to the under-courted teen demographic. While the Fox network, the previous destination for teen television (with shows such as Beverly Hills, 90210
and Parker Lewis Can't Lose
), began to court older audiences with shows such as Ally McBeal
, The WB began to craft its identity with teen-targeted programs. The network's breakout hit and, arguably, its signature series was Dawson's Creek
, which debuted in January 1998 to what were then the highest ratings in the network's history. It quickly became the highest rated show on television among teenage girls, and the most popular show on the network. The popularity of the show helped boost other network shows, such as Buffy, which served as its lead-in on the network's new night of programming also launched in January 1998, known as "New Tuesday," and 7th Heaven
, which enjoyed a massive 81% increase in viewership that season.
With three hit shows in its roster, the WB Television Network continued to build its teen fanbase the following season with college drama Felicity and the wicca-themed Charmed
, both of which set new records for the network when they premiered with 7.1 and 7.7 million viewers, respectively. Charmed
had the highest-rated premiere on the network until Smallville
broke its record, debuting to 8.4 million viewers in October 2001. The network also expanded to air original programming on Thursday nights. That season, 7th Heaven
garnered The WB the highest ratings it would ever see. The episode airing February 8, 1999 attracted 12.5 million viewers. That season also saw 7th Heaven overtake Dawson's Creek as the network's highest rated show.
In the 1999–2000 season, the network expanded once again, adding Friday night programming. New shows that season included Roswell
, Popular
, and Angel
(a spin-off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer), which premiered with 7.5 million viewers, the second highest premiere for the net at the time. During this season, The WB was the only network to have gains in its audience and each key demographic.
As the teen boom of the late 1990s began to wane, the WB Television Network attempted to broaden the scope of its line-up. Although teen fare like Popular and Roswell had premiered to strong ratings, both series saw serious ratings erosion in their sophomore seasons, leading the network to cancel both (Roswell, like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, would end up being revived by rival network UPN
). Meanwhile, even though ratings for 7th Heaven, Buffy, and Charmed remained consistent, viewership for flagship series such as Felicity and Dawson's Creek began sagging. The network realized that it could no longer rely merely on the tastes of young teenage girls, and thus began moving into more family-friendly fare, attempting to launch a successful sitcom, and generally targeting a more diverse audience.
The move came as during the 1999–2000 season, The WB dropped to sixth place in the ratings behind UPN, losing 19% of its household audience; network executives attributed the ratings decline in large part due to WGN-TV's decision to remove WB network programming from its national superstation feed after deciding the network's national distribution was large enough that broadcasting its programming outside of Chicago was no longer necessary, reducing The WB's potential household audience by 10 million homes (WGN-TV continued to carry WB programming over-the-air in the Chicago market and on northeastern Illinois cable providers until the network shut down in 2006). Despite the slight downturn in the network's fortunes, there were a few bright spots during the era. Gilmore Girls
, which debuted in 2000, netted meager ratings when it debuted in a tough Thursday time-slot, but subsequently grew into one the network's most successful shows after moving in 2001 to its Tuesday time-slot where it remained for seven seasons. Also in the fall of 2000, the sitcom Sabrina the Teenage Witch moved to The WB's Friday night schedule from ABC
. The show continued on The WB for three more seasons before ending in 2003.
In 2001, Smallville
(inspired by Superman
) debuted with 8.4 million viewers, the highest premiere in the history of the network; the latter show was also important because it was one of the few shows that drew a substantial male viewership. 2001 also saw the launch of the Reba McEntire
vehicle Reba
, arguably the network's most successful comedic series. Other series to gain attention during this time period were the family series Everwood
, and the short-lived but critically acclaimed soap satire Grosse Pointe
.
Also in 2001, Time Warner moved the WB Television Network to its Turner Broadcasting System
division from Warner Bros. Entertainment from 2001 until 2003, when The WB was reassigned back to the Warner Bros. unit.
, as the network's iconic emblem. David Janollari, The WB's President of Entertainment, explained in July 2005 at the network's summer 2005 press tour that "[Michigan] was a symbol that perpetuated the young-teen feel of the network. That's not the image we [now] want to put to our audience."
Still, the move did not seem to help the network. The period from 2003 to 2005 produced only three viable new series, One Tree Hill
, Beauty and the Geek
, and Supernatural
(all of which have since moved to successor network The CW), and even still their ratings paled in comparison to the ratings peaks of Dawson's Creek, which had signed off in 2003. Ratings dropped for shows like Angel
(which was canceled in 2004), and the network failed to launch new hit shows to take their places.
Although The WB's well-known inability to launch successful comedy series was nothing new (Reba
being the sole exception), this period saw the network struggling to establish new dramas as well. High-profile failures included Birds of Prey
(inspired by the Batman
mythos which premiered with an impressive 8 share), Tarzan, Jack & Bobby
, The Mountain
, Jerry Bruckheimer
's Just Legal
, Marta Kauffman
's Related, and the Rebecca Romijn
vehicle Pepper Dennis
.
During the 2004–05 season, the WB Television Network finished behind rival UPN
for the first time in several years, and fell even further behind in the fall of 2005. Both networks fell behind the Spanish language network Univision
in the overall 18–34 demographic.
It was estimated in 2005 that The WB was viewable by 91.66% of all households, reaching 90,282,480 houses in the United States; the network was carried by 177 VHF
and UHF
stations in the U.S., counting both owned and operated and affiliated stations (the owned and operated stations were not actually operated by Warner Bros. or Time Warner
; instead, Tribune owned and operated these stations, thus its stake in the network). The network could also be seen in smaller markets on cable
-only stations, many of these through The WB 100+ Station Group
– available to TV markets below the number 100 in viewership as determined by Nielsen in a packaged format, with a master schedule; the addition of local advertisements and news were at the discretion of the local distributor, often a local television station or cable television provider.
and Warner Bros. Entertainment
announced plans to shut down both UPN and The WB and launch a new network, The CW
in their place. Over the next nine months, it was to be seen which shows from the two networks would cross over to the new CW, as well as which stations across the country would become future affiliates of the new network.
In the end, 7th Heaven
, Beauty and the Geek
, Gilmore Girls
, One Tree Hill
, Reba
, Smallville
, and Supernatural
were chosen to move from The WB to the new CW's Fall 2006 schedule. 7th Heaven and Reba were originally canceled after the 2005–06 season, but were ultimately renewed at the last minute with 13-episode deals (the former show was later given a full-season order, while the latter served as a midseason replacement and, in spite of becoming The CW's highest-rated comedy of the 2006–07 season, ended rather abruptly).
Starting on August 14, 2006 with the Daytime WB
block, the WB 'bug
' was removed from the lower right corner of the TV screen and was replaced with a countdown of days until The CW launched. Some stations which converted to MyNetworkTV
or became independent stations received a logo-free feed of the network, while others took the main feed and overlaid their local logo bug over the CW logo.
The WB Television Network closed on Sunday, September 17, 2006 with The Night of Favorites and Farewells
, a five-hour block of pilot episodes of their past signature series. Commercial breaks featured reairings of past image campaigns and network promotions. This plan involved promo spots given to the cable networks carrying these shows in off-network syndication, along with ads for each series' TV-on-DVD box set.
The final montage was aired after an old WB promo from the past. Each montage was at least 30 seconds long, while the final montage was about one minute. The montage contained images of actors and actresses that appeared in series aired on The WB over the eleven year run of the network, ending with the words "For 11 years, you brought us into our homes, we made you smile, and tugged at your heart, and now, we say goodbye from all of us at WB. Thank you." The final image was a silhouette of the former WB mascot Michigan J. Frog
. At the end of the montage, he was shown taking his hat off and bowing thanking the audience for watching for 11 years and bringing the network to a close. Michigan J. Frog
was shown as a silhouette because he retired as the network's mascot about two years earlier.
After its closure, the network's URLs were redirected to The CW's website. As of March 30, 2008, they redirected to the Warner Bros. Studios homepage. As of April 28, 2008, they now redirect to the Beta.TheWB.com website.
The final night of WB programming netted relatively low ratings
. The network scored a 1.0 household rating (1% of total households in the US) and a share of 2, meaning just 2% of viewers were tuned in to WB on its final night. This may mostly be due to certain areas whose The WB affiliates became MyNetworkTV
affiliates, leaving The WB's final two weeks of programming unavailable in those areas.
, Smallville
, Everwood
, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dawson's Creek
, One Tree Hill
, Roswell
and What I Like About You
.
Warner Bros. also introduced original serialized web-content produced by such television heavyweight producers as Josh Schwartz
and McG
for the website when it was launched on August 2008, including original series such as Sorority Forever
, Pushed, Rockville, CA, The Lake and Childrens Hospital
. Many other well-known Warner Bros.-produced series that did not air on the WB Television Network, including Friends
and The O.C.
are also available. However, the site does not contain episodes of Charmed
or Felicity, which were two of WB's most popular shows, as Charmed is owned by CBS Television Distribution
and Felicity is owned by Disney-ABC Domestic Television.
The site—which models that of Hulu
—is ad-supported and geared primarily to women ages 15–39. In addition to older full-length series, the site features new short series and vignettes. Each of these episode runs 5 minutes, with 10 installments planned. Comcast
offers over 1,000 episodes from the Warner Bros. Television
library on its video on demand
service.
TheWB.com made its official launch on August 27, 2008. While Warner, a division of Time Warner, has not promoted the site in any multimedia ads, it is drawing about 250,000 unique viewers a month, said MindShare’s Mr. Chapman, who has been tracking the site. Some of its original material is being offered on partner sites such as MySpace and Facebook. Data compiled by comScore Video Metrix shows that 62 percent of current visitors to the site are female.
An original series, Sorority Forever, from McG
, had its premiere on the site on September 8, 2008. It has recorded more than 7.3 million video views since then from The WB site and partner sites. An original reality series, Rich Girl, Poor Girl from Gary Auerbach, the executive producer of Laguna Beach
and Newport Harbor
, in which two teenagers from different economic and social backgrounds swap lives (similar to Wife Swap
), has ranked among the top 100 programs in the teenage category on iTunes
since its October 20, 2008 debut.
, not a traditional TV advertiser, sponsored Sorority Forever and had some of its clothing worn by characters in the series. Unilever
’s Axe brand has sponsored Children's’ Hospital. ”If an advertiser has an interest in a series we have in production, we can work in their products or even adjust our launch dates if they want to tie it in to a special promotion,” said Craig Erwich, executive vice president, Warner Horizon Television
, who oversees TheWB.com.
programming block, following its launch, which mixed Warners' biggest hit shows (Tiny Toon Adventures
, Animaniacs
, and later Batman: The Animated Series
, all of which originated either on, Fox Kids
or in syndication) with new productions and original shows.
After the Turner
–Time Warner
merger in 1996, Kids' WB formed an alliance with Cartoon Network
, and over time, they shared more and more programming.
in the Kids' WB blocks, which they acquired from syndication (TV Tokyo
) earlier that year and became a widespread pop culture phenomenon. WB also acquired the English-language version of the second series Yu-Gi-Oh!, also sharing the phenomenon that Pokémon experienced.
's The Nightmare Room
in 2001, though it didn't make it past a season. They also aired a live-action movie known as Zolar, as well as the JammX Kids All-Star Dance Specials.
As Kids' WB
shared more and more of its programming with Cartoon Network
, because of the 1996 Turner
-Time Warner
merger and the fact that Cartoon Network was outrating Fox Kids
, airing Kids' WB became financially unattractive as broadcast stations started showing only live-action talk shows and sitcom reruns in the afternoon to compete and go after a different audience, figuring children had all moved to watching cable networks in the afternoons.
On May 31, 2005, WB announced the discontinuation of the weekday Kids' WB block as of December 30, 2005. Kids' WB continued to air weekdays after this, but with redundant programming and theme weeks until January, and more promotion of Cartoon Network's afternoon Miguzi block and Kids' WB Saturday during the transition. After Daytime WB started, Kids' WB Saturday morning lineup was expanded by one hour.
The block continued on The CW
, which replaced WB in their merger with UPN
beginning September 18, 2006 as Kids' WB. It has been unofficially dubbed The CW Daytime
, however, on-air promos for the block (which are quite rare) do not give it an actual name.
s nearby. The call signs were minimized to the smallest FCC-approved size by the end of the decade.
in New York and KPLR-TV
in St. Louis
were both referred to as "WB11". Fox originated such naming schemes, and CBS uses the CBS Mandate on most of their O&O
stations. NBC and ABC utilize similar, but less extreme, naming schemes. While Fox and UPN mandated their respective naming schemes on all stations, WB did not.
in Chicago
(on the local feed only as the superstation feed stopped carrying WB programming feed in 1999) used the name "WGN 9 Chicago" in its ID with the WB logo within the right curve of the station's "9 as an upside-down G" logo at the network's start, and next to a boxed "9" after the station's image revamp in 2002. Most of Tribune's WB affiliates only used the network logo in their station's logo or use "The WB" name after the calls. An example was Los Angeles affiliate KTLA
, whose station ID was "KTLA, The WB".
in Boston was called "Boston's WB," KDAF
in the Dallas / Fort Worth area of Texas was called "Dallas/Ft. Worth's WB" and WDCW
(former WBDC) in Washington, D.C. was called "Washington's WB." Some stations which followed this scheme used a regional name instead of a specific city, such as "Capital Region's WB" for WCWN
in Albany
, New York (formerly WEWB), or "Hawaii's WB" for KFVE
in Honolulu, Hawaii and "East Tennessee's WB" for WBXX-TV
in Knoxville
, Tennessee while others incorporated the channel number, such as WPHL-TV
in Philadelphia ("Philadelphia's WB17"), or Mobile
, Alabama's WBPG (now WFNA; "The Gulf Coast's WB55"). Many WB 100+
stations also followed either one of these variations on "The City/Region's WB" scheme.
We Stand Out on the WB was a slogan the network used from its 1996–1997 season.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
and Tribune Broadcasting
Tribune Broadcasting
The Tribune Broadcasting Company is a group of radio and television stations located throughout the United States which are owned and operated by the Tribune Company, a media conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois and named for the flagship Chicago Tribune newspaper.- History :Tribune Broadcasting...
. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on commercial broadcasting, publishing, billboards and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's...
and Warner Bros. Entertainment announced plans to shut down the channel and launch The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
later that same year. WB Television Network shut down on September 17, 2006, and merged with UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
(which had shut down two days earlier).
The WB Television Network was re-launched as an online network on April 28, 2008 by Warner Bros. The new website allows users to watch shows of the former TV network. The website can only be accessed within the United States.
Origins (1986–1995)
Much like its competitor UPNUPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
, the WB Television Network was a reaction primarily to new FCC
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
deregulation of media ownership rules that repealed fin-syn, and partly to the success of the upstart Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
and first-run syndicated programming during the late 1980s and early 1990s such as Baywatch
Baywatch
Baywatch is an American action drama series about the Los Angeles County Lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, starring David Hasselhoff. The show ran in its original title and format from 1989 to 1999, sans the 1990-1991 season, of which it was not in production...
, Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
and War of the Worlds
War of the Worlds (TV series)
War of the Worlds is a television program that ran for two seasons, from 1988 to 1990. The series is an extension of the original 1953 film The War of the Worlds, using the same War Machine, often incorporating aspects from the film, radio adaptation, and original novel into its mythology.Though...
, as well as the erosion in ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
suffered by independent television stations due to the growth of cable television and movie rentals. The network can also trace its beginnings to the Prime Time Entertainment Network
Prime Time Entertainment Network
The Prime Time Entertainment Network was a United States television network launched in 1993 by the Prime Time Consortium, a joint venture between Warner Bros. Domestic Television and the Chris-Craft group of independent stations...
, a joint venture between Warner Bros. and the Chris-Craft Industries
Chris-Craft Industries
Chris-Craft Industries, Inc., formerly National Automotive Fibers, Inc., was a publicly-held American corporation traded on the New York and Pacific Stock Exchanges. It later took on the name of one of its acquisitions, Chris-Craft Boats...
group of stations.
On November 2, 1993 the Warner Bros. Entertainment division of Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
announced the formation of the WB Television Network with Tribune Company holding a minority interest; as such, Tribune signed an agreement with the network to affiliate with the majority of Tribune Broadcasting
Tribune Broadcasting
The Tribune Broadcasting Company is a group of radio and television stations located throughout the United States which are owned and operated by the Tribune Company, a media conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois and named for the flagship Chicago Tribune newspaper.- History :Tribune Broadcasting...
's television stations, which at the time consisted largely of independent stations. The WB originally was slated to launch with two nights of primetime programming in the first year, with two additional nights of primetime, a late primetime half-hour strip, 4½ hours of weekday daytime programming and a four-hour Saturday morning children's lineup in the second year; by the third year, a fifth night of primetime and 1½ hours of weekday programming outside of primetime would have been added, followed by an additional hour of primetime and 1½ hours on weekday afternoons by year four, and a seventh night of primetime in the fifth year of operation. However, the plan was scaled back dramatically, particularly as only one night of primetime programming debuted as the network launched; and by September 1995, The WB added only one additional night (Sundays), plus a three-hour Saturday morning and one-hour weekday morning children's block.
The Tribune stations (which included the television group's flagship station WGN-TV
WGN-TV
WGN-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the CW-affiliated television station in Chicago, Illinois built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WGN-TV's studios and offices are located at 2501 W...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, as well as WPIX
WPIX
WPIX, channel 11, is a television station in New York City built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WPIX also serves as the flagship station of The CW Television Network...
in New York City and KTLA
KTLA
KTLA, virtual channel 5, is a television station in Los Angeles, California, USA. Owned by the Tribune Company, KTLA is an affiliate of the CW Television Network. KTLA's studios are on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson...
in Los Angeles) became de facto owned-and-operated stations of the network through Tribune's minority interest in the network. Warner Bros. Entertainment appointed many former Fox network executives to run the network, including the network's original chief executive Jamie Kellner
Jamie Kellner
Jamie Kellner is an American television executive. He was chairman and chief executive officer of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a division of Time Warner which includes TBS, TNT, and Cartoon Network. Kellner took over the post in 2001 and handed over the company to Philip Kent in 2003...
, who served as president of Fox from 1986 to 1993; and president of programming Garth Ancier
Garth Ancier
Garth Ancier is a media executive best known for being one of only two people to have programmed three of the five US broadcast television networks .He is the former President of BBC Worldwide America and...
, who was the programming chief of Fox from 1986 to 1989.
1995–97: Beginnings
The WB Television Network began its life on January 11, 1995. The classic Warner Bros. cartoon character Michigan J. FrogMichigan J. Frog
Michigan J. Frog is an animated cartoon character who debuted in the Looney Tunes cartoon One Froggy Evening , written by Michael Maltese and directed by Chuck Jones...
appeared on-air as the network's official mascot, and would remain in the network's branding in one form or another until 2005. The WB's schedule was similar to Fox's when it launched, as it started with one night a week of programming (essentially rendering its affiliates as largely being independent stations initially) and then gradually added additional nights of programming over the course of several seasons: the network started with a two-hour Wednesday night lineup of sitcoms, airing from 8–10 p.m. ET. The network's first programs were mostly sitcoms targeted at an ethnically black audience. Even though four of the five shows shown in the netlet's first nine months (The Wayans Bros.
The Wayans Bros.
The Wayans Bros. is a situation comedy that aired from 1995 to 1999 on The WB. The series starred real-life brothers Shawn Wayans and Marlon Wayans. Both brothers were already well-known from the sketch comedy show In Living Color...
, The Parent 'Hood
The Parent 'Hood
The Parent 'Hood is an American sitcom that aired on The WB airing from January 18, 1995 to July 25, 1999. The series starred Robert Townsend and Suzzanne Douglas....
, Sister, Sister
Sister, Sister (TV series)
Sister, Sister is an American television sitcom about identical twin girls Tia Landry and Tamera Campbell , who were separated and adopted at birth, when one day they come face-to-face after 14 years apart....
(picked up after being cancelled by ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
), and Unhappily Ever After
Unhappily Ever After
Unhappily Ever After is an American sitcom that aired for 100 episodes on The WB network from January 11, 1995, to May 23, 1999, for a total of four and a half seasons...
) were renewed beyond the first year, none of them made a significant impact.
From 1995 to 1999, the network received additional national cable distribution through Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
-based superstation
Superstation
Superstation in United States television can have several meanings. In its most precise meaning, a superstation is defined by the Federal Communications Commission as "A television broadcast station, other than a network station, licensed by the FCC that is secondarily transmitted by a satellite...
WGN-TV, whose local Chicago-area feed
WGN-TV
WGN-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the CW-affiliated television station in Chicago, Illinois built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WGN-TV's studios and offices are located at 2501 W...
served as a charter affiliate of WB, in order to give the network time to find affiliates in markets where the network was unable to find a station to carry the network at launch. The decision to have WGN's superstation feed act as a de facto affiliate of the WB Television Network to markets that did not have an affiliate was made one month after the announcement of the network's launch on December 3, 1993.
The WB Television Network began programming on Sunday nights in the 1995–1996 season, but none of the new shows (including the Kirk Cameron
Kirk Cameron
Kirk Thomas Cameron is an American actor best known for his role as Mike Seaver on the television situation comedy Growing Pains , as well as several other television and film appearances as a child actor...
vehicle Kirk
Kirk (TV series)
Kirk is an American family sitcom which aired for two seasons on The WB from August 23, 1995 to January 12, 1997.-Synopsis:The show revolves around Kirk Hartman, played by Kirk Cameron, an aspiring illustrator and recent college graduate living in Greenwich Village. After his aunt decides to move...
and night-time soap opera Savannah
Savannah (TV series)
Savannah is an American prime time television drama that ran from January 21, 1996 to February 24, 1997 on The WB. It was created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling.-Plot:...
) managed to garner much viewing interest. Still, the network continued to expand in the 1996–1997 season, adding programming on Monday nights. This season gave The WB modest hits in the family drama 7th Heaven
7th Heaven
7th Heaven is an American family drama television series, created and produced by Brenda Hampton. The series premiered on August 26, 1996, on the WB, the first time that the network aired Monday night programming, and was originally broadcast from August 26, 1996 to May 13, 2007...
and comedies The Steve Harvey Show
The Steve Harvey Show
The Steve Harvey Show is an American sitcom that aired for six seasons from August 25, 1996 to February 17, 2002 on The WB Television Network. It was created by Winifred Hervey and directed by Stan Lathan.-Synopsis:...
and The Jamie Foxx Show
The Jamie Foxx Show
The Jamie Foxx Show is an American television sitcom that aired on the WB Network from August 28, 1996 to January 14, 2001. The series starred Jamie Foxx, Garcelle Beauvais, Christopher B. Duncan, Ellia English, and Garrett Morris.-Synopsis:...
.
The network also added the Kids' WB
Kids' WB
Kids' WB! was Warner Bros. American childrens programing division brand for The WB Television Network. In September 2006, the block moved to The CW Television Network. The CW is the result of The WB's merger with UPN in 2006...
programming block in 1995, which mixed Warner Brothers' biggest hit animated shows (Tiny Toon Adventures
Tiny Toon Adventures
Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures, usually referred to as Tiny Toon Adventures or simply Tiny Toons, is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. It began production as a result of Warner Bros....
, Animaniacs
Animaniacs
Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as simply Animaniacs, is an American animated series, distributed by Warner Bros. Television and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. The cartoon was the second animated series produced by the collaboration of Steven...
, and later Batman: The Animated Series
Batman: The Animated Series
Batman: The Animated Series is an American animated series based on the DC Comics character Batman. The series featured an ensemble cast of many voice-actors including Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Arleen Sorkin, and Loren Lester. The series won four Emmy Awards and was nominated...
, all of which originated either on Fox Kids
Fox Kids
Fox Kids was the Fox Broadcasting Company's American children's programming division and brand name from September 8, 1990 until September 7, 2002. It was owned by Fox Television Entertainment airing programming on Monday–Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings.Depending on the show, the...
or in syndication), with new productions and original shows (such as Freakazoid!
Freakazoid!
Freakazoid! is an American animated television series created by Steven Spielberg, Bruce Timm, and Paul Dini for the Kids' WB programming block of The WB. The series chronicles the adventures of the title character, Freakazoid, a manic, insane superhero who battles with an array of super villains....
, Histeria!
Histeria!
Histeria! is a 1998 American animated series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. Unlike other animated series produced by Warner Bros. in the 1990s, Histeria! stood out as the most explicit edutainment program in order to meet FCC requirements for...
, Superman: The Animated Series
Superman: The Animated Series
Superman: The Animated Series is an American animated television series starring DC Comics' flagship character, Superman. The series was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on The WB from September 6, 1996 to February 12, 2000. Warner Bros...
, Road Rovers
Road Rovers
Road Rovers is an American 2D animated television series written and produced by Warner Bros. Animation that premiered on Kids' WB on September 7, 1996. It lasted one season and ended on February 22, 1997. Reruns continued to air until September 6, 1997. It was then on Cartoon Network from February...
, "Pokemon
Pokémon
is a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
", and Batman Beyond
Batman Beyond
Batman Beyond is an American animated television series created by Warner Bros. Animation in collaboration with DC Comics as a continuation of the Batman legacy...
).
1997–2000: Courting the teen market
The WB Television Network first began to experience success with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which became a hit with critics when it appeared as a mid-season replacement in March 1997. It debuted with the highest Monday night ratings in the network's history, attracting not only new teenage viewers, but new advertisers as well.Inspired by Buffy
Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210 is an American drama series that originally aired from October 4, 1990 to May 17, 2000 on Fox and was produced by Spelling Television in the United States, and subsequently on various networks around the world. It is the first series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise...
and Parker Lewis Can't Lose
Parker Lewis Can't Lose
Parker Lewis Can't Lose is an American teen sitcom that originally aired on FOX from September 1990 to June 1993. During the last season, the series sported the simpler title Parker Lewis. The series was produced by Columbia Pictures Television and was strongly influenced by the feature film Ferris...
), began to court older audiences with shows such as Ally McBeal
Ally McBeal
Ally McBeal is an American legal comedy-drama series which aired on the Fox network from 1997 to 2002. The series was created by David E. Kelley, who also served as the executive producer, along with Bill D'Elia...
, The WB began to craft its identity with teen-targeted programs. The network's breakout hit and, arguably, its signature series was Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek is an American teen drama television series which debuted on January 20, 1998, on The WB Television Network and was produced by Sony Pictures Television. The show is set in the fictional seaside town of Capeside, Massachusetts, and in Boston, Massachusetts, during the later seasons...
, which debuted in January 1998 to what were then the highest ratings in the network's history. It quickly became the highest rated show on television among teenage girls, and the most popular show on the network. The popularity of the show helped boost other network shows, such as Buffy, which served as its lead-in on the network's new night of programming also launched in January 1998, known as "New Tuesday," and 7th Heaven
7th Heaven
7th Heaven is an American family drama television series, created and produced by Brenda Hampton. The series premiered on August 26, 1996, on the WB, the first time that the network aired Monday night programming, and was originally broadcast from August 26, 1996 to May 13, 2007...
, which enjoyed a massive 81% increase in viewership that season.
With three hit shows in its roster, the WB Television Network continued to build its teen fanbase the following season with college drama Felicity and the wicca-themed Charmed
Charmed
Charmed is an American television series that originally aired from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006, on the now defunct The WB Television Network. The series was created in 1998 by writer Constance M...
, both of which set new records for the network when they premiered with 7.1 and 7.7 million viewers, respectively. Charmed
Charmed
Charmed is an American television series that originally aired from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006, on the now defunct The WB Television Network. The series was created in 1998 by writer Constance M...
had the highest-rated premiere on the network until Smallville
Smallville
Smallville is the hometown of Superman in comic books published by DC Comics. While growing up in Smallville, the young Clark Kent attended Smallville High with best friends Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan and Pete Ross...
broke its record, debuting to 8.4 million viewers in October 2001. The network also expanded to air original programming on Thursday nights. That season, 7th Heaven
7th Heaven
7th Heaven is an American family drama television series, created and produced by Brenda Hampton. The series premiered on August 26, 1996, on the WB, the first time that the network aired Monday night programming, and was originally broadcast from August 26, 1996 to May 13, 2007...
garnered The WB the highest ratings it would ever see. The episode airing February 8, 1999 attracted 12.5 million viewers. That season also saw 7th Heaven overtake Dawson's Creek as the network's highest rated show.
In the 1999–2000 season, the network expanded once again, adding Friday night programming. New shows that season included Roswell
Roswell (TV series)
Roswell is an American science fiction television series developed, produced, and co-written by Jason Katims. The series debuted on October 6, 1999 on The WB and moved to UPN for the third season. The last episode aired May 14, 2002...
, Popular
Popular (TV series)
Popular is an American teenage comedy-drama on The WB Television Network in the United States, created by Ryan Murphy and Gina Matthews, starring Leslie Bibb and Carly Pope as two teenage girls that reside on polar opposite sides of the popularity spectrum at their high school, but are forced to...
, and Angel
Angel (TV series)
Angel is an American television series, a spin-off of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series was created by Buffys creator, Joss Whedon, in collaboration with David Greenwalt, and first aired on October 5, 1999...
(a spin-off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer), which premiered with 7.5 million viewers, the second highest premiere for the net at the time. During this season, The WB was the only network to have gains in its audience and each key demographic.
2000–03: Broadening the focus
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
). Meanwhile, even though ratings for 7th Heaven, Buffy, and Charmed remained consistent, viewership for flagship series such as Felicity and Dawson's Creek began sagging. The network realized that it could no longer rely merely on the tastes of young teenage girls, and thus began moving into more family-friendly fare, attempting to launch a successful sitcom, and generally targeting a more diverse audience.
The move came as during the 1999–2000 season, The WB dropped to sixth place in the ratings behind UPN, losing 19% of its household audience; network executives attributed the ratings decline in large part due to WGN-TV's decision to remove WB network programming from its national superstation feed after deciding the network's national distribution was large enough that broadcasting its programming outside of Chicago was no longer necessary, reducing The WB's potential household audience by 10 million homes (WGN-TV continued to carry WB programming over-the-air in the Chicago market and on northeastern Illinois cable providers until the network shut down in 2006). Despite the slight downturn in the network's fortunes, there were a few bright spots during the era. Gilmore Girls
Gilmore Girls
Gilmore Girls is an American family comedy-drama series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. On October 5, 2000, the series debuted on The WB and was cancelled in its seventh season, ending on May 15, 2007 on The CW...
, which debuted in 2000, netted meager ratings when it debuted in a tough Thursday time-slot, but subsequently grew into one the network's most successful shows after moving in 2001 to its Tuesday time-slot where it remained for seven seasons. Also in the fall of 2000, the sitcom Sabrina the Teenage Witch moved to The WB's Friday night schedule from ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. The show continued on The WB for three more seasons before ending in 2003.
In 2001, Smallville
Smallville
Smallville is the hometown of Superman in comic books published by DC Comics. While growing up in Smallville, the young Clark Kent attended Smallville High with best friends Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan and Pete Ross...
(inspired by Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
) debuted with 8.4 million viewers, the highest premiere in the history of the network; the latter show was also important because it was one of the few shows that drew a substantial male viewership. 2001 also saw the launch of the Reba McEntire
Reba McEntire
Reba Nell McEntire is an American country music artist and actress. She began her career in the music industry as a high school student singing in the Kiowa High School band , on local radio shows with her siblings, and at rodeos. As a solo act, she was invited to perform at a rodeo in Oklahoma...
vehicle Reba
Reba (TV series)
Reba is an American sitcom starring Reba McEntire, which ran from 2001 to 2007. For the show's first five seasons, it ran on The WB, with the show transitioning to The CW in its last year.-Synopsis:...
, arguably the network's most successful comedic series. Other series to gain attention during this time period were the family series Everwood
Everwood
Everwood is an American drama television series that initially aired in the United States on The WB. The series is set in the fictional small town of Everwood, Colorado, and was filmed in Ogden, South Salt Lake, and Draper, Utah, except the series pilot which was filmed in Canmore, Alberta,...
, and the short-lived but critically acclaimed soap satire Grosse Pointe
Grosse Pointe (TV series)
Grosse Pointe is an American television parody series which aired on the WB Network during the 2000-2001 television season. Created by Darren Star, it was a satire depicting the behind-the-scenes drama on the set of a television show, and was inspired in large part by Star's experiences as the...
.
Turner Broadcasting System
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. is the Time Warner subsidiary managing the collection of cable networks and properties started and acquired by Robert Edward "Ted" Turner starting in the mid-1970s. The company has its headquarters in the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. TBS, Inc...
division from Warner Bros. Entertainment from 2001 until 2003, when The WB was reassigned back to the Warner Bros. unit.
2003–06: Decline
Despite some early success, the network struggled to shift its focus from the female 12–24 demographic to the broader 12–34 range. In 2005, the network abandoned its trademark mascot, Michigan J. FrogMichigan J. Frog
Michigan J. Frog is an animated cartoon character who debuted in the Looney Tunes cartoon One Froggy Evening , written by Michael Maltese and directed by Chuck Jones...
, as the network's iconic emblem. David Janollari, The WB's President of Entertainment, explained in July 2005 at the network's summer 2005 press tour that "[Michigan] was a symbol that perpetuated the young-teen feel of the network. That's not the image we [now] want to put to our audience."
Still, the move did not seem to help the network. The period from 2003 to 2005 produced only three viable new series, One Tree Hill
One Tree Hill (TV series)
One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...
, Beauty and the Geek
Beauty and the Geek
Beauty and the Geek is a reality television series on The CW. It has been advertised as "The Ultimate Social Experiment" and is produced by Ashton Kutcher, Jason Goldberg and Nick Santora....
, and Supernatural
Supernatural (TV series)
Supernatural is an American supernatural and horror television series created by Eric Kripke, which debuted on September 13, 2005 on The WB, and is now part of The CW's lineup. Starring Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester and Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester, the series follows the brothers as they...
(all of which have since moved to successor network The CW), and even still their ratings paled in comparison to the ratings peaks of Dawson's Creek, which had signed off in 2003. Ratings dropped for shows like Angel
Angel (TV series)
Angel is an American television series, a spin-off of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series was created by Buffys creator, Joss Whedon, in collaboration with David Greenwalt, and first aired on October 5, 1999...
(which was canceled in 2004), and the network failed to launch new hit shows to take their places.
Although The WB's well-known inability to launch successful comedy series was nothing new (Reba
Reba (TV series)
Reba is an American sitcom starring Reba McEntire, which ran from 2001 to 2007. For the show's first five seasons, it ran on The WB, with the show transitioning to The CW in its last year.-Synopsis:...
being the sole exception), this period saw the network struggling to establish new dramas as well. High-profile failures included Birds of Prey
Birds of Prey (TV series)
Birds of Prey is a television drama series produced in 2002. The series was developed by Laeta Kalogridis for The WB and is loosely based on the Birds of Prey DC Comics series...
(inspired by the Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
mythos which premiered with an impressive 8 share), Tarzan, Jack & Bobby
Jack & Bobby
Jack & Bobby is an American television series that aired on The WB network. It featured two brothers, one of whom would become President of the United States, serving from 2041 to 2049...
, The Mountain
The Mountain (TV series)
The Mountain is an American television series that was broadcast on the WB Television Network for one season, from 2004 to 2005. The show received very low ratings and was canceled after only thirteen episodes. The theme song, "I Miss You" is sung by blink-182.-Plot:The plot centers on a ski resort...
, Jerry Bruckheimer
Jerry Bruckheimer
Jerome Leon "Jerry" Bruckheimer is an American film and television producer. He has achieved great success in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. His best known television series are CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, Eleventh Hour, Without a Trace, Cold Case, The...
's Just Legal
Just Legal
Just Legal is a television courtroom drama that stars Don Johnson and Jay Baruchel as two courtroom lawyers in Venice, California. The series premiered on The WB on September 19, 2005 and was canceled on October 3, 2005 after only three episodes had been aired. Almost a year later The WB decided...
, Marta Kauffman
Marta Kauffman
Marta Kauffman is an American writer and TV producer, best known as the co-creator of the popular sitcom Friends, alongside David Crane. Both Crane and Kauffman were also executive producer of the show, along with Kevin Bright. Crane and Kauffman have also produced Veronica's Closet, starring...
's Related, and the Rebecca Romijn
Rebecca Romijn
Rebecca Alie Romijn is an American actress and former fashion model. She is best known for her role as Mystique in the X-Men films, and for her recurring role as Alexis Meade on the television series Ugly Betty.-Early life:...
vehicle Pepper Dennis
Pepper Dennis
Pepper Dennis is a comedy-drama television series that aired on The WB from April to July 4, 2006. It was quickly announced on May 17, 2006 that Pepper Dennis would not be one of the WB shows transferred to The CW Television Network....
.
During the 2004–05 season, the WB Television Network finished behind rival UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
for the first time in several years, and fell even further behind in the fall of 2005. Both networks fell behind the Spanish language network Univision
Univision
Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...
in the overall 18–34 demographic.
It was estimated in 2005 that The WB was viewable by 91.66% of all households, reaching 90,282,480 houses in the United States; the network was carried by 177 VHF
Very high frequency
Very high frequency is the radio frequency range from 30 MHz to 300 MHz. Frequencies immediately below VHF are denoted High frequency , and the next higher frequencies are known as Ultra high frequency...
and UHF
Ultra high frequency
Ultra-High Frequency designates the ITU Radio frequency range of electromagnetic waves between 300 MHz and 3 GHz , also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decimetres...
stations in the U.S., counting both owned and operated and affiliated stations (the owned and operated stations were not actually operated by Warner Bros. or Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
; instead, Tribune owned and operated these stations, thus its stake in the network). The network could also be seen in smaller markets on cable
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
-only stations, many of these through The WB 100+ Station Group
The WB 100+ Station Group
The WB 100+ Station Group was a group of primarily non-broadcast local cable television outlets for The WB Television Network, for markets below the top 100 television media markets in the United States. Dayparts with no WB programming were programmed by the network...
– available to TV markets below the number 100 in viewership as determined by Nielsen in a packaged format, with a master schedule; the addition of local advertisements and news were at the discretion of the local distributor, often a local television station or cable television provider.
Network closure
On January 24, 2006, CBS CorporationCBS Corporation
CBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on commercial broadcasting, publishing, billboards and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's...
and Warner Bros. Entertainment
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
announced plans to shut down both UPN and The WB and launch a new network, The CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
in their place. Over the next nine months, it was to be seen which shows from the two networks would cross over to the new CW, as well as which stations across the country would become future affiliates of the new network.
In the end, 7th Heaven
7th Heaven
7th Heaven is an American family drama television series, created and produced by Brenda Hampton. The series premiered on August 26, 1996, on the WB, the first time that the network aired Monday night programming, and was originally broadcast from August 26, 1996 to May 13, 2007...
, Beauty and the Geek
Beauty and the Geek
Beauty and the Geek is a reality television series on The CW. It has been advertised as "The Ultimate Social Experiment" and is produced by Ashton Kutcher, Jason Goldberg and Nick Santora....
, Gilmore Girls
Gilmore Girls
Gilmore Girls is an American family comedy-drama series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. On October 5, 2000, the series debuted on The WB and was cancelled in its seventh season, ending on May 15, 2007 on The CW...
, One Tree Hill
One Tree Hill (TV series)
One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...
, Reba
Reba (TV series)
Reba is an American sitcom starring Reba McEntire, which ran from 2001 to 2007. For the show's first five seasons, it ran on The WB, with the show transitioning to The CW in its last year.-Synopsis:...
, Smallville
Smallville
Smallville is the hometown of Superman in comic books published by DC Comics. While growing up in Smallville, the young Clark Kent attended Smallville High with best friends Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan and Pete Ross...
, and Supernatural
Supernatural (TV series)
Supernatural is an American supernatural and horror television series created by Eric Kripke, which debuted on September 13, 2005 on The WB, and is now part of The CW's lineup. Starring Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester and Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester, the series follows the brothers as they...
were chosen to move from The WB to the new CW's Fall 2006 schedule. 7th Heaven and Reba were originally canceled after the 2005–06 season, but were ultimately renewed at the last minute with 13-episode deals (the former show was later given a full-season order, while the latter served as a midseason replacement and, in spite of becoming The CW's highest-rated comedy of the 2006–07 season, ended rather abruptly).
Starting on August 14, 2006 with the Daytime WB
The CW Daytime
The CW Daytime is an afternoon programming block broadcast by The CW Television Network. It was formerly known as Daytime WB, which aired on the defunct The WB Television Network.-History:...
block, the WB 'bug
Digital on-screen graphic
A digital on-screen graphic is a watermark-like station logo that many television broadcasters overlay over a portion of the screen-area of their programs to identify the channel...
' was removed from the lower right corner of the TV screen and was replaced with a countdown of days until The CW launched. Some stations which converted to MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
or became independent stations received a logo-free feed of the network, while others took the main feed and overlaid their local logo bug over the CW logo.
The WB Television Network closed on Sunday, September 17, 2006 with The Night of Favorites and Farewells
The Night of Favorites and Farewells
The Night of Favorites and Farewells was a one-time special that aired on The WB on September 17, 2006. This special took a look back at the 11-year history of The WB and some of their biggest hits. The five-hour special was aired on all affiliates of The WB with the exception of those which had...
, a five-hour block of pilot episodes of their past signature series. Commercial breaks featured reairings of past image campaigns and network promotions. This plan involved promo spots given to the cable networks carrying these shows in off-network syndication, along with ads for each series' TV-on-DVD box set.
The final montage was aired after an old WB promo from the past. Each montage was at least 30 seconds long, while the final montage was about one minute. The montage contained images of actors and actresses that appeared in series aired on The WB over the eleven year run of the network, ending with the words "For 11 years, you brought us into our homes, we made you smile, and tugged at your heart, and now, we say goodbye from all of us at WB. Thank you." The final image was a silhouette of the former WB mascot Michigan J. Frog
Michigan J. Frog
Michigan J. Frog is an animated cartoon character who debuted in the Looney Tunes cartoon One Froggy Evening , written by Michael Maltese and directed by Chuck Jones...
. At the end of the montage, he was shown taking his hat off and bowing thanking the audience for watching for 11 years and bringing the network to a close. Michigan J. Frog
Michigan J. Frog
Michigan J. Frog is an animated cartoon character who debuted in the Looney Tunes cartoon One Froggy Evening , written by Michael Maltese and directed by Chuck Jones...
was shown as a silhouette because he retired as the network's mascot about two years earlier.
After its closure, the network's URLs were redirected to The CW's website. As of March 30, 2008, they redirected to the Warner Bros. Studios homepage. As of April 28, 2008, they now redirect to the Beta.TheWB.com website.
The final night of WB programming netted relatively low ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
. The network scored a 1.0 household rating (1% of total households in the US) and a share of 2, meaning just 2% of viewers were tuned in to WB on its final night. This may mostly be due to certain areas whose The WB affiliates became MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
affiliates, leaving The WB's final two weeks of programming unavailable in those areas.
2008 onward: Entering the Internet
The Warner Bros.' television arm planned on resurrecting the WB Television Network in the form of a website at TheWB.com, the website domain used for the official site of the television network. The site streams free episodes of all WB-aired and produced series during the network's 1995–2006 run, including Gilmore GirlsGilmore Girls
Gilmore Girls is an American family comedy-drama series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. On October 5, 2000, the series debuted on The WB and was cancelled in its seventh season, ending on May 15, 2007 on The CW...
, Smallville
Smallville
Smallville is the hometown of Superman in comic books published by DC Comics. While growing up in Smallville, the young Clark Kent attended Smallville High with best friends Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan and Pete Ross...
, Everwood
Everwood
Everwood is an American drama television series that initially aired in the United States on The WB. The series is set in the fictional small town of Everwood, Colorado, and was filmed in Ogden, South Salt Lake, and Draper, Utah, except the series pilot which was filmed in Canmore, Alberta,...
, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek is an American teen drama television series which debuted on January 20, 1998, on The WB Television Network and was produced by Sony Pictures Television. The show is set in the fictional seaside town of Capeside, Massachusetts, and in Boston, Massachusetts, during the later seasons...
, One Tree Hill
One Tree Hill (TV series)
One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...
, Roswell
Roswell (TV series)
Roswell is an American science fiction television series developed, produced, and co-written by Jason Katims. The series debuted on October 6, 1999 on The WB and moved to UPN for the third season. The last episode aired May 14, 2002...
and What I Like About You
What I Like About You (TV series)
What I Like About You is an American television sitcom set mainly in New York City, following the lives of two sisters, Valerie Tyler and Holly Tyler . The series ran on The WB Television Network from September 20, 2002, to March 24, 2006, with a total of 86 episodes produced...
.
Warner Bros. also introduced original serialized web-content produced by such television heavyweight producers as Josh Schwartz
Josh Schwartz
-Film school at USC:In 1995, Schwartz realized his boyhood dream of attending film school to study screen and television writing at the University of Southern California...
and McG
McG
Joseph McGinty Nichol , better known as McG, is an American director and producer of film and television, as well as a former record producer....
for the website when it was launched on August 2008, including original series such as Sorority Forever
Sorority Forever
Sorority Forever is a web television series created and produced by web production company Big Fantastic, the creators of SamHas7Friends and Prom Queen. Film director McG is an executive producer of the show...
, Pushed, Rockville, CA, The Lake and Childrens Hospital
Children's Hospital (web series)
Childrens Hospital is a satirical comedy television series and web series that lampoons the medical drama genre, created by and starring actor/comedian Rob Corddry. The series began on the web on TheWB.com with ten episodes, roughly five minutes in length, all of which premiered on December 8, 2008...
. Many other well-known Warner Bros.-produced series that did not air on the WB Television Network, including Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
and The O.C.
The O.C.
The O.C. is an American teen drama television series that originally aired on the Fox television network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 21, 2007, running a total of four seasons...
are also available. However, the site does not contain episodes of Charmed
Charmed
Charmed is an American television series that originally aired from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006, on the now defunct The WB Television Network. The series was created in 1998 by writer Constance M...
or Felicity, which were two of WB's most popular shows, as Charmed is owned by CBS Television Distribution
CBS Television Distribution
CBS Television Distribution is a global television distribution company, formed from the merger of CBS Corporation's two domestic television distribution arms CBS Paramount Domestic Television and King World Productions, including its home entertainment arm CBS Home Entertainment...
and Felicity is owned by Disney-ABC Domestic Television.
The site—which models that of Hulu
Hulu
Hulu is a website and over-the-top subscription service offering ad-supported on-demand streaming video of TV shows, movies, webisodes and other new media, trailers, clips, and behind-the-scenes footage from NBC, Fox, ABC, and Obstacle on October 20th 2011 Nickelodeon and CBS and many other...
—is ad-supported and geared primarily to women ages 15–39. In addition to older full-length series, the site features new short series and vignettes. Each of these episode runs 5 minutes, with 10 installments planned. Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
offers over 1,000 episodes from the Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television is the television production arm of Warner Bros. Entertainment, itself part of Time Warner. Alongside CBS Television Studios, it serves as a television production arm of The CW Television Network , though it also produces shows for other networks, such as Shameless on...
library on its video on demand
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
service.
An original series, Sorority Forever, from McG
McG
Joseph McGinty Nichol , better known as McG, is an American director and producer of film and television, as well as a former record producer....
, had its premiere on the site on September 8, 2008. It has recorded more than 7.3 million video views since then from The WB site and partner sites. An original reality series, Rich Girl, Poor Girl from Gary Auerbach, the executive producer of Laguna Beach
Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County
Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, often referred to simply as Laguna Beach, is a reality television series which originally aired on MTV from September 28, 2004 until November 16, 2006. It documents the lives of several teenagers living in Laguna Beach, an affluent seaside community located in...
and Newport Harbor
Newport Harbor: The Real Orange County
Newport Harbor: The Real Orange County, also known simply as Newport Harbor, is the replacement show of MTV's Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County. Just like its predecessor, the show documents the lives of several teenagers living in Newport Beach, California, a beachside community located in...
, in which two teenagers from different economic and social backgrounds swap lives (similar to Wife Swap
Wife Swap
Wife Swap is a reality television program, originally produced by UK independent television production company RDF Media and created by Stephen Lambert. It was first broadcast in 2003 on the UK's Channel 4. Since 2004, a US version has also been broadcast on the ABC network...
), has ranked among the top 100 programs in the teenage category on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
since its October 20, 2008 debut.
Internet advertising
The clothing retailer H&MH&M
H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB is a Swedish retail-clothing company, known for its fast-fashion clothing offerings for women, men, teenagers and children....
, not a traditional TV advertiser, sponsored Sorority Forever and had some of its clothing worn by characters in the series. Unilever
Unilever
Unilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products....
’s Axe brand has sponsored Children's’ Hospital. ”If an advertiser has an interest in a series we have in production, we can work in their products or even adjust our launch dates if they want to tie it in to a special promotion,” said Craig Erwich, executive vice president, Warner Horizon Television
Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television is the television production arm of Warner Bros. Entertainment, itself part of Time Warner. Alongside CBS Television Studios, it serves as a television production arm of The CW Television Network , though it also produces shows for other networks, such as Shameless on...
, who oversees TheWB.com.
Video on Demand
Series available on Video on Demand include:- All of UsAll of UsAll of Us is an American sitcom that premiered on the now-defunct UPN network in the United States on September 16, 2003, where it aired for its first three seasons. October 1, 2006, the show moved to The CW, a new network formed by the merger of UPN and The WB All of Us is an American sitcom that...
- Hangin' with Mr. CooperHangin' with Mr. CooperHangin' with Mr. Cooper is an American television sitcom that originally aired on ABC from 1992 to 1997, starring Mark Curry and Holly Robinson. The show took place in Curry's hometown of Oakland, California. Hangin' with Mr. Cooper was produced by Jeff Franklin Productions, in association with...
- MartinMartin (TV series)Martin is an American sitcom produced by HBO Independent Productions that aired for five seasons, from August 27, 1992 to May 1, 1997 on Fox...
- Jack & BobbyJack & BobbyJack & Bobby is an American television series that aired on The WB network. It featured two brothers, one of whom would become President of the United States, serving from 2041 to 2049...
- One Tree HillOne Tree Hill (TV series)One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...
- The O.C.The O.C.The O.C. is an American teen drama television series that originally aired on the Fox television network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 21, 2007, running a total of four seasons...
- Veronica MarsVeronica MarsVeronica Mars is an American television series created by Rob Thomas. The series premiered on September 22, 2004, during television network UPN's final two years, and ended on May 22, 2007, after a season on UPN's successor, The CW Television Network. Veronica Mars was produced by Warner Bros...
Children's programming
WB added the Kids' WBKids' WB
Kids' WB! was Warner Bros. American childrens programing division brand for The WB Television Network. In September 2006, the block moved to The CW Television Network. The CW is the result of The WB's merger with UPN in 2006...
programming block, following its launch, which mixed Warners' biggest hit shows (Tiny Toon Adventures
Tiny Toon Adventures
Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures, usually referred to as Tiny Toon Adventures or simply Tiny Toons, is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. It began production as a result of Warner Bros....
, Animaniacs
Animaniacs
Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as simply Animaniacs, is an American animated series, distributed by Warner Bros. Television and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. The cartoon was the second animated series produced by the collaboration of Steven...
, and later Batman: The Animated Series
Batman: The Animated Series
Batman: The Animated Series is an American animated series based on the DC Comics character Batman. The series featured an ensemble cast of many voice-actors including Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Arleen Sorkin, and Loren Lester. The series won four Emmy Awards and was nominated...
, all of which originated either on, Fox Kids
Fox Kids
Fox Kids was the Fox Broadcasting Company's American children's programming division and brand name from September 8, 1990 until September 7, 2002. It was owned by Fox Television Entertainment airing programming on Monday–Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings.Depending on the show, the...
or in syndication) with new productions and original shows.
After the Turner
Turner Broadcasting System
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. is the Time Warner subsidiary managing the collection of cable networks and properties started and acquired by Robert Edward "Ted" Turner starting in the mid-1970s. The company has its headquarters in the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. TBS, Inc...
–Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
merger in 1996, Kids' WB formed an alliance with Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
, and over time, they shared more and more programming.
1997–2000
In February 1999, the WB Television Network also launched the American version of PokémonPokémon (anime)
, abbreviated from , is a children's TV anime series, which has since been adapted for the North and South American, Australian and European television markets...
in the Kids' WB blocks, which they acquired from syndication (TV Tokyo
TV Tokyo
is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...
) earlier that year and became a widespread pop culture phenomenon. WB also acquired the English-language version of the second series Yu-Gi-Oh!, also sharing the phenomenon that Pokémon experienced.
2000–05
The Kids' WB aired mainly animated series but also aired some live-action programming. Kids' WB aired a televised version of R. L. StineR. L. Stine
Robert Lawrence Stine , known as R. L. Stine, and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American writer. Stine, who is called the "Stephen King of children's literature," is the author of hundreds of horror fiction novels, including the books in the Fear Street, Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, and The...
's The Nightmare Room
The Nightmare Room
The Nightmare Room is an American children's anthology horror series that aired on Kids' WB. The series was based on the short-lived book series The Nightmare Room children's books created by Goosebumps author, R.L. Stine. The Nightmare Room originally aired from August 31, 2001, to March 16, 2002,...
in 2001, though it didn't make it past a season. They also aired a live-action movie known as Zolar, as well as the JammX Kids All-Star Dance Specials.
2006–08
Kids' WB
Kids' WB! was Warner Bros. American childrens programing division brand for The WB Television Network. In September 2006, the block moved to The CW Television Network. The CW is the result of The WB's merger with UPN in 2006...
shared more and more of its programming with Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
, because of the 1996 Turner
Turner Broadcasting System
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. is the Time Warner subsidiary managing the collection of cable networks and properties started and acquired by Robert Edward "Ted" Turner starting in the mid-1970s. The company has its headquarters in the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. TBS, Inc...
-Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
merger and the fact that Cartoon Network was outrating Fox Kids
Fox Kids
Fox Kids was the Fox Broadcasting Company's American children's programming division and brand name from September 8, 1990 until September 7, 2002. It was owned by Fox Television Entertainment airing programming on Monday–Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings.Depending on the show, the...
, airing Kids' WB became financially unattractive as broadcast stations started showing only live-action talk shows and sitcom reruns in the afternoon to compete and go after a different audience, figuring children had all moved to watching cable networks in the afternoons.
On May 31, 2005, WB announced the discontinuation of the weekday Kids' WB block as of December 30, 2005. Kids' WB continued to air weekdays after this, but with redundant programming and theme weeks until January, and more promotion of Cartoon Network's afternoon Miguzi block and Kids' WB Saturday during the transition. After Daytime WB started, Kids' WB Saturday morning lineup was expanded by one hour.
The block continued on The CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
, which replaced WB in their merger with UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
beginning September 18, 2006 as Kids' WB. It has been unofficially dubbed The CW Daytime
The CW Daytime
The CW Daytime is an afternoon programming block broadcast by The CW Television Network. It was formerly known as Daytime WB, which aired on the defunct The WB Television Network.-History:...
, however, on-air promos for the block (which are quite rare) do not give it an actual name.
2008-onward
- On October 2, 2007, The CWThe CW Television NetworkThe CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
(WB and UPNUPNUnited Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
's successor) announced that it would end the Kids' WB block starting May 2008, due to the effects of children's advertising limits and cable competition, in a joint decision between Warner Bros.Warner Bros.Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
and CBSCBS CorporationCBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on commercial broadcasting, publishing, billboards and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's...
, parent companies of The CW. Kids WB ended on May 17, 2008. During that time, the programming time has been sold to 4Kids Entertainment4Kids Entertainment4Kids Entertainment is an American film and television production company in bankruptcy since April 2011. It is known for English-dubbing Japanese anime and specializing in the acquisition, production and licensing of children's entertainment around the United States...
. With this deal, in the 2008–09 season, 4Kids ran two different Saturday morning blocks. 4Kids TV ended on December 27, 2008. Now, 4Kids only runs one Saturday morning block, the current The CW4KidsThe CW4KidsThe CW4Kids is a Saturday morning cartoon block on The CW Television Network that premiered on May 24, 2008 in the place of Kids' WB...
.
Station standardization
When the WB Television Network was launched during the mid-1990s, the network began branding most of its stations as "WB" or "The WB", then the channel number, with the call signCall sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations...
s nearby. The call signs were minimized to the smallest FCC-approved size by the end of the decade.
New York and St. Louis
This meant that, for example, WPIXWPIX
WPIX, channel 11, is a television station in New York City built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WPIX also serves as the flagship station of The CW Television Network...
in New York and KPLR-TV
KPLR-TV
KPLR-TV, channel 11, is a television station in St. Louis, Missouri. KPLR is owned by the Tribune Company, and is an affiliate of The CW Television Network. The station's studios are located in Maryland Heights, Missouri, in Northwest St. Louis County KPLR-TV, channel 11, is a television station...
in St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
were both referred to as "WB11". Fox originated such naming schemes, and CBS uses the CBS Mandate on most of their O&O
Owned-and-operated station
In the broadcasting industry , an owned-and-operated station usually refers to a television station or radio station that is owned by the network with which it is associated...
stations. NBC and ABC utilize similar, but less extreme, naming schemes. While Fox and UPN mandated their respective naming schemes on all stations, WB did not.
Chicago and Los Angeles
Thus, not all WB affiliates followed the naming scheme. WGN-TVWGN-TV
WGN-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the CW-affiliated television station in Chicago, Illinois built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WGN-TV's studios and offices are located at 2501 W...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
(on the local feed only as the superstation feed stopped carrying WB programming feed in 1999) used the name "WGN 9 Chicago" in its ID with the WB logo within the right curve of the station's "9 as an upside-down G" logo at the network's start, and next to a boxed "9" after the station's image revamp in 2002. Most of Tribune's WB affiliates only used the network logo in their station's logo or use "The WB" name after the calls. An example was Los Angeles affiliate KTLA
KTLA
KTLA, virtual channel 5, is a television station in Los Angeles, California, USA. Owned by the Tribune Company, KTLA is an affiliate of the CW Television Network. KTLA's studios are on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson...
, whose station ID was "KTLA, The WB".
Other affiliates
Most WB affiliates also had another standardization name branding scheme: In Lakeland, Florida a UHF station went all out and acquired the call letters WWWB and called their station "The WB-32." Many other stations would take on a 'by city' branding approach. For example, KIAH (formerly KHWB) in Houston was called "Houston's WB," WLVIWLVI-TV
WLVI, digital channel 41, is a television station licensed to Cambridge, Massachusetts which serves as the CW affiliate for the Boston, Massachusetts television market. WLVI is owned by Sunbeam Television, and is a sister station to WHDH, Boston's NBC affiliate. The two stations share studios at...
in Boston was called "Boston's WB," KDAF
KDAF
KDAF, virtual channel 33 , is a CW-affiliated television station serving the Dallas-Fort Worth television market area. The station is licensed to Dallas and owned by the Tribune Company with its studios located off the John W. Carpenter Freeway in northwest Dallas. The station's transmitter is...
in the Dallas / Fort Worth area of Texas was called "Dallas/Ft. Worth's WB" and WDCW
WDCW
WDCW, channel 50, is the CW-affiliated television station for Washington, D.C. It transmits from the Hughes Memorial Tower located in the Brightwood section of the city. Owned by the Tribune Company, the station has studios on Wisconsin Avenue Northwest in the Glover Park section of Washington...
(former WBDC) in Washington, D.C. was called "Washington's WB." Some stations which followed this scheme used a regional name instead of a specific city, such as "Capital Region's WB" for WCWN
WCWN
WCWN is the CW-affiliated television station for New York State's Capital District and Western New England. Licensed to Schenectady, New York, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 43 from a transmitter southwest of New Scotland's Voorheesville section...
in Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
, New York (formerly WEWB), or "Hawaii's WB" for KFVE
KFVE
KFVE is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for the state of Hawaii that is licensed to Honolulu. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 22 from a transmitter in Palehua...
in Honolulu, Hawaii and "East Tennessee's WB" for WBXX-TV
WBXX-TV
WBXX-TV is the CW-affiliated television station for Eastern Tennessee licensed to Crossville. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 20 from a transmitter in unincorporated Southwestern Anderson County. The station can also be seen on Comcast and Knology channel 7 as well as...
in Knoxville
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, Tennessee while others incorporated the channel number, such as WPHL-TV
WPHL-TV
WPHL-TV, channel 17, is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, owned by the Tribune Company and currently affiliated with the News Corporation-owned MyNetworkTV television network. This makes it the largest non-O&O station of the network...
in Philadelphia ("Philadelphia's WB17"), or Mobile
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
, Alabama's WBPG (now WFNA; "The Gulf Coast's WB55"). Many WB 100+
The WB 100+ Station Group
The WB 100+ Station Group was a group of primarily non-broadcast local cable television outlets for The WB Television Network, for markets below the top 100 television media markets in the United States. Dayparts with no WB programming were programmed by the network...
stations also followed either one of these variations on "The City/Region's WB" scheme.
Legacy
In addition to the web site, the WB Television Network lives on in a number of ways:- Kids' WBKids' WBKids' WB! was Warner Bros. American childrens programing division brand for The WB Television Network. In September 2006, the block moved to The CW Television Network. The CW is the result of The WB's merger with UPN in 2006...
continued as a broadcast television block for two years after WB went off the air, until May 17, 2008 when CBS and Time Warner sold the Saturday morning block time to 4Kids Entertainment4Kids Entertainment4Kids Entertainment is an American film and television production company in bankruptcy since April 2011. It is known for English-dubbing Japanese anime and specializing in the acquisition, production and licensing of children's entertainment around the United States...
. Kids' WB was also relaunched as an online portal. - Services offered by WB carried over to The CW, like Daytime WB (now The CW Daytime), EasyView and The WB 100+ (now The CW PlusThe CW PlusThe CW Plus is a group of primarily digital sub-channels, analog, and non-broadcast cable television outlets for the CW Television Network, for markets below the top 99 television media markets in the United States....
). - Several shows formerly broadcast on the network have been released on DVD and/or continue to air on The CW.
List of WB slogans
- 1995: You'll Find Your Friends on the WB
- 1996: We Stand Out on the WB
- 1997: The Time Comes on the WB
- 1998: Our Luck Has Begun
- 1999: The Best Shows We Have
- 2000: Come Watch Us on the WB
- 2001: We're Home to the Best on the WB
- 2002: It's All Here
- 2003: Look for Us on the WB
- 2004: Watch Us on the WB (occupying 2000's slogan)
- 2005: From Us to You on the WB
- 2006: Catch the Brightest Stars on the WB (occupying CBS's slogan in 1975)
Localized versions
You'll Find Your Friends on the WB was a slogan the network used from its 1995–1996 season.- KPLR-TVKPLR-TVKPLR-TV, channel 11, is a television station in St. Louis, Missouri. KPLR is owned by the Tribune Company, and is an affiliate of The CW Television Network. The station's studios are located in Maryland Heights, Missouri, in Northwest St. Louis County KPLR-TV, channel 11, is a television station...
in Saint Louis, MO (now a CW affiliate): "You'll Find Your Friends on St. Louis 11" - WDZLWSFL-TVWSFL-TV, channel 39, is a The CW Television Network-affiliated television station located in Miami. Owned by the Tribune Company, the station shares studios with co-owned newspaper the Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, and has its transmitter based in Miramar, Florida.It is a television station in...
in Miami/Fort Lauderdale, FL (now WSFL and with The CW): "You'll Find Your Friends on WB39" - KTLAKTLAKTLA, virtual channel 5, is a television station in Los Angeles, California, USA. Owned by the Tribune Company, KTLA is an affiliate of the CW Television Network. KTLA's studios are on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson...
in Los Angeles (now a CW affiliate); "You'll Find Your Friends on KTLA5" - WVGVWVNS-TVWVNS-TV is the CBS affiliate for Southern West Virginia that is licensed to Lewisburg. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 8 from a transmitter on Keeney's Knob between Alderson and I-64. Owned by West Virginia Media Holdings, the station has studios on Old Cline Road in...
in Lewisburg, WV (now WVNS and with CBS): "You'll Find Your Friends on West Virginia's WB" - KDAFKDAFKDAF, virtual channel 33 , is a CW-affiliated television station serving the Dallas-Fort Worth television market area. The station is licensed to Dallas and owned by the Tribune Company with its studios located off the John W. Carpenter Freeway in northwest Dallas. The station's transmitter is...
in Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (now a CW affiliate): "You'll Find Your Friends on WB33" - WNABWNABWNAB, virtual channel 58 is the CW-affiliated television station in Nashville, Tennessee. It is owned by Tennessee Broadcasting, although operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group under an outsourcing agreement. It currently serves as a sister station to WZTV and WUXP-TV. It is currently branded as...
in Nashville, TN (now a CW affiliate): "You'll Find Your Friends on WB58" - WWHO-TV in ChillicotheChillicothe, OhioChillicothe is a city in and the county seat of Ross County, Ohio, United States.Chillicothe was the first and third capital of Ohio and is located in southern Ohio along the Scioto River. The name comes from the Shawnee name Chalahgawtha, meaning "principal town", as it was a major settlement of...
(now a CW affiliate): "You'll Find Your Friends on WB53" - WNCNWNCNWNCN is the NBC affiliate television station in the Triangle region of North Carolina , broadcasting on digital channel 17. It is licensed to Goldsboro, but its studios are just outside of downtown Raleigh...
in Raleigh/Durham, NC (now an NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate): "You'll Find Your Friends on 17" (for a short time) - WLFLWLFLWLFL is the CW-affiliated television station for North Carolina's Triangle licensed to Raleigh. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 27 from a transmitter located in Auburn, North Carolina. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable channel 2 and in high definition...
in Raleigh/Durham, NC (now a CW affiliate): "You'l Find Your Friends on WB22"
We Stand Out on the WB was a slogan the network used from its 1996–1997 season.
- KTLAKTLAKTLA, virtual channel 5, is a television station in Los Angeles, California, USA. Owned by the Tribune Company, KTLA is an affiliate of the CW Television Network. KTLA's studios are on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson...
in Los Angeles (now a CW affiliate): "We Stand Out on KTLA5" - WGN-TVWGN-TVWGN-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the CW-affiliated television station in Chicago, Illinois built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WGN-TV's studios and offices are located at 2501 W...
in Chicago, IL (now a CW affiliate): "We Stand Out on WGN9 Chicago" - KDAFKDAFKDAF, virtual channel 33 , is a CW-affiliated television station serving the Dallas-Fort Worth television market area. The station is licensed to Dallas and owned by the Tribune Company with its studios located off the John W. Carpenter Freeway in northwest Dallas. The station's transmitter is...
in Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (now a CW affiliate): "We Stand Out on WB33" - WPIXWPIXWPIX, channel 11, is a television station in New York City built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WPIX also serves as the flagship station of The CW Television Network...
in New York City (now a CW affiliate): "We Stand Out on WB11" - KPWBKMAX-TVKMAX-TV, channel 31, is the CW affiliate serving the Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, California broadcast area. The station is owned by CBS Television Stations along with the local CBS station, KOVR; the two stations are two of the 3 English network O&Os in the market, along with Ion Television...
in Sacramento, CA (now KMAX and with CW): "We Stand Out on WB31" - WNABWNABWNAB, virtual channel 58 is the CW-affiliated television station in Nashville, Tennessee. It is owned by Tennessee Broadcasting, although operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group under an outsourcing agreement. It currently serves as a sister station to WZTV and WUXP-TV. It is currently branded as...
in Nashville, TN (now a CW affiliate): "We Stand Out on WB58" - WLFLWLFLWLFL is the CW-affiliated television station for North Carolina's Triangle licensed to Raleigh. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 27 from a transmitter located in Auburn, North Carolina. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable channel 2 and in high definition...
in Raleigh/Durham, NC: "We Stand Out on WB22"
See also
- The CW Television NetworkThe CW Television NetworkThe CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
- List of programs broadcast by The WB
- List of former WB affiliates
- The WB 100+ Station GroupThe WB 100+ Station GroupThe WB 100+ Station Group was a group of primarily non-broadcast local cable television outlets for The WB Television Network, for markets below the top 100 television media markets in the United States. Dayparts with no WB programming were programmed by the network...
- 2006 United States broadcast TV realignment2006 United States broadcast TV realignmentBetween winter-fall 2006, the United States broadcast television industry was realigned. In September 2006, the country's two "second-tier" television networks, UPN and The WB Television Network, both shut down on September 15 and 17 respectively, and their operations were transferred to a new...
- DuMont Television NetworkDuMont Television NetworkThe DuMont Television Network, also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont, Du Mont, or Dumont was one of the world's pioneer commercial television networks, rivalling NBC for the distinction of being first overall. It began operation in the United States in 1946. It was owned by DuMont...
- UPNUPNUnited Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
External links
- WB India – Now that's Hollywood in India
- WB Network from The Encyclopedia of Television
- Farewell video
- A Clip of the final few moments.
- The CW