UPN
Encyclopedia
United Paramount Network (UPN) 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 series. It was later owned by CBS Corporation
. Its first night of broadcasting was on January 16, 1995. UPN shut down on September 15, 2006, and merged with The WB
, which was shut down two days later, to form The CW Television Network
.
(the "P" in UPN) has played a pivotal role in the development of network television; it was a partner in the DuMont Television Network
, and the Paramount Theaters chain, spun off from the corporate/studio parent, was an early, important component of the ABC
television network's survival in the 1950s. The Paramount Television Network
was launched in 1949, but dissolved in the 1950s.
In the wake of the successful Universal Studios
ad hoc
syndicated
package Operation Prime Time, which featured first a miniseries adaptation of John Jakes
' novel The Bastard and went on to several more productions, Paramount had earlier contemplated its own television network with the Paramount Television Service
. Set to launch in early 1978
, its programming would have consisted of only one night a week. Thirty "Movies of the Week" would have followed Star Trek: Phase II
on Saturday nights. Plans for the new network were scrapped when sufficient advertising slots could not be sold, though Paramount would contribute some programs to Operation Prime Time, such as the mini-series A Woman Called Golda
, and the weekly pop music program, Solid Gold
. Star Trek: Phase II went into production as Star Trek: The Motion Picture
, absorbing the costs already incurred of the aborted television series.
Paramount, and its eventual parent Viacom, did not try to forget about the possibility. Independent stations, even more than network affiliates, were feeling the growing pressure of audience erosion to cable television
in the 1980s and 1990s, and there were unaffiliated commercial stations in most of the major markets, at least, even after the foundation of Fox
in 1986. Meanwhile, Paramount, long successful in syndication with repeats of Star Trek
, found itself with several first-run syndicated series by the turn of the 1990s, in Entertainment Tonight
, The Arsenio Hall Show
, Friday the 13th: The Series
, War of the Worlds
, Star Trek: The Next Generation
, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
.
In 1993, Warner Bros.
and Chris-Craft Industries
went into a joint venture
to distribute programming via a prime time
programming block, which grew into its own network, the Prime Time Entertainment Network
(PTEN). PTEN can be seen as the ancestor of what would become UPN and The WB
, since Chris-Craft later became a partner in UPN, while Warner Bros. launched The WB, at roughly the same time (which slowly eroded PTEN into a mere programming block that was eventually cancelled in 1997), before both merged to form The CW Television Network
in September 2006.
Paramount had formed Paramount Stations Group when it purchased the TVX Group
, which owned several independent stations in major markets. This was not unlike of the purchase of the Metromedia
stations by News Corporation 10 years earlier, which were used as the nuclei for Fox
. In another parallel, 20th Century Fox
had long been a powerhouse in television syndication. All indicators suggested that Paramount was about to launch a network of its own. In late 1994, Paramount announced formation of the United Paramount Network. The new network was a joint venture between Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries
. The "U" in UPN came from United Television, a Chris-Craft subsidiary. Both companies owned independent stations in several large cities in the United States. The new network launched on January 16, 1995; less than a year earlier, Paramount had been bought by Viacom.
The first telecast, the two-hour pilot of Star Trek: Voyager
, was an auspiciously widely viewed start; however, Voyager would never achieve such viewership levels again, nor would any of the series debuting on UPN's second night of broadcasting survive the season. In contrast, The WB
debuted one week earlier, on January 11, with four series, only one of which, Muscle
, would not survive its first season. The first comedy shows to debut were Platypus Man
, starring Richard Jeni
, and Pig Sty
, with both shows airing Monday nights in the 9:00 PM hour. Both received mixed reviews and neither lasted long. Other early UPN programs included the action show Nowhere Man
starring Bruce Greenwood
, the action show Marker
starring Richard Grieco
, the comic western Legend
starring Richard Dean Anderson
(a veteran of Paramount's MacGyver
), the science-fiction themed action show, The Sentinel
, and Moesha
, a sitcom starring Brandy Norwood
. Of the network's early offerings, only Star Trek: Voyager, Moesha, and The Sentinel would last longer than one season.
In 2000, Viacom bought Chris-Craft's share stake to gain 100 percent control of the venture. Shortly afterward, Viacom dropped the "United" name for its new network, opting to change the official corporate name to the three-letter initials, "UPN". Viacom also aimed to relaunch UPN as Paramount Network, using a logo based on the famous Paramount Pictures mountain logo and the "P" triangle of the UPN logo, which already stood for Paramount, as the new network logo. This idea was abandoned after many affiliates protested, citing that the new branding might cause confusion and erode viewership. A few months before, Viacom bought CBS
, thus creating CBS-UPN duopolies in Philadelphia
(KYW-TV
and WPSG
), Boston
(WBZ-TV
and WSBK-TV
), Miami
(WFOR-TV
and WBFS-TV
), Dallas/Fort Worth
(KTVT
and KTXA
), Detroit (WWJ-TV
and WKBD-TV), and Pittsburgh
(KDKA-TV
and WNPA
). It is said that Viacom's purchase of CBS was the "death knell" for the FCC's "no duopolies at all rule". Further transactions added San Francisco
(KPIX-TV
and KBHK), which was traded to Viacom/CBS by Fox, and Sacramento
(KOVR
and KMAX-TV
) to the mix.
At the time of UPN's launch, the network's flagship station was WWOR-TV
in New York City
, owned by Chris-Craft. Even after Chris-Craft sold its share of the network to Viacom, WWOR was still commonly regarded as the flagship station since it had long been common practice to accord this status to a network's New York station. For this reason, some cast doubt on UPN's future after Fox bought most of Chris-Craft's television holdings. Several UPN stations were part of the deal, including WWOR and West Coast
flagship KCOP-TV
in Los Angeles
. Fox later bought the third-largest UPN affiliate, WPWR-TV
in Chicago
. After Chris-Craft sold its stake in UPN, the network's largest owned-and-operated station
was WPSG
in Philadelphia
.
In 2001, UPN acquired Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Roswell
for their final seasons from network rival The WB in a public bidding war between the two with producing studio 20th Century Fox Television
. UPN eventually outbid The WB for the shows and aired them together on Tuesday nights until Roswell ended its run in 2002 and Buffy the following year in 2003. New shows began to breathe life into the network starting in fall 2003 with America's Next Top Model
and Will Smith
's All of Us
, in fall 2004 with Veronica Mars
, and in fall 2005 with Chris Rock
's Everybody Hates Chris
.
When Viacom split into two companies at the end of 2005, its over-the-air broadcasting interests, including UPN, became part of CBS Corporation
.
UPN quietly went off the air on September 15, 2006; WWE SmackDown was the last official program (although some affiliates aired the optional weekend encore block), ending its existence after 11 years. However, UPN affiliates owned by Fox Television Stations Group
ended all ties to the network on August 31, 2006. Before that, within days of the new network's announcement, Fox-owned UPN affiliates stopped using the UPN branding and dropped all advertisement for UPN. As a result UPN did not air its last two weeks of programming in New York City
, Los Angeles
, Chicago
and six other media market
s in which Fox owned the UPN station, also due in part to then upstart Fox owned MyNetworkTV
, which was set to debut September 5, 2006 on those stations. With the exception of WWE SmackDown, all programming during the final three months were reruns. SmackDown!, however, was aired in those markets on WB stations owned by Tribune, which have since become CW stations.
After the network's official closure, UPN's website was redirected to The CW website, and then CBS's website.
, UPN was not available in all areas of the United States. In some areas, UPN programming was shown off-pattern by affiliates of other networks or by otherwise independent stations, such as in the case of KIKU-TV
in Honolulu, Hawaii. Some affiliates were also known to extensively preempt network programming in order to broadcast local sporting events. These factors led to the network struggling in the ratings over the past few years, with its most recent Star Trek franchise, Star Trek: Enterprise
, perhaps suffering the most and ultimately being cancelled by the network in a controversial decision in February 2005. The most consistent ratings performer for the network was WWE SmackDown. In the 2004-2005 season, the network was getting consistently better ratings than The WB, much of this thanks to WWE.
It was estimated in 2003 that UPN was viewable by 85.98% of all households, reaching 91,689,290 houses in the United States. In contrast, The WB was viewable in 91.66% of homes. This is mainly because The WB had The WB 100+ Station Group
, of group of cable-only stations in markets below the top 100, and UPN did not have such a service. Despite this, WNFM-TV in Southwest Florida
became a UPN affiliate in 1998. UPN had approximately 143 full-power owned-and-operated or primary affiliate stations in the U.S. and another 65 stations aired some UPN programming as secondary affiliates.
or a sister company (such as Viacom Productions
, Spelling Television
, or CBS Productions
).
The first official UPN network programming was the series Star Trek: Voyager
. The first comedy shows to debut were Platypus Man
, starring Richard Jeni
, and Pig Sty
, with both shows airing Monday nights in the 9 PM hour. Both received mixed reviews and neither lasted long. Other early UPN programs included the action show Nowhere Man
starring Bruce Greenwood
, the action show Marker
starring Richard Grieco
, The Watcher
featuring Sir Mix-a-Lot
as an omniscient narrator, the comic western Legend
starring Richard Dean Anderson
, the science-fiction themed action show, The Sentinel
, and Moesha
, a sitcom starring Brandy Norwood
. Of the network's first few seasons, only Star Trek: Voyager, Moesha, and The Sentinel would last longer than one season.
UPN bought Buffy the Vampire Slayer from 20th Century Fox
in 2001 when The WB chose not to renew it when the license fees skyrocketed. Buffy continued on UPN for two more seasons.
UPN also bought the rights to broadcast television shows Clueless
(formerly on ABC), The Hughleys
(formerly on ABC), and Roswell
(formerly on The WB). The former show was produced by Paramount Television, while the latter two were produced by 20th Century Fox Television
.
After Voyagers 7-season run came to an end, UPN began broadcasting the newest Star Trek
spin-off
, Star Trek: Enterprise
.
The network also produced some special programs, including the Iron Chef USA
program during Christmas 2001
. UPN also showed WWE's SmackDown! show, America's Next Top Model
, Girlfriends
, The Parkers
(a spin-off from Moesha
), Veronica Mars
, and Everybody Hates Chris
. In the summer of 2005
, UPN aired R U the Girl
, in which R&B group TLC searched for a woman to join them on a new song.
In its later years, as part of the network's desire to maintain its own unique identity with its own unique shows, UPN had a policy of "not picking up other networks' scraps", which was a strong argument when fan pressure was generated in 2004 for them to pick up Angel
, the spin-off
of Buffy the Vampire Slayer which had been dropped from The WB.
UPN aired only one regular network sports event program: the much-hyped XFL
in 2001, as part of a package from co-creator Vince McMahon
which also included what was then WWF SmackDown! UPN had planned to air a second season of XFL in 2002, but it also demanded a reduction in the airtime of SmackDown! by 30 minutes. McMahon did not agree to the change and the XFL folded just after that.
Like The WB, UPN never aired a national newscast.
. In 1998, UPN went a different way with its children's program block by airing reruns of the syndicated Sweet Valley High
, The Berenstain Bears and a new series, Breaker High
on weekdays and weekends aiming the programs at teenagers. As opposed to ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and WB stations, some UPN affiliates aired the weekend children's program block on Sunday mornings instead of Saturdays.
In 1999, UPN made a deal with Disney
to air select programming from ABC's Disney's One Saturday Morning block (later ABC Kids) in place of the teen series. The new lineup would be called Disney's One Too
. Recess
and Sabrina, the Animated Series were among the programming on the original lineup. Many UPN affiliates were already airing the syndicated Disney Afternoon block anyway. The Disney cartoons therefore were no longer syndicated but now aired on UPN stations. The block was reinstated to two hours. In some markets it ran weekday mornings, while in other markets it aired weekday afternoons. In 2002, Digimon: Digital Monsters moved to the lineup from Fox Kids
. This was due to Disney's acquisition of Fox's children's programming department (then known as Jetix
until 2009, now known as Disney XD
) as well as the Fox Family Channel, now renamed ABC Family
.
After eight years of airing children's programming, UPN dropped out of the kids program business in September 2003 when Disney's contract with UPN came to an end. Reasons included U.S. Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) restrictions on quantity of advertising on children's programs, the content of such advertising, the fact syndicators were moving their most popular product to cable only, and the growth of cable channels directed at children (which have fewer advertising restrictions). As of January 2006, UPN had no plans of returning kids programming to the network, but it became a moot point due to its merger with The WB creating The CW
. When The CW launched, they carried over the Kids' WB
(now Toonzai) Saturday morning lineup from The WB.
Some Fox stations decided to carry over Fox's 4kids.tv block to a UPN, WB, or independent station
, so the Fox affiliate could air general entertainment or local news programming on Saturday mornings. WFLD
Fox 32 in Chicago
, for example, moved the 4Kids TV schedule to co-owned UPN (now MyNetworkTV
) affiliate WPWR-TV
Channel 50, while Channel 32 airs news and different children's programming in place of the shows. Also, some UPN stations aired a block of cartoon programming from DIC Entertainment
(such as Trollz
and Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century
) which was designed to meet the minimal three hours of E/I
programming required by the FCC, and usually airs either six days a week for a half-hour each day, or in three hour-long blocks throughout the week.
films.
From UPN's inception until 2000, the network also offered a hosted movie series called the UPN Movie Trailer to their stations. The show featured mostly older Hollywood action and comedy films, often those made by Paramount Pictures
. Movie Trailer was discontinued in 2000 to give stations that opted for them room for a second weekend run of Star Trek: Enterprise and America's Next Top Model (and later, Veronica Mars). There were also three Paramount-branded blocks on the company's owned-and-operated station
s ("O&Os") only: Paramount Teleplex as the main brand for movies at any given timeslot, Paramount Prime Movie for primetime features, and the Paramount Late Movie on late nights.
in Chicago had been referred to as "UPN Chicago" and WWOR-TV
in New York was referred to as "UPN 9" until The CW merger was announced in late January 2006). But most UPN O&Os under CBS branded it by network and city according to the CBS Mandate. For example, KBCW in San Francisco was branded "UPN Bay Area," WKBD
in Detroit was branded "UPN Detroit" and WUPL
in New Orleans was branded "UPN New Orleans."
However, that didn't always apply, as WSBK-TV
in Boston was branded "UPN 38" and KMAX-TV
in Sacramento was branded "UPN 31," for example. WPCW
Channel 19 in Pittsburgh
(formerly WNPA) originally branded itself as "UPN 19", but changed over to "UPN Pittsburgh" soon after the UPN logo change, making it one of the few that had carried both standardization styles. Many non-O&O UPN affiliates followed the same branding scheme; for example KFVE
in Honolulu
, during its UPN affiliation, used the brand "UPN Hawaii".
This would be a continuation of the trend for networks to do such naming schemes, originated at Fox
(and even earlier at CBC
in Canada), especially at CBS
, who uses the CBS Mandate on almost all of their O&O stations. The WB
, NBC
and ABC
also do similar naming schemes, but not to that extreme.
However, while the traditional "Big Three" don't require their affiliates to have such naming schemes (though some affiliates choose to adopt it anyway) and only on their O&O's is the style required, UPN mandated it on all stations (as Fox currently does), though The WB did not. In one case, though, WCGV in Milwaukee
branded as Channel 24 from 1998-2001 with no UPN imagery. The station had disaffiliated from the network in 1998 for eight months (previously it was "UPN 24") in a compensation dispute.
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television
Paramount Television
Paramount Television was an American television production/distribution company that was active from January 1, 1968 to August 27, 2006.Its successor is CBS Television Studios, formerly CBS Paramount Television...
Group, produced most of the network's series. It was later owned by 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...
. Its first night of broadcasting was on January 16, 1995. UPN shut down on September 15, 2006, and merged with The WB
The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network 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...
, which was shut down two days later, to form 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...
.
Origins (1949–1993)
Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
(the "P" in UPN) has played a pivotal role in the development of network television; it was a partner in the DuMont Television Network
DuMont Television Network
The 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...
, and the Paramount Theaters chain, spun off from the corporate/studio parent, was an early, important component of the 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...
television network's survival in the 1950s. The Paramount Television Network
Paramount Television Network
The Paramount Television Network was a venture by American film corporation Paramount Pictures to organize a television network in the late 1940s...
was launched in 1949, but dissolved in the 1950s.
In the wake of the successful Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
ad hoc
Ad hoc
Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning "for this". It generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and not intended to be able to be adapted to other purposes. Compare A priori....
syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
package Operation Prime Time, which featured first a miniseries adaptation of John Jakes
John Jakes
John William Jakes is an American writer, best known for American historical fiction.-Early life and education:...
' novel The Bastard and went on to several more productions, Paramount had earlier contemplated its own television network with the Paramount Television Service
Paramount Television Service
The Paramount Television Service was the name of a proposed but ultimately, unrealized "fourth television network" from the major American film studio, Paramount Pictures...
. Set to launch in early 1978
1978 in television
The year 1978 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1978.For the American TV schedule, see: 1978-79 American network television schedule.-Events:...
, its programming would have consisted of only one night a week. Thirty "Movies of the Week" would have followed Star Trek: Phase II
Star Trek: Phase II
Star Trek: Phase II was a planned television series based on the characters of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek, which had run from 1966 to 1969. It was set to air in early 1978 on a proposed Paramount Television Service...
on Saturday nights. Plans for the new network were scrapped when sufficient advertising slots could not be sold, though Paramount would contribute some programs to Operation Prime Time, such as the mini-series A Woman Called Golda
A Woman Called Golda
A Woman Called Golda is a 1982 made-for-television film biopic of Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir.Made by Paramount Television and directed by Alan Gibson, the film stars Ingrid Bergman in the title role...
, and the weekly pop music program, Solid Gold
Solid Gold (TV series)
Solid Gold is an American syndicated music television series that debuted on September 13, 1980. Like many other shows of its genre, such as American Bandstand, Solid Gold featured musical performances and various other elements such as music videos...
. Star Trek: Phase II went into production as Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a 1979 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the first film based on the Star Trek television series. The film is set in the twenty-third century, when a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud called V'Ger approaches the Earth,...
, absorbing the costs already incurred of the aborted television series.
Paramount, and its eventual parent Viacom, did not try to forget about the possibility. Independent stations, even more than network affiliates, were feeling the growing pressure of audience erosion to cable television
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...
in the 1980s and 1990s, and there were unaffiliated commercial stations in most of the major markets, at least, even after the foundation of 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...
in 1986. Meanwhile, Paramount, long successful in syndication with repeats of Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
, found itself with several first-run syndicated series by the turn of the 1990s, in Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
, The Arsenio Hall Show
The Arsenio Hall Show
The Arsenio Hall Show is an American variety/talk show that aired late weeknights in syndication from January 3, 1989 to May 27, 1994. The show was created and hosted by comedian/actor Arsenio Hall.- Background :...
, Friday the 13th: The Series
Friday the 13th: The Series
Friday the 13th: The Series is an American-Canadian horror television series that ran for three seasons, from October 3, 1987 to May 26, 1990 in first-run syndication....
, 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...
, 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 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
.
In 1993, 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 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...
went into a joint venture
Joint venture
A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...
to distribute programming via a prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
programming block, which grew into its own network, 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...
(PTEN). PTEN can be seen as the ancestor of what would become UPN and The WB
The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network 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...
, since Chris-Craft later became a partner in UPN, while Warner Bros. launched The WB, at roughly the same time (which slowly eroded PTEN into a mere programming block that was eventually cancelled in 1997), before both merged to form 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...
in September 2006.
Launch (1994–2000)
TVX Broadcast Group
The TVX Broadcast Group was an American media company that owned a group of UHF television stations during the 1980s. Originally known as the Television Corporation, the company was headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, and was founded by a group of Norfolk-area businessmen led by Timothy McDonald...
, which owned several independent stations in major markets. This was not unlike of the purchase of the Metromedia
Metromedia
Metromedia was a media company that owned radio and television stations in the United States from 1956 to 1986 and owned Orion Pictures from 1986-1997.- Overview :...
stations by News Corporation 10 years earlier, which were used as the nuclei for 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...
. In another parallel, 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
had long been a powerhouse in television syndication. All indicators suggested that Paramount was about to launch a network of its own. In late 1994, Paramount announced formation of the United Paramount Network. The new network was a joint venture between Paramount and 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...
. The "U" in UPN came from United Television, a Chris-Craft subsidiary. Both companies owned independent stations in several large cities in the United States. The new network launched on January 16, 1995; less than a year earlier, Paramount had been bought by Viacom.
The first telecast, the two-hour pilot of Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...
, was an auspiciously widely viewed start; however, Voyager would never achieve such viewership levels again, nor would any of the series debuting on UPN's second night of broadcasting survive the season. In contrast, The WB
The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network 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...
debuted one week earlier, on January 11, with four series, only one of which, Muscle
Muscle (TV series)
Muscle is a comedy television series from the United States which aired on The WB in 1995. It was set inside the fictional Survival Gym in New York City...
, would not survive its first season. The first comedy shows to debut were Platypus Man
Platypus Man
Platypus Man is an American sitcom that aired on UPN in 1995. Starring comedian Richard Jeni, the television series was based on an hour-long HBO special of Jeni's filmed in 1992. The series lasted for only one season, with a total of thirteen episodes....
, starring Richard Jeni
Richard Jeni
Richard John Colangelo , better known by the stage name of Richard Jeni, was an American stand-up comedian and actor.-Early life:...
, and Pig Sty
Pig Sty
Pig Sty is a sitcom that premiered on UPN on January 23, 1995 during that network's first season. Only 13 episodes were made. Pig Sty ran on Monday nights, after Star Trek: Voyager and Platypus Man...
, with both shows airing Monday nights in the 9:00 PM hour. Both received mixed reviews and neither lasted long. Other early UPN programs included the action show Nowhere Man
Nowhere Man (TV series)
Nowhere Man is an American television series that aired from 1995 to 1996 starring Bruce Greenwood. Created by Lawrence Hertzog, the series aired Monday nights on UPN. Despite critical acclaim, including TV Guides label of "The season's coolest hit," the show was cancelled after only one...
starring Bruce Greenwood
Bruce Greenwood
Bruce Greenwood is a Canadian actor and musician. He is generally known for his roles as U.S. presidents in Thirteen Days and National Treasure: Book of Secrets and for his role as Captain Christopher Pike in the 2009 Star Trek film...
, the action show Marker
Marker (TV series)
Marker was an American hour long television drama that premiered on the UPN on March 20, 1995. It was set in and filmed in Hawaii.The series focused on Richard DeMorra , a man given a strange inheritance from his late father: markers which were given in the past by his father to those who had...
starring Richard Grieco
Richard Grieco
Richard John Grieco, Jr. is an American actor and former fashion model.-Early life:Richard Grieco was born in Watertown, New York, the son of Carolyn and Richard Grieco. He is of Italian and Irish descent. Grieco played football for Central Connecticut State University.-Career:Grieco worked as a...
, the comic western Legend
Legend (TV series)
Legend was a science fiction Western television show that ran on UPN from April 18, 1995 until August 22, 1995, with one final re-airing of the pilot on July 3, 1996. It was Richard Dean Anderson's first major role after the successful MacGyver series, and also starred John de Lancie, best known...
starring Richard Dean Anderson
Richard Dean Anderson
Richard Dean Anderson is an American television and film actor, producer and composer. He began his television career in 1976 as Dr. Jeff Webber in the American soap opera series General Hospital, then rose to prominence as the lead actor in the television series MacGyver...
(a veteran of Paramount's MacGyver
MacGyver
MacGyver is an American action-adventure television series created by Lee David Zlotoff. Henry Winkler and John Rich were the executive producers. The show ran for seven seasons on ABC in the United States and various other networks abroad from 1985 to 1992. The series was filmed in Los Angeles...
), the science-fiction themed action show, The Sentinel
The Sentinel (TV series)
The Sentinel is a Canadian-produced television series that aired on UPN in the United States from 1996 to 1999. It premiered on March 20, 1996, and ran for 65 episodes . The series later reaired on Syfy.-Plot and characters:...
, and Moesha
Moesha
Moesha is an American sitcom series that aired on the UPN network from January 23, 1996 to May 14, 2001. The series stars R&B singer Brandy Norwood as Moesha Mitchell, a high school student living with her family in the Leimert Park neighborhood of South Central Los Angeles.-Overview:The show...
, a sitcom starring Brandy Norwood
Brandy (entertainer)
Brandy Rayana Norwood , known professionally as Brandy, is an American singer-songwriter, producer, actress, and dancer. In 2009, she introduced her rap alter-ego Bran'Nu....
. Of the network's early offerings, only Star Trek: Voyager, Moesha, and The Sentinel would last longer than one season.
Viacom era and decline (2000–2006)
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, thus creating CBS-UPN duopolies in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
(KYW-TV
KYW-TV
KYW-TV, virtual channel 3, is an owned and operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. KYW-TV shares a studio facility with its sister station, CW flagship WPSG just north of Center City Philadelphia...
and WPSG
WPSG
WPSG, channel 57, is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. WPSG is owned by the CBS Corporation and is the east coast flagship station for the CW Television Network, which is owned jointly by CBS and Time Warner...
), Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
(WBZ-TV
WBZ-TV
WBZ-TV, virtual channel 4, is a CBS owned-and-operated television station, located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. WBZ-TV's studios and office facilities, shared with sister station WSBK-TV , are located in the Allston-Brighton section of Boston, and its transmitter is located in Needham,...
and WSBK-TV
WSBK-TV
WSBK-TV is a MyNetworkTV television station for eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire that is licensed to Boston. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter along the Needham and Wellesley town line southwest of the MA 9 and I-95 / MA 128...
), Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
(WFOR-TV
WFOR-TV
WFOR-TV, virtual channel 4.1 , is the CBS owned-and-operated station in Miami, Florida. WFOR shares its TV studio facilities with sister station WBFS-TV in Doral, near Miami International Airport, and its transmitter is located in Miramar.WFOR-TV also previously had two translator stations in the...
and WBFS-TV
WBFS-TV
WBFS-TV is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for South Florida that is licensed to Miami. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 32 from a transmitter in Miramar. Owned by the CBS Corporation, the station is sister to CBS affiliate WFOR-TV and the two share...
), Dallas/Fort Worth
Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
The Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington Metropolitan Statistical Area, a title designated by the U.S. Census as of 2003, encompasses 12 counties within the U.S. state of Texas. The area is divided into two metropolitan divisions: Dallas–Plano–Irving and Fort Worth–Arlington. Residents of the area...
(KTVT
KTVT
KTVT, virtual channel 11, is a CBS owned-and-operated television station licensed to Fort Worth, Texas, and serving the Dallas-Fort Worth designated market area. The station is co-owned with independent station KTXA , and the two stations share facilities in Dallas and Fort Worth...
and KTXA
KTXA
KTXA, virtual channel 21 , is an independent television station based in Fort Worth, Texas, and serving the Dallas/Fort Worth designated market area. With its transmitter in Cedar Hill, KTXA is owned by CBS Corporation and is the sister station of CBS outlet KTVT .KTXA was originally an...
), Detroit (WWJ-TV
WWJ-TV
WWJ-TV, virtual channel 62 , is the CBS-owned and operated television station in Detroit, Michigan. It is co-owned with Detroit's CW station, WKBD-TV , and the two stations share a studio in Southfield, Michigan, a Detroit suburb....
and WKBD-TV), and Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
(KDKA-TV
KDKA-TV
KDKA-TV, channel 2, is an owned and operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. KDKA-TV broadcasts from a transmitter located in the Perry North neighborhood of Pittsburgh, and its studios are located in downtown Pittsburgh at Gateway Center....
and WNPA
WPCW
WPCW is a The CW-affiliated television station for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that is licensed to Jeannette. WPCW is owned by the CBS Corporation and serves as an affiliate of The CW Television Network for the television market...
). It is said that Viacom's purchase of CBS was the "death knell" for the FCC's "no duopolies at all rule". Further transactions added San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
(KPIX-TV
KPIX-TV
KPIX-TV is the CBS owned and operated television station in San Francisco, California. Through its parent company CBS Corporation, KPIX is co-owned with The CW affiliate KBCW-TV ....
and KBHK), which was traded to Viacom/CBS by Fox, and Sacramento
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
(KOVR
KOVR
KOVR, channel 13, is an owned-and-operated station of the CBS Television Network located in Sacramento, California and licensed to Stockton. KOVR-TV shares its offices and studio facilities with sister station KMAX-TV in West Sacramento, California, and its transmitter is located in Walnut Grove,...
and KMAX-TV
KMAX-TV
KMAX-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...
) to the mix.
At the time of UPN's launch, the network's flagship station was WWOR-TV
WWOR-TV
WWOR-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the flagship station of the MyNetworkTV programming service, licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey and serving the Tri-State metropolitan area. WWOR is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network flagship...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, owned by Chris-Craft. Even after Chris-Craft sold its share of the network to Viacom, WWOR was still commonly regarded as the flagship station since it had long been common practice to accord this status to a network's New York station. For this reason, some cast doubt on UPN's future after Fox bought most of Chris-Craft's television holdings. Several UPN stations were part of the deal, including WWOR and West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
flagship KCOP-TV
KCOP-TV
KCOP-TV, channel 13, is a television station in Los Angeles, California. Owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, KCOP is a sister station to Fox network outlet KTTV , and is affiliated with the MyNetworkTV programming service...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Fox later bought the third-largest UPN affiliate, WPWR-TV
WPWR-TV
WPWR-TV, channel 50, is a MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station licensed to Gary, Indiana, and serving the Chicago, Illinois area. WPWR-TV is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network outlet WFLD-TV...
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...
. After Chris-Craft sold its stake in UPN, the network's largest owned-and-operated station
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...
was WPSG
WPSG
WPSG, channel 57, is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. WPSG is owned by the CBS Corporation and is the east coast flagship station for the CW Television Network, which is owned jointly by CBS and Time Warner...
in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
.
In 2001, UPN acquired Buffy the Vampire Slayer and 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...
for their final seasons from network rival The WB in a public bidding war between the two with producing studio 20th Century Fox Television
20th Century Fox Television
20th Century Fox Television is the television production division of 20th Century Fox Film Corporation, and a production arm of the Fox Broadcasting Company...
. UPN eventually outbid The WB for the shows and aired them together on Tuesday nights until Roswell ended its run in 2002 and Buffy the following year in 2003. New shows began to breathe life into the network starting in fall 2003 with America's Next Top Model
America's Next Top Model
America's Next Top Model is a reality television show in which a number of women compete for the title of America's Next Top Model and a chance to start their career in the modeling industry....
and Will Smith
Will Smith
Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...
's All of Us
All of Us
All 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...
, in fall 2004 with Veronica Mars
Veronica Mars
Veronica 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...
, and in fall 2005 with Chris Rock
Chris Rock
Christopher Julius "Chris" Rock III is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted in the US as the 5th greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central...
's Everybody Hates Chris
Everybody Hates Chris
Everybody Hates Chris is an African American television period sitcom inspired by the teenage experiences of comedian Chris Rock , while growing up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York . The show is set from 1982 to 1987; however, Rock himself was a teenager during years...
.
When Viacom split into two companies at the end of 2005, its over-the-air broadcasting interests, including UPN, became part of 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...
.
UPN quietly went off the air on September 15, 2006; WWE SmackDown was the last official program (although some affiliates aired the optional weekend encore block), ending its existence after 11 years. However, UPN affiliates owned by Fox Television Stations Group
Fox Television Stations Group
Fox Television Stations, Inc. is a group of television stations located within the United States which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Fox Entertainment Group, part of News Corporation...
ended all ties to the network on August 31, 2006. Before that, within days of the new network's announcement, Fox-owned UPN affiliates stopped using the UPN branding and dropped all advertisement for UPN. As a result UPN did not air its last two weeks of programming in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, 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...
and six other media market
Media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
s in which Fox owned the UPN station, also due in part to then upstart Fox owned MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
, which was set to debut September 5, 2006 on those stations. With the exception of WWE SmackDown, all programming during the final three months were reruns. SmackDown!, however, was aired in those markets on WB stations owned by Tribune, which have since become CW stations.
After the network's official closure, UPN's website was redirected to The CW website, and then CBS's website.
Executive management
- Lucie SalhanyLucie SalhanyLucie Salhany is a Lebanese media executive. Salhany is perhaps best known for rising to chairman of Fox Broadcasting Company in 1993, making her the first woman to head a broadcast television network...
was the first CEO, from the network's launch in 1995 until 1997. - Michael Sullivan was the first President, Entertainment from 1994 to 1997
- Dean Valentine was CEO from 1997 to 2001.
- Tom Nunan was President, Entertainment from 1997 to 2001.
- Adam Ware was Chief Operating Officer from 1999 to 2002.
- Dawn OstroffDawn OstroffDawn Tarnofsky-Ostroff was the former President of Entertainment of The CW Television Network. She was in charge of all creative efforts of the network and oversees such areas as current programming, series development, scheduling, research, marketing and publicity.-Career:Ostroff began her career...
was President, Entertainment from 2002 to 2006.
Availability
Although it was considered a major network by the Nielsen ratingsNielsen 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...
, UPN was not available in all areas of the United States. In some areas, UPN programming was shown off-pattern by affiliates of other networks or by otherwise independent stations, such as in the case of KIKU-TV
KIKU
KIKU-TV is an independent television station based in Honolulu, Hawaii. Currently, KIKU broadcasts on DTV channel 19, Time-Warner Cable 9/Digital 89 , Time-Warner Cable 10/Digital 89 , Time-Warner Cable Digital 89 , Hawaiian Cable 12, and Hawaiian Telcom Cable 20...
in Honolulu, Hawaii. Some affiliates were also known to extensively preempt network programming in order to broadcast local sporting events. These factors led to the network struggling in the ratings over the past few years, with its most recent Star Trek franchise, Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series. It follows the adventures of humanity's first warp 5 starship, the Enterprise, ten years before the United Federation of Planets shown in previous Star Trek series was formed.Enterprise premiered on September 26, 2001...
, perhaps suffering the most and ultimately being cancelled by the network in a controversial decision in February 2005. The most consistent ratings performer for the network was WWE SmackDown. In the 2004-2005 season, the network was getting consistently better ratings than The WB, much of this thanks to WWE.
It was estimated in 2003 that UPN was viewable by 85.98% of all households, reaching 91,689,290 houses in the United States. In contrast, The WB was viewable in 91.66% of homes. This is mainly because The WB had 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...
, of group of cable-only stations in markets below the top 100, and UPN did not have such a service. Despite this, WNFM-TV in Southwest Florida
Southwest Florida
Southwest Florida is a region of Florida , United States located along its gulf coast, south of the Tampa Bay area, west of Lake Okeechobee and mostly north of the Everglades...
became a UPN affiliate in 1998. UPN had approximately 143 full-power owned-and-operated or primary affiliate stations in the U.S. and another 65 stations aired some UPN programming as secondary affiliates.
Programming
Most of UPN's programming through the years was produced by Paramount TelevisionParamount Television
Paramount Television was an American television production/distribution company that was active from January 1, 1968 to August 27, 2006.Its successor is CBS Television Studios, formerly CBS Paramount Television...
or a sister company (such as Viacom Productions
Viacom Productions
Viacom Productions was a television production company active from 1974 until 2004.-History:*1971: Viacom Enterprises was reincorporated from CBS Enterprises .*1973: Viacom Enterprises was spun-off from CBS....
, Spelling Television
Spelling Television
Spelling Television Inc. was a television production company that produced popular shows such as Charmed, Beverly Hills, 90210, 7th Heaven, Dynasty and Melrose Place. The company was founded by television producer Aaron Spelling in 1969...
, or CBS Productions
CBS Productions
CBS Productions is the production arm of the CBS television network now a part of CBS Corporation, formed in 1952 to produce shows in-house, instead of relying solely on outside productions. Its first production was CBS Television Workshop, a drama anthology series...
).
The first official UPN network programming was the series Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...
. The first comedy shows to debut were Platypus Man
Platypus Man
Platypus Man is an American sitcom that aired on UPN in 1995. Starring comedian Richard Jeni, the television series was based on an hour-long HBO special of Jeni's filmed in 1992. The series lasted for only one season, with a total of thirteen episodes....
, starring Richard Jeni
Richard Jeni
Richard John Colangelo , better known by the stage name of Richard Jeni, was an American stand-up comedian and actor.-Early life:...
, and Pig Sty
Pig Sty
Pig Sty is a sitcom that premiered on UPN on January 23, 1995 during that network's first season. Only 13 episodes were made. Pig Sty ran on Monday nights, after Star Trek: Voyager and Platypus Man...
, with both shows airing Monday nights in the 9 PM hour. Both received mixed reviews and neither lasted long. Other early UPN programs included the action show Nowhere Man
Nowhere Man (TV series)
Nowhere Man is an American television series that aired from 1995 to 1996 starring Bruce Greenwood. Created by Lawrence Hertzog, the series aired Monday nights on UPN. Despite critical acclaim, including TV Guides label of "The season's coolest hit," the show was cancelled after only one...
starring Bruce Greenwood
Bruce Greenwood
Bruce Greenwood is a Canadian actor and musician. He is generally known for his roles as U.S. presidents in Thirteen Days and National Treasure: Book of Secrets and for his role as Captain Christopher Pike in the 2009 Star Trek film...
, the action show Marker
Marker (TV series)
Marker was an American hour long television drama that premiered on the UPN on March 20, 1995. It was set in and filmed in Hawaii.The series focused on Richard DeMorra , a man given a strange inheritance from his late father: markers which were given in the past by his father to those who had...
starring Richard Grieco
Richard Grieco
Richard John Grieco, Jr. is an American actor and former fashion model.-Early life:Richard Grieco was born in Watertown, New York, the son of Carolyn and Richard Grieco. He is of Italian and Irish descent. Grieco played football for Central Connecticut State University.-Career:Grieco worked as a...
, The Watcher
The Watcher (TV series)
The Watcher is an American anthology drama series that premiered on UPN in January 1995, during the network's inaugural season.-Synopsis:Set in Las Vegas, the series stars rapper Sir Mix-a-Lot as "The Watcher", an omniscient narrator who watches the activities of others via surveillance monitors in...
featuring Sir Mix-a-Lot
Sir Mix-a-Lot
Anthony Ray , better known by his stage name Sir Mix-a-Lot, is an emcee and producer based in Seattle, Washington. The founder of the Nastymix record label, he debuted in 1988 with Swass...
as an omniscient narrator, the comic western Legend
Legend (TV series)
Legend was a science fiction Western television show that ran on UPN from April 18, 1995 until August 22, 1995, with one final re-airing of the pilot on July 3, 1996. It was Richard Dean Anderson's first major role after the successful MacGyver series, and also starred John de Lancie, best known...
starring Richard Dean Anderson
Richard Dean Anderson
Richard Dean Anderson is an American television and film actor, producer and composer. He began his television career in 1976 as Dr. Jeff Webber in the American soap opera series General Hospital, then rose to prominence as the lead actor in the television series MacGyver...
, the science-fiction themed action show, The Sentinel
The Sentinel (TV series)
The Sentinel is a Canadian-produced television series that aired on UPN in the United States from 1996 to 1999. It premiered on March 20, 1996, and ran for 65 episodes . The series later reaired on Syfy.-Plot and characters:...
, and Moesha
Moesha
Moesha is an American sitcom series that aired on the UPN network from January 23, 1996 to May 14, 2001. The series stars R&B singer Brandy Norwood as Moesha Mitchell, a high school student living with her family in the Leimert Park neighborhood of South Central Los Angeles.-Overview:The show...
, a sitcom starring Brandy Norwood
Brandy (entertainer)
Brandy Rayana Norwood , known professionally as Brandy, is an American singer-songwriter, producer, actress, and dancer. In 2009, she introduced her rap alter-ego Bran'Nu....
. Of the network's first few seasons, only Star Trek: Voyager, Moesha, and The Sentinel would last longer than one season.
UPN bought Buffy the Vampire Slayer from 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
in 2001 when The WB chose not to renew it when the license fees skyrocketed. Buffy continued on UPN for two more seasons.
UPN also bought the rights to broadcast television shows Clueless
Clueless (TV series)
Clueless is a television series spun off from the 1995 teen film of the same name . The series originally premiered on ABC on September 20, 1996 as a part of the TGIF lineup during its first season...
(formerly on ABC), The Hughleys
The Hughleys
The Hughleys is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 22, 1998 to April 28, 2000 and on the UPN network from September 11, 2000 to May 20, 2002. It starred comedian D. L...
(formerly on ABC), and 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...
(formerly on The WB). The former show was produced by Paramount Television, while the latter two were produced by 20th Century Fox Television
20th Century Fox Television
20th Century Fox Television is the television production division of 20th Century Fox Film Corporation, and a production arm of the Fox Broadcasting Company...
.
After Voyagers 7-season run came to an end, UPN began broadcasting the newest Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
, Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series. It follows the adventures of humanity's first warp 5 starship, the Enterprise, ten years before the United Federation of Planets shown in previous Star Trek series was formed.Enterprise premiered on September 26, 2001...
.
The network also produced some special programs, including the Iron Chef USA
Iron Chef USA
Iron Chef USA was the first American adaptation of the Japanese television series Iron Chef. Iron Chef USA appeared on the UPN television network in 2001. Only two episodes were aired : "Las Vegas Showdown" and "Holiday Battle"; neither received critical acclaim...
program during Christmas 2001
December 2001
December 2001: January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – December-----December 2, 2001:* Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection five days after Dynegy canceled a buyout bid .-December 4, 2001:...
. UPN also showed WWE's SmackDown! show, America's Next Top Model
America's Next Top Model
America's Next Top Model is a reality television show in which a number of women compete for the title of America's Next Top Model and a chance to start their career in the modeling industry....
, Girlfriends
Girlfriends
Girlfriends is an American comedy-drama sitcom that premiered on September 11, 2000, on UPN and aired on UPN's successor network, The CW, before being cancelled in 2008...
, The Parkers
The Parkers
The Parkers is an American sitcom . A spin-off of UPN's Moesha, The Parkers featured the mother-daughter team of Nikki and Kim Parker . The Parkers' signature "Heeyyy" greeting made its way into popular vernacular in the early 2000s.-Premise:The series centered around a mother and daughter who...
(a spin-off from Moesha
Moesha
Moesha is an American sitcom series that aired on the UPN network from January 23, 1996 to May 14, 2001. The series stars R&B singer Brandy Norwood as Moesha Mitchell, a high school student living with her family in the Leimert Park neighborhood of South Central Los Angeles.-Overview:The show...
), Veronica Mars
Veronica Mars
Veronica 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...
, and Everybody Hates Chris
Everybody Hates Chris
Everybody Hates Chris is an African American television period sitcom inspired by the teenage experiences of comedian Chris Rock , while growing up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York . The show is set from 1982 to 1987; however, Rock himself was a teenager during years...
. In the summer of 2005
2005 in television
The year 2005 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 2005.For the American TV schedule, see: 2005–06 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-Miniseries:...
, UPN aired R U the Girl
R U the Girl
R U the Girl is an American reality series that aired on UPN in 2005. The series featured the remaining members of the all-girl R&B group TLC whose former member, Lisa Lopes, died in a car crash in Honduras in April 2002...
, in which R&B group TLC searched for a woman to join them on a new song.
In its later years, as part of the network's desire to maintain its own unique identity with its own unique shows, UPN had a policy of "not picking up other networks' scraps", which was a strong argument when fan pressure was generated in 2004 for them to pick up 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...
, the spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
of Buffy the Vampire Slayer which had been dropped from The WB.
UPN aired only one regular network sports event program: the much-hyped XFL
XFL
The XFL was a professional American football league that played for one season in 2001. The league was founded by Vince McMahon, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of WWE...
in 2001, as part of a package from co-creator Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
which also included what was then WWF SmackDown! UPN had planned to air a second season of XFL in 2002, but it also demanded a reduction in the airtime of SmackDown! by 30 minutes. McMahon did not agree to the change and the XFL folded just after that.
Like The WB, UPN never aired a national newscast.
Children's programming
In its last three seasons, UPN was one of only two of the major broadcast networks (Pax TV (now Ion Television) was the other) not to air a children's programming block on weekend mornings. When UPN launched in 1995, the station aired cartoons on weekends; the lineup was known as UPN KidsUPN Kids
UPN Kids was a short-lived weekday and Sunday morning children's programming block on UPN that launched on September 10, 1995. During the 1998-1999 season, the block was called The UPN Kids Action Zone. The block aired for 2 hours each day...
. In 1998, UPN went a different way with its children's program block by airing reruns of the syndicated Sweet Valley High
Sweet Valley High
Sweet Valley High is a novel series created by Francine Pascal, who presided over a team of ghostwriters for the duration of the series' creation. The series began in 1983 and ceased publication twenty years later with over 152 books to its name...
, The Berenstain Bears and a new series, Breaker High
Breaker High
Breaker High was a Canadian teen comedy-drama series that ran from 1997 to 1998, airing on YTV in Canada and on UPN in the United States.-Synopsis:...
on weekdays and weekends aiming the programs at teenagers. As opposed to ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and WB stations, some UPN affiliates aired the weekend children's program block on Sunday mornings instead of Saturdays.
In 1999, UPN made a deal with Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
to air select programming from ABC's Disney's One Saturday Morning block (later ABC Kids) in place of the teen series. The new lineup would be called Disney's One Too
Disney's One Too
Disney's One Too was a weekday and Sunday morning children's programming block on UPN, it was a spinoff of Disney's One Saturday Morning, and resembled The Disney Afternoon.-History:...
. Recess
Recess (TV series)
Recess is an American animated television series created by Paul Germain and Joe Ansolabehere and produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. The series focuses on six elementary school students and their interaction with other classmates and teachers...
and Sabrina, the Animated Series were among the programming on the original lineup. Many UPN affiliates were already airing the syndicated Disney Afternoon block anyway. The Disney cartoons therefore were no longer syndicated but now aired on UPN stations. The block was reinstated to two hours. In some markets it ran weekday mornings, while in other markets it aired weekday afternoons. In 2002, Digimon: Digital Monsters moved to the lineup from 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...
. This was due to Disney's acquisition of Fox's children's programming department (then known as Jetix
Jetix
Jetix was a worldwide children's television programming brand owned by The Walt Disney Company. The Jetix brand was used for blocks and channels featuring action-related and adventure-related live-action and animated programming. It was also what Disney eventually turned Fox Kids into...
until 2009, now known as Disney XD
Disney XD
Disney XD is a brand of children's TV channels worldwide targeting young males, owned by The Walt Disney Company. The channel was formerly known as Toon Disney and/or Jetix in most areas. According to Gary Marsh, President of Entertainment for Disney Channel Worldwide, "XD" does not "stand for...
) as well as the Fox Family Channel, now renamed ABC Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
.
After eight years of airing children's programming, UPN dropped out of the kids program business in September 2003 when Disney's contract with UPN came to an end. Reasons included U.S. Federal Communications Commission
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...
(FCC) restrictions on quantity of advertising on children's programs, the content of such advertising, the fact syndicators were moving their most popular product to cable only, and the growth of cable channels directed at children (which have fewer advertising restrictions). As of January 2006, UPN had no plans of returning kids programming to the network, but it became a moot point due to its merger with The WB creating 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...
. When The CW launched, they carried over 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...
(now Toonzai) Saturday morning lineup from The WB.
Some Fox stations decided to carry over Fox's 4kids.tv block to a UPN, WB, or independent station
Independent station
An independent station is in the category of television terminology used to describe a television station broadcasting in the United States or Canada that is not affiliated with any television network....
, so the Fox affiliate could air general entertainment or local news programming on Saturday mornings. WFLD
WFLD
WFLD, virtual channel 32 , is the Fox owned-and-operated television station, based in Chicago, Illinois; through its parent company News Corporation, the station is owned in a duopoly with area MyNetworkTV affiliate WPWR-TV...
Fox 32 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...
, for example, moved the 4Kids TV schedule to co-owned UPN (now MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
) affiliate WPWR-TV
WPWR-TV
WPWR-TV, channel 50, is a MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station licensed to Gary, Indiana, and serving the Chicago, Illinois area. WPWR-TV is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network outlet WFLD-TV...
Channel 50, while Channel 32 airs news and different children's programming in place of the shows. Also, some UPN stations aired a block of cartoon programming from DIC Entertainment
DiC Entertainment
DIC Entertainment was an international film and television production company. In addition to animated television shows such as Ulysses 31 , Inspector Gadget , The Littles , The Real Ghostbusters , Captain Planet and the Planeteers , and the first two seasons of the English adaptation of...
(such as Trollz
Trollz
Trollz is an American animated television series produced by DiC Entertainment and features the adventures of five fictional teenage girls, who call themselves the Best Friends for Life, who use magic to help them with their everyday life as well as battling whatever magical creatures and problems...
and Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century
Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century
Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century is a animation series, in which Sherlock Holmes is brought back to life in the 22nd century. The series is a co–production by DiC and Scottish Television and was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Special Class Animated Program.- Overview :The concept series was...
) which was designed to meet the minimal three hours of E/I
E/I
E/I, which stands for "educational and informative," refers to a type of children's television programming shown in the United States. The Federal Communications Commission requires that every full-service Terrestrial television station in the U.S. show at least three hours of these television...
programming required by the FCC, and usually airs either six days a week for a half-hour each day, or in three hour-long blocks throughout the week.
Television movies
During the late 1990s, UPN produced a number of television movies branded "Blockbuster Shockwave Cinema," in conjunction with sponsor (and sister company) Blockbuster Video. Almost all were science fictionScience fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
films.
From UPN's inception until 2000, the network also offered a hosted movie series called the UPN Movie Trailer to their stations. The show featured mostly older Hollywood action and comedy films, often those made by Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
. Movie Trailer was discontinued in 2000 to give stations that opted for them room for a second weekend run of Star Trek: Enterprise and America's Next Top Model (and later, Veronica Mars). There were also three Paramount-branded blocks on the company's owned-and-operated station
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...
s ("O&Os") only: Paramount Teleplex as the main brand for movies at any given timeslot, Paramount Prime Movie for primetime features, and the Paramount Late Movie on late nights.
Shows that almost aired on UPN
- According to Simon CowellSimon CowellSimon Phillip Cowell is an English A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol...
's biography and Bill CarterBill CarterBill Carter is a writer and director. He directed the documentary film Miss Sarajevo, which consists of amateur video material he shot during his stay in the besieged city of Sarajevo...
's book Desperate Networks, UPN was offered American IdolAmerican IdolAmerican Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
before FOX and turned it down. - As part of the contract for picking up Buffy the Vampire Slayer, UPN was obligated to pick up AngelAngel (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...
if it was cancelled by The WB while UPN was still airing Buffy. However, Angel was axed by The WB the year after Buffy went off UPN. Despite a large fan campaign, UPN declined to pick up the show. - FireflyFirefly (TV series)Firefly is an American space western television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon, under his Mutant Enemy Productions label. Whedon served as executive producer, along with Tim Minear....
was offered to UPN after being cancelled, but was declined. - Malcolm in the MiddleMalcolm in the MiddleMalcolm in the Middle is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-and-a-half-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes...
was originally developed for UPN before being picked up by FOX. - Talkshow with Spike FerestenTalkshow with Spike FerestenTalkshow with Spike Feresten is an American late-night talk show television program on Fox starring Spike Feresten that aired from September 16, 2006 to May 16, 2009. It was the longest-running late night talk show in Fox's history, with three seasons...
was reportedly to air on UPN; it debuted on FOX one day after UPN's closure. - According to The TV IVThe TV IVThe TV IV is a MediaWiki-powered website that was launched in July 2005 as a response to TV Tome becoming TV.com. It is in the top thirty wikis on the web in both size and views...
, nine new scripts for the third season of The CriticThe CriticThe Critic is an American prime time animated series revolving around the life of film critic Jay Sherman, voiced by actor Jon Lovitz. It was created by Al Jean and Mike Reiss, both of whom had worked as writers on The Simpsons. The Critic had 23 episodes produced, first broadcast on ABC in 1994,...
were written for UPN.
Station standardization
When it was launched, UPN began having most of its stations branded as "UPN" or "Paramount," then the channel number, with the call signs nearby. By the late 1990s, the call signs were minimized to be just barely readable to meet FCC requirements, and the stations were simply known as "UPN", then channel number or city (e.g., WPWR-TVWPWR-TV
WPWR-TV, channel 50, is a MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station licensed to Gary, Indiana, and serving the Chicago, Illinois area. WPWR-TV is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network outlet WFLD-TV...
in Chicago had been referred to as "UPN Chicago" and WWOR-TV
WWOR-TV
WWOR-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the flagship station of the MyNetworkTV programming service, licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey and serving the Tri-State metropolitan area. WWOR is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network flagship...
in New York was referred to as "UPN 9" until The CW merger was announced in late January 2006). But most UPN O&Os under CBS branded it by network and city according to the CBS Mandate. For example, KBCW in San Francisco was branded "UPN Bay Area," WKBD
WKBD
WKBD-TV, virtual channel 50 , is an owned and operated station of the CW Television Network, based in Detroit, Michigan. The station is owned and operated by the CBS Corporation, and is one-half of a duopoly with sister station WWJ-TV . Its studios and transmitters are located at 11 mile and...
in Detroit was branded "UPN Detroit" and WUPL
WUPL
WUPL, virtual channel 54, is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for the Greater New Orleans, Louisiana area. It is licensed to the Northshore community of Slidell. It is currently owned by the Belo Corporation, in a duopoly with CBS affiliate WWL-TV. It broadcasts on UHF digital channel...
in New Orleans was branded "UPN New Orleans."
However, that didn't always apply, as WSBK-TV
WSBK-TV
WSBK-TV is a MyNetworkTV television station for eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire that is licensed to Boston. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter along the Needham and Wellesley town line southwest of the MA 9 and I-95 / MA 128...
in Boston was branded "UPN 38" and KMAX-TV
KMAX-TV
KMAX-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 was branded "UPN 31," for example. WPCW
WPCW
WPCW is a The CW-affiliated television station for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that is licensed to Jeannette. WPCW is owned by the CBS Corporation and serves as an affiliate of The CW Television Network for the television market...
Channel 19 in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
(formerly WNPA) originally branded itself as "UPN 19", but changed over to "UPN Pittsburgh" soon after the UPN logo change, making it one of the few that had carried both standardization styles. Many non-O&O UPN affiliates followed the same branding scheme; for example 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
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
, during its UPN affiliation, used the brand "UPN Hawaii".
This would be a continuation of the trend for networks to do such naming schemes, originated at 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 even earlier at CBC
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
in Canada), especially at CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, who uses the CBS Mandate on almost all of their O&O stations. The WB
The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network 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...
, NBC
NBC
The 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...
and 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...
also do similar naming schemes, but not to that extreme.
However, while the traditional "Big Three" don't require their affiliates to have such naming schemes (though some affiliates choose to adopt it anyway) and only on their O&O's is the style required, UPN mandated it on all stations (as Fox currently does), though The WB did not. In one case, though, WCGV in Milwaukee
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
branded as Channel 24 from 1998-2001 with no UPN imagery. The station had disaffiliated from the network in 1998 for eight months (previously it was "UPN 24") in a compensation dispute.
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 UPN
- List of United States over-the-air television networks
- List of former UPN affiliates
- Weekday cartoonWeekday cartoonA weekday cartoon is an animated television programming block for children and later teens during the weekday mornings and afternoons.-1960s and 1970s:...
- 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...
- UPN KidsUPN KidsUPN Kids was a short-lived weekday and Sunday morning children's programming block on UPN that launched on September 10, 1995. During the 1998-1999 season, the block was called The UPN Kids Action Zone. The block aired for 2 hours each day...