The announcement was made last week. UPN and The WB, the two smaller broadcast networks, are merging to form one. In many markets one TV station will be left out in the cold.
As it turns out, I work at one such operation¹.
Because of that, it’s important for me to say, I know nothing! No one at my TV station has mentioned our plans post-UPN. I’m guessing even they don’t know yet. Anything I say is based on my being a ‘student of the media.’
UPN’s programming doesn’t make up much of any station’s broadcast day. The network only provides two hours of shows a night, and even then it isn’t every night. But having this network, with programming heavily attuned to young and urban viewers, tended to set the tone across the rest of the broadcast day.
There has been no shortage of conjecture about what stations should do. Will they run more syndicated shows… more judges, more Maury, more bad relationship screamfests? How about more local programing like news or local ‘chat’ shows?
How about a return to the days of shows like, “The Lloyd Thaxton Show?”
You could definitely go with local programming.
The Geoff Fox Rockin’ Dance and Variety Hour would be a big hit for a local show.
Or local celebrity Match Game on the old set of High School Bowl. (Did they keep that in storage? I hope Ken Venit is still doing well.)
Seriously- it will be interesting to see what the “stranded” stations do. My source at a studio told me that the syndicators are hopeful that they can squeeze out some marginal content into the holes- or rerun shows that people miss earlier in the day.
This is the perfect opportunity for you to develop and host a local game show that could go national.
I was always bummed that I couldn’t watch WCTX!!We have a cable system and apparently Danbury has been “annexed” by New York and we only get the NY feed. A dish, maybe?