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| country = [[United States]]
| affiliates = [[List of former UPN affiliates]]
| headquarters = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]] {{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}
| owner = {{Plainlist|
* [[BHC Communications|United Television/Chris-Craft Television]] (1995–2000)
* [[Viacom (1952–2006)|Viacom]] (1996–20052000–2005)
* [[CBS Corporation]] (2005–2006)
}}
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| replaced_by = [[The CW]]<!--Do not add MyNetworkTV. There's no common ownership. Inheriting some affiliates does not make it a successor.-->
}}
The '''United Paramount Network''' ('''UPN''') was an American [[terrestrial television|broadcast]] [[television network]] that operated from 1995 to 2006. It was originally owned by [[Chris-Craft Industries]]' subsidiary, [[BHC Communications#United Television|United Television]]. [[Viacom (1952–20061952–2005)|Viacom]] (through its [[Paramount Television]] unit, which produced most of the network's series) turned it into a [[joint venture]] in 1996 after acquiring a 50% stake in the network, and subsequently purchased Chris-Craft's remaining stake in 2000. On December 31, 2005, UPN was kept by [[CBS Corporation]], which was the new name for Viacom when it split into two separate companies. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and [[Time Warner]] jointly announced that the companies would shut down UPN and competitor [[The WB]] to launch a new joint venture network later that year.<ref name="UPN, WB merge">{{cite news |title = UPN, WB to Merge Into CW Network |url = https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/upn-wb-merge-cw-network-83687/ |last = Crupi |first = Anthony |work = [[AdWeek]] |date = January 24, 2006 |access-date = February 12, 2017 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304064454/http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising/upn-wb-merge-cw-network-83687 |archive-date = March 4, 2016 }}</ref> UPN ceased broadcasting on September 15, 2006, with The WB following two days later. Select programs from both networks moved to the new network, [[The CW]], when it launched on September 18, 2006.<ref name="UPN, WB merge"/><ref>{{cite web |title = 'Gilmore Girls' Meet 'Smackdown'; CW Network to Combine WB, UPN in CBS-Warner Venture Beginning in September |url = https://money.cnn.com/2006/01/24/news/companies/cbs_warner/ |last = Seid |first = Jessica |work = [[CNN Money]] |date = January 24, 2006 |access-date = February 12, 2017 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170316043531/http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/24/news/companies/cbs_warner/ |archive-date = March 16, 2017 }}</ref>
 
== History ==
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[[Paramount Pictures]] had played a pivotal role in the development of network television. It was a partner in the [[DuMont Television Network]], and the Paramount Theaters chain, which was spun off from the corporate/studio parent and merged with [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] in a deal that helped cement that network's status as a major network. The [[Paramount Television Network]] was launched in 1948, but dissolved in the 1950s.<ref>{{cite book |last1 = Schatz |first1 = Thomas |title = Boom and Bust: American Cinema in the 1940s |date = 1999 |publisher = University of California Press |isbn = 978-0-520-22130-7 |page = 433 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=dwf5SUcfousC&pg=PA433 |language = en |quote = In 1948, Television Productions, Inc., formed the Paramount Television Network }}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis |last = White |first = Timothy R. |title = Hollywood's Attempt to Appropriate Television: The Case of Paramount Pictures |type = PhD dissertation |publisher = University of Wisconsin-Madison |year = 1990 |pages = 107–131 }}</ref>
 
InParamount thehad wake of the successful [[Universal Studios]] ''[[ad hoc]]'' [[Broadcast syndication|syndication]] package ''[[Operation Prime Time]]'', which first featured a [[miniseries]] adaptation of [[John Jakes]]' novel ''[[The Bastard (miniseries)|The Bastard]]'' and went on to air several more productions, Paramountlong had earlierplans contemplatedfor its own television network with the [[Paramount Television Service]]. Set to launch in early 1978, it would have run its programming for 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 (TV series)|Solid Gold]]''. ''Star Trek: Phase II'' was reworked as the theatrical film, ''[[Star Trek: The Motion Picture]]'', absorbing the costs already incurred from the aborted television series.
 
Paramount, and its eventual parent [[Viacom (1952–2006)|Viacom]] (which bought the studio's then-parent, Paramount Communications, in 1994), continued to consider launching their own television network. [[Independent station (North America)|Independent station]]s, even more than [[network affiliate]]s, were feeling the growing pressure of audience erosion to [[cable television]] in the 1980s and 1990s; there were unaffiliated commercial [[television station]]s in most of the major television markets, even after the foundation of [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] in 1986. Meanwhile, [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]], which had long been successful in syndication with repeats of ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]'', launched several first-run syndicated series by the 1990s, including ''[[Entertainment Tonight]]'', ''[[The Arsenio Hall Show]]'', ''[[Friday the 13th: The Series]]'', ''[[War of the Worlds (1988 TV series)|War of the Worlds]]'', ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'', and ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]''.
 
In 1993, [[Time Warner]] and [[Chris-Craft Industries]] entered into a [[joint venture]] to distribute programs via a [[prime time]] programming service, the [[Prime Time Entertainment Network]] (PTEN), which is UPN's partial parent. Chris-Craft later became a partner in UPN, and Time Warner launched The WB in a joint venture with the [[Tribune Media|Tribune Company]] at roughly the same time.
 
=== 1994–1999: Launch and early years ===
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On October 27, 1993, Paramount and Chris-Craft announced the formation of a new television network, later to be named the '''United Paramount Network''', with initial plans to run two hours of programming in prime time for two nights per week.<ref>{{cite news |title = Paramount Plans a TV Network |url = https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/27/business/paramount-plans-a-tv-network.html |first = Bill |last = Carter |newspaper = [[The New York Times]] |date = October 27, 1993 |access-date = September 2, 2015 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151015094915/http://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/27/business/paramount-plans-a-tv-network.html |archive-date = October 15, 2015 }}</ref> The new network would be owned by [[Chris-Craft Industries]], while most of its shows were to be produced by [[Paramount Television]].
 
Initially, the network was to simply be called "U", but the "U Network" trademark was held by the now-defunct [[National Association of College Broadcasters]] (NACB), which had been operating a satellite television programming network featuring programs largely produced by college students since 1991. The founder and first head of UPN, [[Lucie Salhany]], approached NACB with an offer of US$50,000 to transfer the name. Due to the costs related to rebranding the student network, and under the advice of its then-volunteer legal counsel, Cary Tepper, the non-profit association countered with a request of $100,000, which Salhany refused. At one point, the network was set to be titled the '''U/P Network''' before its current name was decided.<ref>{{Cite news |last = Coe |first = Steve |date = October 10, 1994 |title = U/P Network Unveils Launch Lineup |pages = 7–8 |work = Broadcasting & Cable |url = https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/94-OCR/BC-1994-10-10-Page-0007.pdf }}</ref> before its current name was decided. Ultimately, the "U" in UPN stood for Chris-Craft subsidiary [[BHC Communications#United Television|United Television]], which owned the network's two largest stations, [[WWOR-TV]] in [[New York City]] and [[KCOP-TV]] in [[Los Angeles]]; the "P" represented Paramount Television, the studio that formed a programming partnership with Chris-Craft to create the network. Chris-Craft and Paramount/Viacom each owned independent stations in several large and mid-sized U.S. cities, and these stations formed the nuclei of the new network.
 
[[Warner Bros.]] announced plans to launch a similar network, which would become known as [[The WB]], in close proximity to UPN. The belief that a new broadcast network could grow to be competitive was predicated on the idea that the network in question would not have a fledgling rival to contend with. With the change in landscape, the joint understanding of assured defeat prompted executives from [[Viacom (1952–2006)|Viacom]] and Time Warner (at the time, UPN and The WB's respective owners, with the latter owning most of The WB) to discuss the prospect of [[Mergers and acquisitions|merging]] the networks together.<ref>{{Cite book |title = Season Finale: The Unexpected Rise and fall of the WB and UPN |last1 = Daniels |first1= Susanne |date = 2007 |publisher = HarperCollins e-books |last2 = Littleton |first2 = Cynthia. |isbn = 9780061542268 |location = Pymble, New South Wales |oclc = 191702277 }}</ref> Both sides reached an agreement on the division of affiliates, but Chris-Craft expressed extreme skepticism and declined to proceed with the merger. A merger would ultimately come in 2006 with the creation of [[The CW]].
 
UPN launched on January 16, 1995, initially carrying programming only on Monday and Tuesday nights from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern]] and [[Pacific Time Zone|Pacific Time]].<ref>{{cite news |title = The Media Business: 2 Would-Be Networks Get Set for Prime Time |url = https://www.nytimes.com/1995/01/09/business/the-media-business-2-would-be-networks-get-set-for-prime-time.html |first = Bill |last = Carter |newspaper = The New York Times |date = January 9, 1995 |access-date = September 2, 2015 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151015094720/http://www.nytimes.com/1995/01/09/business/the-media-business-2-would-be-networks-get-set-for-prime-time.html |archive-date = October 15, 2015 }}</ref> The first telecast, the [[Caretaker (Star Trek: Voyager)|two-hour pilot episode]] of ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'', was an auspicious start, with 21.3 million viewers; however, ''Voyager'' would neither achieve such viewership levels again, nor would any of the series premiering 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 (TV series)|Muscle]]'', would not survive its first season. The first comedy series to premiere on UPN were ''[[Platypus Man]]'', starring [[Richard Jeni]], and ''[[Pig Sty]]'', with both shows airing Monday nights in the 9:00&nbsp;p.m. hour; both received mixed reviews,. and neitherNeither lasted long. <ref>{{cite news |title = UPN Network Cancels 3 of Its 4 Programs |url = https://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/18/arts/upn-network-cancels-3-of-its-4-programs.html |first = Lawrie |last = Mifflin |newspaper = The New York Times |date = May 18, 1995 |access-date = September 2, 2015 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151015094847/http://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/18/arts/upn-network-cancels-3-of-its-4-programs.html |archive-date = October 15, 2015 }}</ref>
 
Other early UPN programs included the action series ''[[Nowhere Man (American TV series)|Nowhere Man]]'', starring [[Bruce Greenwood]] and ''[[Marker (TV series)|Marker]]'', starring [[Richard Grieco]]; the comic western ''[[Legend (TV series)|Legend]]'' starring [[Richard Dean Anderson]]; the sci-fi themed action series, ''[[The Sentinel (TV series)|The Sentinel]]''; and ''[[Moesha]]'', a sitcom starring R&B musician [[Brandy (entertainer)|Brandy Norwood]]. Of the network's early offerings, only ''Star Trek: Voyager'', ''Moesha'' and ''The Sentinel'' would last longer than one season. As a result of the lack of viewership, UPN operated on a loss and had lost $800&nbsp;million by 2000.<ref>{{cite magazine |title = Why Won't Anyone Pull the Plug on UPN? |url = https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2000/04/03/why-wont-anyone-pull-the-plug-on-upn |first = James |last = Surowiecki |magazine = [[The New Yorker]] |date = April 3, 2000 |access-date = January 17, 2010 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081218170110/https://www.newyorker.com/archive/2000/04/03/2000_04_03_032_TNY_LIBRY_000020545 |archive-date = December 18, 2008 }}</ref>
 
Within nearly two years of the network's launch, on December 8, 1996, Paramount/Viacom purchased a 50% stake in UPN from Chris-Craft for approximately $160&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite news |title = Viacom Buys 50 Percent Stake in UPN Network |url = https://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/05/business/viacom-buys-50-percent-stake-in-upn-network.html |newspaper = The New York Times |date = December 5, 1996 |access-date = September 2, 2015 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151015094516/http://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/05/business/viacom-buys-50-percent-stake-in-upn-network.html |archive-date = October 15, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title = Viacom to Buy Half of UPN: Is Investing $160 Million in Fledgling Network |url = http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-18935896.html |first1 = Steve |last1 = McClellan |first2 = Lynette |last2 = Rice |periodical = [[Broadcasting & Cable]]|date = December 9, 1996 |access-date = June 22, 2013 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131011162936/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-18935896.html |archive-date = October 11, 2013 }}</ref> Like Fox had done nine years earlier, UPN started with a few nights of programming each week, with additional nights of primetime shows gradually being added over the course of several seasons. Because of this, UPN's affiliates were basically independent stations for all intents and purposes during the network's early years, with these stations airing either syndicated programs or movies during primetime on nights when the network did not provide programming. The first expansion of its primetime lineup came with the addition of programming on Wednesday nights on March 6, 1996 (during the second half of the 1995–96 season); that expansion also saw UPN assume the broadcast rights to the [[Blockbuster Entertainment Awards]], which aired its inaugural broadcast on CBS the year before.
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=== Children's programming ===
{{Main|UPN Kids|Disney's One Too}}
When the network launched in January 1995, UPN introduced a weekend morning cartoon block called ''[[UPN Kids]]'' (later called "The UPN Kids Action Zone" during the 1998–99 season). In 1997, UPN added two teen-oriented series to the lineup with reruns of the syndicated ''[[Sweet Valley High (TV series)|Sweet Valley High]]'' (based on the young adult book series by [[Francine Pascal]]) and a new series, ''[[Breaker High]]'' (which co-starred a then-unknown [[Ryan Gosling]]); both shows filled the weekday morning block for the 1997–98 season, while they were also included alongside the animated series on Sunday mornings. Unlike other networks, UPN gave its affiliates the option of running its weekend children's program block on either Saturdays or Sundays. In January 1998, the network entered into a deal with [[Saban Entertainment]] to program the Sunday morning block (with shows such as ''[[The Incredible Hulk (1996 TV series)|The Incredible Hulk]]'', ''[[X-Men: The Animated Series|X-Men]]'' and ''[[Spider-Man (1981 TV series)|Spider-Man]]'' joining the lineup).<ref>{{cite web |title = Marvel, Saban Set Kids Shows for UPN |url = https://variety.com/1998/tv/news/marvel-saban-set-kids-shows-for-upn-1117467216/ |last = Katz |first = Richard |work = Variety |date = January 29, 1998 |access-date = August 21, 2009 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131212115808/http://variety.com/1998/tv/news/marvel-saban-set-kids-shows-for-upn-1117467216/ |archive-date = December 12, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title = UPN Serves up Superheroes |url = https://variety.com/1998/tv/news/upn-serves-up-superheroes-1117468038/ |last = Katz |first = Richard |work = Variety |date = February 24, 1998 |access-date = August 21, 2009 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151015094918/http://variety.com/1998/tv/news/upn-serves-up-superheroes-1117468038/ |archive-date = October 15, 2015 }}</ref>
 
There were rumors that UPN then entered into discussions with then-corporate sister [[Nickelodeon]] (both networks were owned by [[Viacom (1952–2006)|Viacom]]) to produce a new block.<ref name="Disney talks called off">{{cite news |title = UPN Kids Pick Nick, not Mouse |url = https://variety.com/1998/biz/news/upn-kids-pick-nick-not-mouse-1117467104/ |first = Jenny |last = Hontz |work = Variety |date = January 27, 1998 |access-date = February 19, 2022 }}</ref>
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During the late 1990s, UPN produced a number of [[television film]]s under the umbrella brand ''Blockbuster Shockwave Cinema'', in conjunction with sponsor (and then-sister company) [[Blockbuster LLC|Blockbuster Video]], almost all of which were [[science fiction film|sci-fi film]]s.
 
From UPN's inception until 2000, the network also offered a hosted movie series called the ''UPN Movie Trailer'' to its stations. The weekend block featured mostly older theatrically released action and comedy films, often those from the [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] film library. The ''Movie Trailer'' block was discontinued in 2000 to give stations that opted for them room for a two-hour block of select UPN series that aired in primetime during the past week. There were also three Paramount-branded blocks that aired on Viacom's UPN owned-and-operated stations between 1995 and 2000: the ''Paramount Teleplex'' as the main brand for movies at any given timeslot, the ''Paramount Prime Movie'' for primetime features, and the ''Paramount Late Movie'' for films airing in late night timeslots. From 2002 to 2006, UPN offredoffered a movie block (airing on Saturdays or Sundays depending on the affiliates) called ''Hot Weekend Movie'', which carried movies (theatrical, made-for-TV and direct-to-video) from the [[Metro-Goldwyn Mayer]] library.
 
== Affiliates ==
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However, most of the UPN owned-and-operated stations under Viacom/CBS Corporation branded themselves by the network/city conventions (for example, [[KPYX|KBHK-TV]]/[[San Francisco]] was branded as "UPN Bay Area", [[WKBD-TV|WKBD]]/[[Detroit]] was branded as "UPN Detroit", [[WUPA]] was branded as "UPN Atlanta" and [[WUPL]]/[[New Orleans]] was branded as "UPN New Orleans"). That type of branding did not always apply though, as for example, [[WSBK-TV]]/[[Boston]] was branded "UPN 38" and [[KMAX-TV]]/[[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]] was branded "UPN 31". [[WPKD-TV|WNPA]]/[[Pittsburgh]] originally branded itself as "UPN 19", but rebranded itself as "UPN Pittsburgh" soon after the network introduced its second and final logo in September 2002, making it one of the few that had carried both standardization styles. Many UPN-affiliated stations followed the same branding scheme (for example, [[KHII-TV|KFVE]]/[[Honolulu, Hawaii|Honolulu]] used the brand "UPN Hawaii").
 
This would be a continuation of the trend of networks using such naming schemes, which originated at Fox (and even earlier by the Canadian [[CBC Television|CBC]]), and was also predominately used at CBS (which has most of its owned-and-operated stations, with a few exceptions, brand using a combination of the network's name and over-the-air channel number) and The WB (with the exception of its Tribune Broadcasting-owned affiliates in Los Angeles and Chicago, and certain other stations); NBC and ABC also use similar branding schemes, but not to the same broad level outside their O&Os. While the "Big Three" networks do not require their affiliates to have such naming schemes (though some affiliates choose to adopt it anyway) and only on the network's O&Os is the style required, UPN mandated it on all stations – though in one case, [[Milwaukee]] affiliate [[WVTVWCGV-DT2TV|WCGV]] branded as "Channel 24" from 1998 to 2001, excluding UPN imagery from its station branding (WCGV, which previously branded as "UPN 24", had disaffiliated from the network for eight months in 1998 due to a compensation dispute; it received a rare waiver from the network to air a marathon of the last half of [[Star Trek: Voyager (season 4)|season four of ''Star Trek: Voyager'']] which it had not aired in August 1998, before the fifth season's premiere in September.<ref>{{cite web |title = Sinclair Pulling More UPN Affiliations |url = http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-20115938.html |first = Joe |last = Schlosser |periodical = Broadcasting & Cable |date = January 5, 1998 |access-date = September 2, 2015 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150924151246/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-20115938.html |archive-date = September 24, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title = UPN, Sinclair Make Up |url = http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-50228020.html |first = Steve |last = McClellan |periodical = Broadcasting & Cable |date = August 3, 1998 |access-date = September 2, 2015 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150924155249/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-50228020.html |archive-date = September 24, 2015 }}</ref>).
 
One Chris-Craft/United Television-owned station, [[KMSP-TV]] in [[Minneapolis–Saint Paul]], only branded as "UPN 9" for its entertainment and network programming. Due to the station's circumstances of holding full cable carriage across the state of [[Minnesota]] and into [[The Dakotas]] as a [[superstation]], local management preferred to retain their pre-UPN "Minnesota 9" branding in some manner, as most of the UPN schedule was of low appeal to the station's rural viewers, and it was building a successful and competitive news department that did not depend on the success or failure of UPN. KMSP's news division success despite UPN affiliation was one of the pushes for Fox Television Stations to acquire United Television overall, then convert KMSP-TV to a Fox owned-and-operated station in Fall 2002. The UPN affiliation thus moved to new sister station [[WFTC]], which followed all UPN branding guidelines until Fox pulled their support for the network in January 2006.
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