Wikipedia

UPN: Difference between revisions

Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
highbeam is defunct , "via" not helpful | Cleaned up using AutoEd
Line 60:
Other early UPN programs included the action series ''[[Nowhere Man (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]] |via = [[HighBeam Research]] |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.
 
UPN ordered 36 sci-fi films to air as part of its weekly movie presentations beginning in 1998; the films were supplied by four production companies, with most of the titles coming from Paramount. Some titles would be shown on [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]] first, which allowed the [[pay television|premium cable channel]] to cooperate in advertising the movies.<ref>{{cite book |last1 = Segrave |first1 = Kerry |title = Movies at Home : How Hollywood Came to Television |date = 1999 |publisher = McFarland |location = Jefferson, North Carolina |isbn = 0786406542 |page = 144 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=IZTehB3M1_kC&pg=PA144 |access-date = January 8, 2016 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160624054459/https://books.google.com/books?id=IZTehB3M1_kC&lpg=PA146&pg=PA144 |archive-date = June 24, 2016 }}</ref>
Line 70:
Six months after the company announced its $36&nbsp;billion merger with (the original) [[Westinghouse Electric Corporation|CBS Corporation]], in March 1999, Viacom applied a contractual clause that would – within a 45-day grace period – force Chris-Craft to either buy Viacom out of UPN, or have the former sell its ownership stake in the network to Viacom. Three days later on February 8, Chris-Craft subsequently filed a lawsuit against Viacom in the [[New York Supreme Court]] to block the latter's merger with CBS, claiming that a pact signed between the two partners in 1997 had prevented either from owning "any interest, financial or otherwise" in "any competing network," including CBS, for a four-year period through January 2001. On March 17, New York Supreme Court judge Herman Cahn ruled against Chris-Craft's move for a permanent [[injunction]] to curtail the Viacom-CBS merger and the enforcement of Viacom's ultimatum.<ref>{{cite news |title = Viacom Makes 2 Offers to BHC on TV Venture |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/04/business/viacom-makes-2-offers-to-bhc-on-tv-venture.html |newspaper = The New York Times |date = February 4, 2000 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171103205351/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/04/business/viacom-makes-2-offers-to-bhc-on-tv-venture.html |archive-date = November 3, 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title = BHC Sues UPN Partner Viacom over CBS Deal |url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-feb-09-fi-62554-story.html |first = Sallie |last = Hofmeister |newspaper = Los Angeles Times |date = February 9, 2000 |access-date = September 2, 2015 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151015095028/http://articles.latimes.com/2000/feb/09/business/fi-62554 |archive-date = October 15, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title = Chris-Craft Loses UPN Ruling |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/17/business/chris-craft-loses-upn-ruling.html |newspaper = The New York Times |date = March 17, 2000 |access-date = September 2, 2015 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151015095032/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/17/business/chris-craft-loses-upn-ruling.html |archive-date = October 15, 2015 }}</ref>
 
Unable to find a suitable partner, on March 20, Chris-Craft allowed Viacom to buy out its 50% stake for $5&nbsp;million, giving Viacom full control of the network.<ref>{{cite news |title = Viacom Buys Chris-Craft's Stake in UPN for $5 Million |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/21/business/viacom-buys-chris-craft-s-stake-in-upn-for-5-million.html |first = Bill |last = Carter |newspaper = The New York Times |date = March 21, 2000 |access-date = September 2, 2015 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151117102355/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/21/business/viacom-buys-chris-craft-s-stake-in-upn-for-5-million.html |archive-date = November 17, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title = Viacom Wins UPN so Let the Digestion Begin |url = http://www.medialifemagazine.com:8080/news2000/mar00/news20321.html |periodical = [[Media Life Magazine]] |date = March 2000 |access-date = May 4, 2013 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130617235807/http://www.medialifemagazine.com:8080/news2000/mar00/news20321.html |archive-date = June 17, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title = UPN Deal Done; Viacom Buys out Chris-Craft Share |url = http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-62239976.html |first1 = Melissa |last1 = Grego |first2 = Joe |last2 = Schlosser |periodical = Broadcasting & Cable |via = HighBeam Research |date = April 10, 2000 |access-date = June 22, 2013 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140611025706/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-62239976.html |archive-date = June 11, 2014 }}</ref> This gave UPN the rare distinction of being one of the only broadcast networks to not have had [[owned-and-operated station]]s (O&O) in the three largest media markets, New York City, Los Angeles, and [[Chicago]] (with The WB – the only network that never have had an O&O – being the only other, as minority owner [[Tribune Broadcasting]] owned most of its charter affiliates including those in [[WPIX|all]] [[KTLA|three]] [[WGN-TV|markets]], while majority owner Time Warner only owned [[WPCH-TV|WTBS-TV]], an independent station that originated then-[[superstation]] [[TBS (TV network)|TBS]]). With Viacom taking full ownership control of UPN, KCOP-TV and WWOR-TV lost their statuses as O&Os and automatically became affiliates of the network, with the network's ''[[de facto]]'' owned-and-operated flagship stations becoming [[Philadelphia]] outlet [[WPSG]] (now a [[The CW|CW]] affiliate) and [[San Francisco]] outlet [[KPYX|KBHK-TV]] (now KPYX, another CW affiliate). In addition, neither Chris-Craft or Viacom had ever held ownership of Chicago affiliate [[WPWR-TV]], which had been the largest UPN station that was not owned-and-operated by the network before the Viacom buyout.
 
Shortly afterward, Viacom shortened the network's official name from the "United Paramount Network" to the three-letter initialism, "UPN". Viacom also proposed a rebranding of UPN into the "'''Paramount Network'''", using a prototype logo based on Paramount's mountain logo, which served as the basis for the "P" triangle in the network's original logo that was used until September 2002.<ref>{{cite news |title = Media Talk: UPN Will Become Paramount Network |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/31/business/media-talk-upn-will-become-paramount-network.html |first = Jim |last = Rutenberg |newspaper = The New York Times |date = July 31, 2000 |access-date = September 2, 2015 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151015094613/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/31/business/media-talk-upn-will-become-paramount-network.html |archive-date = October 15, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title = UPN Network Will Carry On Without Its 'U' |url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jul-26-ca-59125-story.html |first = Greg |last = Braxton |newspaper = Los Angeles Times |date = July 26, 2000 |access-date = September 2, 2015 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151015094628/http://articles.latimes.com/2000/jul/26/entertainment/ca-59125 |archive-date = October 15, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title = UPN's Name in 2001: Paramount Network |url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jul-26-fi-59235-story.html |agency = Associated Press |newspaper = Los Angeles Times |date = July 26, 2000 |access-date = September 2, 2015 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151015095147/http://articles.latimes.com/2000/jul/26/business/fi-59235 |archive-date = October 15, 2015 }}</ref> This idea was abandoned after many affiliates protested, citing that the rebranding might confuse viewers and result in ratings declines, alongside the costs of rebranding their stations with a new image and new network (and possible call sign changes). Several years later, cable television network Spike (part of Viacom) re-branded as [[Paramount Network]].
Line 76:
Viacom's purchase of [[CBS]] a few months before (which resulted in the merger of that network's owned-and-operated stations into Viacom's Paramount Stations Group unit), created duopolies between CBS and UPN stations in Philadelphia ([[KYW-TV]] and WPSG), [[Boston]] ([[WBZ-TV]] and [[WSBK-TV]]), [[Miami]] ([[WFOR-TV]] and [[WBFS-TV]]), [[Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex|Dallas–Fort Worth]] ([[KTVT]] and [[KTXA]]), [[Detroit]] ([[WWJ-TV]] and [[WKBD-TV]]), and [[Pittsburgh]] ([[KDKA-TV]] and [[WPKD-TV|WNPA]]). Viacom's purchase of CBS was said to be the "death knell" for the [[Federal Communications Commission]]'s longtime ban on [[Duopoly (broadcasting)|television station duopolies]]. Further transactions added [[San Francisco]] ([[KPIX-TV]] and [[KPYX|KBHK-TV]], the latter of which was traded to Viacom/CBS by [[Fox Television Stations]]) and [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]] ([[KOVR]] and [[KMAX-TV]], the former of which was sold to Viacom/CBS by the [[Sinclair Broadcast Group]]) to the mix.
 
At the time of UPN's launch, the network's ''[[de jure]]'' [[Flagship (broadcasting)|flagship station]]s were Chris-Craft-owned WWOR-TV in [[Secaucus, New Jersey]] (which serves the New York City market) and KCOP-TV in [[Los Angeles]] (which serves the Los Angeles market). Even after Chris-Craft sold its share in the network to Viacom, WWOR and KCOP were still commonly regarded as the ''de jure'' flagship stations of the network since it had long been common practice for this status to be associated with a network's station in the East Coast and West Coast. For this reason, some doubt was cast on UPN's future after Fox Television Stations bought most of Chris-Craft's television stations for $5.5&nbsp;billion on August 12, 2000, which included several UPN affiliates (including WWOR and KCOP).<ref>{{cite news |title = Fox in the UPN house |url = https://www.nexttv.com/news/fox-upn-house-87627 |first = Steve |last = McClellan |periodical = [[Broadcasting & Cable]] |date = August 21, 2000 |access-date = May 4, 2013 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150924112714/http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/news-articles/fox-upn-house/87627 |archive-date = September 24, 2015 }}</ref> Fox later bought the third-largest UPN affiliate, Chicago's WPWR-TV, through a separate deal with [[Newsweb Corporation]] for $450 million in June 2002.<ref>{{cite web |title = Fox Duops in Chicago |url = https://www.nexttv.com/news/fox-duops-chicago-93050 |first = Steve |last = McClellan |periodical = Broadcasting & Cable |date = June 30, 2002 |access-date = September 2, 2015 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150924112703/http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/news-articles/fox-duops-chicago/93050 |archive-date = September 24, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title = Fox Takeover to Bring Changes to Chicago-Area Television Station |url = http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-90412674.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150924165032/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-90412674.html |url-status = dead |archive-date = September 24, 2015 |first = Kathy |last = Bergen |agency = Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News |via = HighBeam Research |date = August 16, 2002 |access-date = September 2, 2015 }}</ref> Despite the uncertainty of the network's future following the Fox purchases, UPN reached four-year affiliation agreements with Fox Television Stations' nine UPN affiliates on September 24, 2003.<ref>{{cite news |title = Company News: Nine Fox-Owned Stations Will Remain UPN Affiliates |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/25/business/company-news-nine-fox-owned-stations-will-remain-upn-affiliates.html |newspaper = The New York Times |date = September 25, 2003 |access-date = September 2, 2015 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151015094741/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/25/business/company-news-nine-fox-owned-stations-will-remain-upn-affiliates.html |archive-date = October 15, 2015 }}</ref>
 
In 2001, UPN entered into a public bidding war to acquire two series from The WB – ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' and ''[[Roswell (TV series)|Roswell]]'' – from 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; ''Buffy'' ended its run the following year. In January 2002, Viacom President and COO, [[Mel Karmazin]] restructured the network, resulting in UPN being taken out of the ownership of [[Paramount Television]], and being placed under the oversight of CBS Television, with CBS President [[Leslie Moonves]] being given responsibility for the network. Under CBS, new shows began to breathe life into the network starting in Fall 2003 with ''[[America's Next Top Model]]'' and sitcom ''[[All of Us]]'' (which was produced by [[Will Smith|Will]] and [[Jada Pinkett Smith]]), followed up by the Fall 2004 premiere of the mystery series ''[[Veronica Mars]]'' and the Fall 2005 premiere of the sitcom ''[[Everybody Hates Chris]]'', produced and narrated by [[Chris Rock]].
Line 103:
Like Fox and The WB, UPN never aired national morning or evening [[newscast]]s; however, several of its affiliates and owned-and-operated stations did produce their own local news programs. Several UPN affiliates ran a local newscast in the 10:00–11:00&nbsp;p.m. Eastern and Pacific (9:00–10:00&nbsp;p.m. Central and Mountain Time) timeslot at some point during or throughout their affiliations with the network; there were also a few stations that produced a weekday morning newscast, although early evening newscasts were largely absent on most of these stations. The UPN affiliate body had fewer news-producing stations in comparison to stations aligned with the Big Three television networks (NBC, ABC and CBS) and considerably fewer than Fox and especially The WB. In several markets, the local UPN affiliate either outsourced news programming to an NBC, ABC or CBS station in the market (either due to insufficient funds or studio space for production of their own newscasts, or in later years after the FCC permitted duopolies in markets with at least eight unique station owners in 2000, the station being operated through a legal duopoly or [[local marketing agreement|management agreement]] with a major network affiliate); other affiliates opted to carry syndicated programming in the hour following UPN's primetime programming lineup. For example, one of the largest O&O UPN affiliates in the country, [[WPWR-TV]], never aired news programming in its 11-year run. This is mainly due to Viacom and [[Chris-Craft Corporation|Chris Craft]]'s non-affiliation with the Chicago station.
 
When the network launched in January 1995, UPN automatically added six affiliates with functioning news departments through Chris-Craft/United Television and Viacom's respective affiliation deals with the network; all of those stations started their news operations as either [[Independent station (North America)|independent stations]] or during prior affiliations with other networks: WWOR-TV/Secaucus, New Jersey (New York City), KCOP-TV/Los Angeles, [[WKBD-TV]]/[[Detroit]], [[KPTV]]/[[Portland, Oregon]], [[KMSP-TV]]/[[Minneapolis]] and [[WTOG]]/[[Tampa, Florida]]. Two more stations would join them later on: [[KSTW]]/[[Seattle]], also owned by Viacom at the time, after it affiliated with UPN in 1997 through the reversal of a 1995 affiliation switch with CBS affiliate [[KIRO-TV]] (which also kept its news department as a UPN affiliate), and KMAX-TV/Sacramento, which joined UPN after being acquired by Viacom in 1998 and began producing newscasts shortly after its 1995 affiliation with The WB. KSTW and WTOG's news departments were shut down in 1998 due to cost-cutting measures mandated by Viacom; newscasts would briefly return to KSTW via a news sharing agreement with KIRO-TV between 2003 and 2005.<ref>{{cite news |title = News not Paramount |url = http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-53395671.html |first = Dan |last = Trigoboff |periodical = Broadcasting & Cable |date = December 7, 1998 |access-date = September 2, 2015 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150924155349/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-53395671.html |archive-date = September 24, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title = WTOG to Shutter News Operation |url = https://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/1998/07/06/daily5.html |newspaper = [[American City Business Journals |Tampa Bay Business Journal]] |date = July 7, 1998 |access-date = September 2, 2015 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040723143446/http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/1998/07/06/daily5.html |archive-date = July 23, 2004 }}</ref>
 
Not all of UPN's news-producing stations were owned by the two companies that formed the nuclei of the network's affiliate group; [[WUAB]]/[[Cleveland]], which started its news department in 1988, also continued its 10:00&nbsp;p.m. newscast as a UPN affiliate (it would begin producing newscasts for sister station [[WOIO|WOIO-TV]] in February 1995, after that station became a CBS affiliate; though WOIO eventually took over production of the newscast by 2002). [[Harrisburg, Pennsylvania|Harrisburg]] affiliate [[WXBU|WLYH-TV]] briefly continued its newscasts after switching to UPN from CBS in 1995, until [[WHP-TV]] began operating the station under a [[local marketing agreement]] that fall. [[WFTC]]/Minneapolis continued to produce a late evening newscast after [[Fox Television Stations]] (which acquired KMSP-TV through the Chris-Craft purchase, and converted it into a Fox O&O) acquired the station from [[Clear Channel Communications]] and switched the station to UPN – it was moved to 10:00&nbsp;p.m. to avoid competing with KMSP's 9:00&nbsp;p.m. newscast until the WFTC newscast was canceled in June 2006.<ref>{{cite web |title = WFTC Drops Newscast at 10; KMSP Adds It |url = http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-146555564.html |first = Deborah |last = Caulfield Rybak |newspaper = [[Star Tribune]] |location = Minneapolis |date = June 2, 2006 |access-date = September 2, 2015 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150924135521/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-146555564.html |archive-date = September 24, 2015 }}</ref>
Line 115:
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>
 
In 1999, UPN contracted the rights to the network's children's programming lineup to [[The Walt Disney Company]]; as a result, the teen-oriented and animated series were replaced with a new block called ''[[Disney's One Too]]'', which debuted on September 6, 1999, and featured select programs seen on ABC's ''[[ABC Kids (TV programming block)#Disney's One Saturday Morning|Disney's One Saturday Morning]]'' lineup (such as ''[[Recess (TV series)|Recess]]'' and ''[[Sabrina: The Animated Series]]'').<ref>{{cite web |title = Mouse Brands UPN Kidvid |url = https://variety.com/1999/tv/news/mouse-brands-upn-kidvid-1117743063/ |last = Pursell |first = Chris |work = Variety |date = July 19, 1999 |access-date = August 17, 2009 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150402212916/http://variety.com/1999/tv/news/mouse-brands-upn-kidvid-1117743063/ |archive-date = April 2, 2015 }}</ref> Many UPN affiliates at the network's launch were already airing [[The Disney Afternoon]], a block supplied by Disney-owned syndication distributor [[Disney–ABC Domestic Television|Buena Vista Television]]; however, that block would be discontinued in August 1997. The addition of ''Disney's One Too'' expanded UPN's children's program block back to two hours, running on Sunday mornings and weekday afternoons. In September 2002, ''[[Digimon: Digital Monsters]]'' moved to UPN from [[Fox Kids]], due to Disney's acquisition of Fox's children's program inventory as well as the Fox Family Channel, which was renamed [[History of Freeform (TV channel)#ABC Family|ABC Family]] (now Freeform) the past year. At the same time, the "One Too" branding was dropped from on-air usage due to the rebranding of ABC's Saturday morning lineup from ''One Saturday Morning'' to ''ABC Kids'' (although the block was unofficially referred to as ''Disney's Animation Weekdays'' outside the network). UPN subsequently chose not to renew its contract with Disney, with the network dropping all children's programming after August 31, 2003.<ref>{{cite news |title = Disney Drops UPN Programming Deal |url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-feb-14-fi-rup14.6-story.html |agency = Associated Press |newspaper = Los Angeles Times |date = February 14, 2003 |access-date = September 2, 2015 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151015094902/http://articles.latimes.com/2003/feb/14/business/fi-rup14.6 |archive-date = October 15, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title = UPN to Ax Disney Kids Shows in Fall |url = http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1473784.html |newspaper = [[Chicago Sun-Times]] |via = HighBeam Research |date = February 15, 2003 |access-date = September 2, 2015 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150924184808/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1473784.html |archive-date = September 24, 2015 }}</ref> This left UPN as one of only two major broadcast networks that did not air a children's programming block, the other being Pax TV, which discontinued its ''Pax Kids'' lineup in 2000, before returning children's programming as [[Ion Television]] through the 2006 launch of [[Qubo]] (as a 24/7 network, it was pulled off the air in 2021). Incidentally, UPN's successor The CW carried over the [[Kids' WB]] Saturday morning lineup from fellow predecessor The WB, resulting in UPN affiliates that joined The CW in September 2006 carrying network-supplied children's programming for the first time since the ''One Too'' block ended.
 
Some Fox stations that declined to carry [[4Kids TV]] passed on that block to an affiliate of UPN or The WB, or an [[Independent station (North America)|independent station]], in order for the Fox affiliate to air general entertainment programming or local newscasts on Saturday mornings (for example, [[WFLD]] in [[Chicago]] moved the 4Kids TV schedule to co-owned then-UPN affiliate [[WPWR-TV]], while WFLD aired infomercials).
Line 140:
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 [[WVTV-DT2|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 |via = HighBeam Research |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 |via = HighBeam Research |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.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UPN"