What's the future for black programming on the new CW TV network?

By Tanya Kersey
BlackTalentNews.com
(January 26, 2006) Historically, new television networks have launched on the backs of black programming. FOX did it back in the 80’s, laying the blueprint as the network catered to blacks and then slowly cut back on their urban programming. Ditto for The WB, which launched in 1995 with comedies, many aimed at the African American audience. [Remember “The Jamie Foxx Show,” “Parenthood,” “The Wayans Brothers” and “Moesha”?] The WB has since become known for shows geared towards young women, virtually abandoning the black audience to UPN.

Today UPN is the only ‘home’ for African American-oriented comedies. Of the 11 series on UPN, eight feature predominately black casts and two feature diverse multicultural casts. The network’s Monday night lineup includes “One on One,” “All of Us,” “Girlfriends” and “Half & Half;” Everybody Hates Chris,” “Love, Inc., “Eve” and Cuts comprise the Thursday night block. Other shows include “South Beach,” “Veronica Mars” and “America’s Next Top Model.” In fact, 4 of the top 10 shows for African Americans are on UPN. Not one of those shows is on the Top 10 for the rest of America. The sad truth is that shows that do well with African American audiences often perform poorly in overall ratings. For example, UPN’s "Half and Half" and "One on One" rank in the top 10 among black households but consistently at the bottom in total viewers.

Tuesday’s announcement that the two small, struggling television networks, The WB and UPN, will cease their independent operations, and merge into a larger, single company, called The CW Network, put an end to a decade-long rivalry. It also put into question, the future of black programming on network television.

The CW - which borrows the letter "C" from CBS and the "W" from WB - will officially replace The WB and UPN, which have both struggled in ratings and market share since they were first started in 1995. This new, 5th broadcast network will be a joint venture of CBS Corp. and Warner Bros. Entertainment with each holding a 50% interest in The CW.

Tribune Broadcasting and the CBS Corp.’s UPN affiliates have agreed to sign a 10-year affiliation agreement with the new network. The combination of Tribune’s 16 major market stations and the 12 CBS-owned UPN major market affiliates will give The CW instant coverage in 48% of the country. The remainder of the network’s distribution system will be a combination of selected current UPN and The WB stations. The full distribution of The CW is expected to exceed 95% of the country.

The CW will follow The WB’s scheduling model. While The WB programs six nights a week and UPN only five, the new network will air 13 hours of primetime programming, Monday through Friday nights from 8-10 p.m. and Sundays from 7-10 p.m. (versus the model of the Big Three networks – ABC, CBS and NBC: 8-11 p.m. nightly, 7-11 p.m. Sundays, or the Fox model which stops at 10 pm nightly.) Overall, The CW will air 30 hours per week over seven days, including a 5-hour Saturday morning animation block from 7 am to noon, and a Monday through Friday afternoon block from 3-5 p.m.

Of course, creation of The CW has broad implications. For Hollywood’s creative community, it means one less outlet for TV shows – their producers, directors, writers, actors--and television suppliers; and the likely elimination of hundreds of jobs. For viewers, it means 10 fewer hours of primetime programming each week. It also means that some shows on both networks will be casualties of the new venture as the combined 23 hours of programming for UPN and the WB will be whittled down to 13 hours for The CW. Something will have to give.

The CW press release promised that the new network would not ignore diversity in its schedule, which will draw on programming from both The WB and UPN.  "The CW is going to be a real competitor, a destination for young audiences, diverse audiences, and a real favorite with advertisers," said Leslie Moonves, chief executive of CBS Corp. "The CW will be able to do something truly remarkable: program already hit shows every single day of the week, programs that consistently rank number one or number two in their time slots in the most coveted young adult demographic."

However, the shows highlighted in the press release to make the new network’s fall primetime schedule included "America's Top Model," "Veronica Mars," and "Everybody Hates Chris" from UPN and from The WB -- "Gilmore Girls," "Smallville," and "Beauty and the Geek.” The WB’s “Supernatural” and “Reba” as well as UPN’s “Girlfriends” and “WWE Smackdown” are also likely to make the cut. Most of UPN’s black comedies appear to be certain casualties.

Therein lies the wider social and political implications of this new 5th network – a greatly reduced number of shows aimed at African Americans. Anyway you slice it, it’s pretty safe to assume The CW won’t carry over all of UPN’s nine black comedies, and Hollywood’s black creative community will no doubt be hit hard. It will mean fewer blacks in-front-of and behind the camera. It might also mean a migration of black viewers to cable where the offerings are more diverse, thus, fewer black faces tuning into broadcast television. At the very worst, it could mean a return to the whitewashed television of years ago.

While there is no ‘official’ word on how this merger will impact UPN’s slate of black programs, or if The CW will be truly committed to programming a diverse primetime slate, industry analysts and media critics chime in to offer their assessments and predictions:

 “I would think this new network would be shooting itself in the foot, if not in the butt, if it were to abandon such a crucial segment of UPN's former successful programming lineup. The black shows on UPN has no doubt helped to build that company to the level it has reached, thus, making it such an attractive entity for such a partnership deal. This being said, history is full of companies, products and individuals who have gotten "rich off the backs of blacks" only to cut ties and go straight mainstream once they've reached a certain level of success,” says S. Torriano Berry, Associate Professor, Howard University, and Co-author: The 50 Most Influential Black Films and Historical Dictionary of African American Cinema. “I would hope this new network embraces and even expands their commitment to the minority programming that was a popular mainstay of the former UPN lineup.”

Paul Levinson, Chair of the Communications & Media Studies at Fordham University, says he’s pessimistic about the future of minority programming, both on the new CW network, and on network TV in general. “Network TV has been feeling the competition of cable TV. More than ever, the networks are going with shows they think will appeal to the most mainstream tastes in America. They're not taking any chances - sometimes canceling a show after one broadcast!

"Only a Cosby show would have a place on network TV these days, and I doubt that the CW will take a chance on any black or minority programming long enough for it to establish itself as a Cosby mega-success,” he says. “The future of black and minority program resides in cable. As an example, "Sleeper Cell" on Showtime has a lead African-American character. I that expect cable, in the future, will contain to be cutting-edge and diverse in its appeal - in contrast to network TV, which increasingly be yesterday's news.”

According to Dr. Earl Ofari Hutchinson, social commentator and author of The Crisis in Black and Black, “The quality of black programming at WB and UPN was always problematic. The black comedy shows on WB and UPN gave black actors, actresses, script writers, and even directors work and a platform. But that did not negate the fact that the top heavy emphasis on slap stick, borderline, racially stereotypical reinforcing bufoonery by some, if not most, of the black comic shows on WB and UPN was insulting and offensive. The hope is that the CW Network will do better, much better, and that means airing a broad, and diverse range of black programming, comedy, action, and drama--without the stereotypes and buffoonery.”

EUR’s Lee Bailey had this to say, “Since I’m not privy to the plans of the new CW Network, I would hope that the powers that be see the strategic sense in serving the urban/black audience, which obviously means work for Black Hollywood.”

“While it remains to be seen how this new network will utilize the most popular black-oriented shows from UPN, having fewer outlets for these types of programs is cause for concern," says Ken Smikle, president of Target Market News. "Clearly there are going to be fewer opportunities in this new configuration for African-American actors, writers and technical workers."

Will The CW be as supportive of shows geared toward African Americans as UPN currently is? Will The CW seriously address the challenges of diversifying the industry on both sides of the camera, and within the executive ranks, in order to successfully create programming for the diverse and multi-cultural television audience? There are still so many unanswered questions. However, one thing is certain -- the future of black programming on network television is at a major crossroad.

Progress or regress?

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