Media buyers question News Corp. My Network TV plan

By Kevin Downey
MediaLife.com
(February 23, 2006) When media buyers attend this spring's upfront marketplace to place ad orders for the coming TV season, they'll have not one but two new broadcast networks to consider for their clients' ad dollars.
Yesterday, in a huge surprise, News Corp., parent of Fox, announced the formation of yet another new network following the creation of the CW just weeks ago with the announced merger of the long-struggling WB and UPN networks.

To be called My Network TV, the second new network is being formed from the 10 News Corp.-owned UPN affiliates in top markets like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago that won’t become part of the CW.

The new network will target the same 18-49 demographic as the existing major networks.

Yesterday, News Corp., which had obviously put together the idea for My Network in a rush, was out touting the originality of its plan, even rolling out the beginnings of a programming schedule.

But media buyers have their doubts. Those interviewed by Media Life are not convinced there's any need for another sixth network. They're also not sure whether the network would offer a slate of shows sufficiently different to draw in new viewers.

“Obviously, the WB and UPN struggled for 10 years," says one buyer, who asked not to be identified. "So I find it incredible that two companies think that within six months they can have two new networks up and running that will be anymore viable than the two that are folding.”

Says this buyer: "We have plenty of broad-based 18-49 networks, so this will be an even bigger struggle than the [18-34] niche its predecessors were trying to sell.”

The 10 UPN stations reach 24 percent of television households.

News Corp. expects to sign on more affiliates by the fall, when it hopes to have My Network TV in 90 percent of the country. Twentieth Television, News Corp.’s distribution arm, will jointly operate My Network TV with Fox Television Stations.

My Network TV will have 12 weekly hours of primetime programming. Under Nielsen Media Research’s guidelines, My Network TV would need to be in 70 percent of households with at least 15 hours of programming to be measured as a full-service network.

Though My Network TV will target adults 18-49, there will be an an initial emphasis on English-speaking Hispanics, with two English-language novelas, the soap operas that make up the bulk of primetime on Spanish-language networks. The two novelas, “Desire” and “Secrets,” will air in a two-hour block on weeknights for 13 weeks.

The two novelas had been positioned for months as upcoming syndicated strips by Twentieth Television. Those plans were abruptly changed with the announced merger of UPN and the WB.

The novelas will have multi-ethnic casts, perhaps with the intention of also reaching African American viewers who have been watching UPN.

The new network has several other programs in development, including reality shows, game shows, dramas, sitcoms and a program from the producers of Fox’s “American Idol.”

Still, most buyers suggest that News Corp. is simply scrambling to salvage its orphaned stations by putting together a primetime block, noting that it will face tough competition.

“These are major-market stations, so these are Hispanic markets, so that part of this is not a bad idea,” says one buyer. “But to spin that into a full, national network seems a little overzealous.”

Further, if My Network TV does target bilingual Hispanics, it will compete with the general-market broadcasters and Spanish-language networks Univision and Telemundo, both of which are now included in Nielsen’s national ratings.

Univision, in particular, has been performing well, often ranking in the nightly ratings ahead of both UPN and the WB and sometimes outperforming the larger networks.


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