The WB
The Federal Communications Commission issued a ruling in April 1993 that changed how media ownership worked. This deregulation repealed the Financial Interest and Syndication Rules, which had previously stopped networks from buying programs directly from independent studios. Warner Bros. Entertainment saw an opportunity to create its own network rather than just selling shows to others. On the 2nd of November 1993, the company announced the formation of The WB Television Network with Tribune Broadcasting holding a minority interest. Jamie Kellner served as president of the new venture, having previously been president of Fox from 1986 to 1993. Garth Ancier joined as programming chief after serving as Fox's head of programming from 1986 to 1989.
Tribune Broadcasting signed agreements to affiliate six of its seven television stations with the network. These included WPIX in New York City and KTLA in Los Angeles, which were the two largest stations owned by the company. Only five of these stations joined at launch because Atlanta's WGNX agreed to affiliate with CBS instead. Chicago's flagship station WGN-TV became a cable-only affiliate through a superstation feed agreement on the 3rd of December 1993. This arrangement allowed national distribution while giving the network time to fill gaps in markets where it could not find local affiliates immediately.
The network launched on the 11th of January 1995, with only one night of primetime programming. It started with a two-hour Wednesday lineup of sitcoms airing from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time. By September 1995, the schedule expanded to include Sunday nights along with children's blocks. The original plan called for gradual expansion over five years, but actual growth was much slower due to sports conflicts and limited resources. Tribune acquired a 12.5% interest in the network for $12 million on the 17th of August 1995.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer premiered as a mid-season replacement in March 1997 and drew the highest Monday night ratings in The WB's history. Critics praised the series, which attracted new teenage viewers and new advertisers simultaneously. The network intentionally shifted its focus to capture what it perceived as an under-courted teen demographic after Fox began targeting older audiences. Dawson's Creek debuted in January 1998 to what were then the highest ratings in The WB's history. Four principal actors became stars through this show: James Van Der Beek, Michelle Williams, Joshua Jackson, and Katie Holmes.
Dawson's Creek quickly became the highest-rated show among teenage girls and the most popular program on The WB overall. Its popularity boosted other shows like Buffy, which served as its lead-in on New Tuesday, and 7th Heaven, which enjoyed an 81% increase in viewership that season. Felicity made Keri Russell a star when it premiered with 7.1 million viewers. Charmed set another record with 7.7 million viewers at its premiere, featuring Alyssa Milano, Holly Marie Combs, and Shannen Doherty.
The network expanded programming to Thursday nights during the 1998-99 season. 7th Heaven overtook Dawson's Creek as the highest-rated program, attracting 12.5 million viewers for its the 8th of February 1999 episode. This represented the highest ratings The WB would ever see. Friday night programming was added for the 1999-2000 season with new shows including Roswell, Popular, and Angel. Angel premiered with 7.5 million viewers, making it the second-highest rated premiere for the network at that time.
As the teen boom of the late 1990s began to wane, The WB attempted to broaden the scope of its primetime lineup. Series like Popular and Roswell had premiered to strong ratings but saw serious erosion in their sophomore seasons, leading to cancellation. Even though ratings for 7th Heaven, Buffy, and Charmed remained consistent, viewership for flagship series such as Felicity and Dawson's Creek began sagging. The network realized it could no longer rely merely on the tastes of young teenage girls and moved back into more family-friendly fare.
Executives attributed the ratings decline partly to Tribune Company's decision to remove WB network programming from WGN-TV's superstation feed in October 1999. This move effectively reduced the network's potential household audience by 10 million homes. The network reached several affiliation deals during prior years with various station owners like Sinclair Broadcast Group and Pappas Telecasting Companies. The removal of programs from the national feed hurt distribution significantly despite launching The WB 100+ Station Group in September 1998.
During the 2004-05 season, The WB finished behind rival UPN for the first time in four years and fell further behind in fall 2005. Both networks dropped below Spanish language network Univision in the overall 18-34 demographic. Between November and December 2005, the network laid off approximately 40 employees amid continued ratings and profit losses. Viewership was down 12% by November 2005, with representatives expecting The WB to lose about $35 million during the 2005-06 fiscal year.
On the 24th of January 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. Entertainment announced plans to shut down both UPN and The WB and partner to launch a new broadcast television network called The CW. Over the next eight months, it became clear which shows would cross over to the new network. Seven shows from The WB were chosen to move to The CW for its inaugural 2006-07 fall schedule: 7th Heaven, Beauty and the Geek, Gilmore Girls, One Tree Hill, Reba, Smallville, and Supernatural.
The WB aired its final night of programming on the 17th of September 2006, with The Night of Favorites and Farewells. This five-hour block featured pilot episodes of past signature series. Commercial breaks included re-airings of past image campaigns and promotional spots for cable networks carrying these shows. The final montage ended with Michigan J. Frog shown as a silhouette taking his hat off and bowing. The network scored only a 1.0 household rating on its final night, meaning just 1% of all U.S. television households were tuned in.
Warner Bros. planned to resurrect the WB brand through a website called TheWB.com starting in the 28th of April 2008 beta testing. The site officially launched on the 27th of August 2008, streaming episodes from the network's 1995-2006 run including Gilmore Girls, Smallville, Everwood, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dawson's Creek, One Tree Hill, Roswell, and What I Like About You. The business model resembled free-to-stream services like Hulu, being ad-supported and geared primarily toward men and women ages 15-39.
The website featured original
serialized web content including short series and vignettes from producers Josh Schwartz and McG. These programs ran for ten episodes at five minutes each, including Sorority Forever, Pushed, Rockville CA, The Lake, and Children's Hospital. Many other Warner Bros.-produced series that did not air on The WB became available on the site, though Charmed and Felicity were excluded due to distribution rights issues with CBS Television Distribution and Disney-ABC Domestic Television respectively.
Data compiled by comScore Video Metrix showed that 62% of visitors to the site were female. By 2012, Sorority Forever had accrued more than 7.3 million views from TheWB.com and partner sites. With the full replacement of The CW's original Internet programming efforts with their CW Seed portal, The WB website was shut down in December 2013. This closure ended after more than eighteen years the usage of the brand name The WB.
The WB was the only English language broadcast network that historically did not have any owned-and-operated stations. Tribune Broadcasting maintained an ownership stake but its stations remained affiliates since Tribune held only a minority interest while Time Warner controlled 77.5% of the network. Time Warner did not own a station group at the time, though Turner Broadcasting System division owned Atlanta independent station WPCH-TV which never carried WB programming due to affiliation with WATL.
The network distributed programming in markets without enough commercial
television stations through cable-only outlets via the superstation feed of WGN-TV from January 1995 to October 1999. On the 21st of September 1998, The WB launched The WB 100+ Station Group as an alternate national feed for small and mid-sized U.S. markets within the bottom 110 Nielsen media markets. This service transmitted content via an IBM-developed data server network digitally transmitting local and national advertisements, promos, and customized logo bugs to each individual affiliate.
In 2005, The WB had an estimated audience reach of 91.66% of all U.S. households equivalent to 90,282,480 households with at least one television set. The network was carried by 177 VHF and UHF stations in the United States. Roughly half of approximately 200 affiliates aired local newscasts in the 10:00-11:00 p.m. Eastern/Pacific time slot. Most WB affiliates generally ran a two-hour morning newscast on weekdays or a half-hour hour-long 10:00 p.m. newscast Monday through Fridays only.
Common questions
When did The WB Television Network officially launch?
The network launched on the 11th of January 1995. It began with only one night of primetime programming featuring a two-hour Wednesday lineup of sitcoms.
Who were the key executives behind the creation of The WB in 1993?
Jamie Kellner served as president of the new venture after previously being president of Fox from 1986 to 1993. Garth Ancier joined as programming chief having served as Fox's head of programming from 1986 to 1989.
What was the highest rated episode in The WB history and when did it air?
7th Heaven attracted 12.5 million viewers for its the 8th of February 1999 episode. This represented the highest ratings The WB would ever see during its entire run.
Why did The WB shut down operations in September 2006?
CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. Entertainment announced plans to shut down both UPN and The WB on the 24th of January 2006 to partner and launch a new broadcast television network called The CW. The network aired its final night of programming on the 17th of September 2006 with The Night of Favorites and Farewells.
How many shows moved from The WB to The CW for the 2006-07 season?
Seven shows from The WB were chosen to move to The CW for its inaugural 2006-07 fall schedule including 7th Heaven, Beauty and the Geek, Gilmore Girls, One Tree Hill, Reba, Smallville, and Supernatural.