• by Wayne Friedman , March 8, 2006

The CW and My Network TV continue to inch along in their respective efforts in launching as new broadcast networks come this September, each grabbing a handful of stations yesterday.

The CW has grabbed five more stations in mid-size markets, lifting the network's coverage to 54 percent of U.S. television households. Stations in Rochester, NY; Chattanooga, Tenn; El Paso, Tx; Kansas City, Mo; and Youngstown, Ohio have been added, representing just under 1.5 percent coverage.

My Network TV has picked up five stations, moving its total to 40 percent. It took in stations in Cleveland, Charlotte, Honolulu, Baton Rouge, and Palm Springs. Three of those stations--WUAB in Cleveland, KFVE in Honolulu, and WBXH in Baton Rouge--came via a group station deal from Raycom Communications.

The CW, born from the programming and station assets of the WB and UPN, is now in 18 of the top 20 markets and 25 of the top 30 markets. The CW's strategy has primarily been to go market-by-market to find the best stations for its network--instead of doing group station deals. The CW is a venture of CBS Corp. and Time Warner that was announced in January.

My Network TV was formed in response to the CW announcement where nine Fox-owned UPN stations were left in the lurch. It is jointly operated by Fox Television Stations and Twentieth Television, Fox's syndication programming division.