• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, November 6, 2006

MyNetworkTV, the wannabe broadcast network, isn't even a wannabe cable network.

MyNetworkTV not only doesn't register with broadcast viewers--but it would land below 15^th place among cable networks. At a little fewer than 1 million viewers on any given night and an average .3 to .4 rating in the 18-49 demo, a TV station would probably be better off just running reruns of "I Love Lucy" or "Bewitched," says Jon Currie, president of Currie Communications, a West Coast TV station consultant.

Some major market stations have seen their numbers in free-fall--as much as 90% in Seattle and Tampa--down from when they ran WB or UPN shows, last year, according to Daily Variety.

Sure, MyNetworkTV gives stations tons of commercials to sell--a whopping nine minutes an hour. But if you don't have a desirable product, it just leads to another problem--a lot of advertising for stuff that no one wants. 

We understand it's hard to put any network together in the space of a couple of months. Fox executives say they didn't really know what to expect. That kind of indecision led advertisers to draw their own conclusions, with many of them sitting on the sidelines around upfront time.

When starting a network on short notice--and with a barely visible on- and off-air marketing budget--Fox. could expect really low numbers. This isn't like starting up a WB or a UPN 10 years ago. Video alternatives are many times what they were in 1996-- too many for traditional TV advertisers to take the leap.

The sell was simple: telenovelas are popular around the world, why shouldn't they be popular here?  Well, variety shows are also popular around the world, but not many of them work in this country.

MyNetworkTV got some media time from the bigger Fox network affiliate stations for added marketing support. That wasn't nearly enough, and perhaps just created some confusion. Even the better-financed CW started off with some brand/identity problems-- even with well-known brand show names like "Gilmore Girls" and "7^th Heaven."

Was Fox expecting some magic online buzz to suddenly make telenovelas cool with English-language audiences? The return of this kind of camp went out with "Dynasty" and "Knots Landing." But Fox says it's in this for the long haul--at least through this first season.

The real problem is that MyNetworkTV is going after the same general viewers as everyone else--whether 18-49 or 25-54. But since this pool of viewers isn't growing, it becomes a true game of trying to gain share. MyNetworkTV then becomes OhMyNetworkTV.