CW Purrs With 'Pussycats,' Will Build On It

BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF. -- Did CW miss an opportunity in its premiere year? Responding to criticism that the CW didn't do enough to launch original programming, Dawn Ostroff, president of entertainment for The CW, told the Television Critics Association summer meeting that starting new shows from scratch would have been too much for the network to handle.

"The biggest concern was migrating viewers [from the former networks WB and UPN]," she says. "It would have been very hard to say to viewers, new shows, new network, new channel. It would have been too much heavy lifting."

To better digest the launch, Ostroff said the network waited until mid-season to debut reality shows such as "Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll." Because of that strategy, the show did well, drawing 8 million viewers a week.

Next midseason, the CW will offer two new reality shows--"Crowned," a mother-daughter beauty pageant, and "Farmer Wants a Wife," where a Midwest farmer picks from among a number of city girls for his spouse.

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CW has no intention of changing the name of its Saturday morning kids' block, called Kids WB. The moniker comes from the remains of CW's predecessor network: the WB. "The Kids WB brand was already established, already a strong brand," says Ostroff. "It functions like a different block of programming."

Given the network's lime green marketing graphics, Ostroff says the CW will be doing its part--virtually all shows will do a green episode. For example, "Everybody Hates Chris" will be doing an episode, riffing off a 1980s theme, called "Everybody Hates Earth Day." CW's talent will also participate in a series of Public Service Announcements.

CW still views Fox as its main competitor--believing it can grab some of that network's young-skewing ad dollars. Ostroff says CW's median age is 32--11 years younger than Fox, at 43. Fox has the lowest median age of the big four networks.

Ostroff also notes that the wrestling show "WWE Smackdown" continues to be the stronger program in attracting young men 18-34. The recent death of WWE wrestler Chris Benoit will have little effect on the network. "He didn't appear on the "Smackdown."

On Sunday night at 9 p.m., the CW will continue to do reruns--in particular, encore performances for "America's Next Top Model," which Ostroff says does well.

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