• by Wayne Friedman , May 12, 2008

Looking to cut back its ailing programming efforts, CW has made a daring move--selling off its entire Sunday-night block of time to Media Rights Capital, an entertainment financial firm, partly owned by Hollywood talent agency Endeavor.

 

Other Media Rights Capital (MRC) investors include AT&T and advertising group WPP Group, as well as Goldman Sachs. Media Rights Group was behind last year's theatrical film release "Babel," starring Brad Pitt, and the upcoming "Bruno" starring Sacha Baron Cohen.

Analysts speculate that MRC paid anywhere from $10 million to $15 million for the rights for CW's Sunday night for a year. CW executives would not confirm any details.

It isn't known whether AT&T and WPP Group clients would participate in the CW's new Sunday night block of programming. A WPP Group spokesman had no comment.

CW has been in a tailspin, losing 20% and more of its ratings this year--due, in part, to the writers' strike. The network's only positive news has been "Gossip Girl," which had modest results when it first debuted. Recently, it got the benefit of an edgy and controversial marketing campaign.

Most recently, CW had been re-running its mid-week shows on Sunday night, including "Gossip Girl" and "America's Next Top Model." It started the season running two magazine shows--"CW Now," "Online Nation" in the 7 p.m. hour, then family drama "Life is Wild" at 8 p.m. At 9 p.m., CW usually airs a rerun of one of its Monday to Friday shows.

"That night has been the network's Achilles heel," said Brad Adgate, senior vice president and corporate research director for media agency Horizon Media. "It's a tough night. There are football games; there's [original] HBO shows; there's original programs from the broadcast networks."

Adgate notes that WB always struggled on Sunday, while UPN never programmed that night. But CW is in good company, he says: "Some networks throw the towel in on Saturday nights."

The network had already been experimenting with different ways of funding Sunday programming. It had major advertisements when it came to its magazine show "CW Now," in which a media agency Publicis Groupe's Mediavest Worldwide attached a number of clients in branded entertainment deals.

Last year, former Rysher Entertainment founder Keith Samples joined Media Rights Capital to spearhead the finance firm's investments in television.

Samples was mostly known for being in the syndication business a decade ago, having had success with younger-skewing programming. He launched the NBC show "Saved by the Bell" in syndication. Lately, he had been pursuing a directing and writing career.