• Los Angeles Times, Monday, December 22, 2008 9:45 AM

Pro wrestling once helped save UPN. And now it's serving largely the same function for its successor network MyNetworkTV, attracting millions of young male viewers. But the net will need to develop other shows to succeed long-term.

A couple of years ago, News Corp. launched MyNetwork with a full slate of low-cost telenovelas, such as the campy "Fashion House" with Bo Derek. But ratings were awful, so in October, the network began airing "WWE Friday Night SmackDown," which had previous gigs on UPN and the CW. The results have been dramatic: Season to date, MyNetwork is up 73% in total viewers, to 1.7 million, per Nielsen. Last week it hit a high, averaging 2.4 million viewers.

Whether MyNetwork can keep this momentum, however, is a big question mark. Ultimately, MyNetwork will face the same problem that UPN and the CW did. Though wrestling can help draw audiences, getting those young guys to stick around to sample other programming has proven to be no easy task.

Read the whole story at Los Angeles Times »