MyTV joins MyNetwork

[Scott Fybush]

Sid Schweiger wrote:
>>> Starting in September My TV will be part of the new, national TV network... MyNetworkTV!<<
> 
> Brilliant, just brilliant.  At the very instant when two national networks are merging into one to insure their survival, these brains create another network.  Doncha just love decisions made in stark ignorance of reality?

Ah, but keep in mind that Fox created MNTV for one very specific reason: 
it has TV duopolies in a number of very large markets (NYC, LA, Chicago, 
DC, Dallas, Houston, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Phoenix) that were created 
when Fox bought out the old Chris-Craft a few years back. The second 
station in each of those markets was a UPN affiliate (except Dallas, 
which was an indie), and with the new CW going to other stations in each 
of those markets, Fox had to program SOMETHING in primetime in all those 
markets. It's cheaper to do that centrally than to do it individually at 
each station - and as long as the new "quasi-network" is being created 
for in-house use at the Fox-owned stations, why NOT offer it to all 
those stations in other markets that are being shut out when the CW 
affiliation goes to the "other guy" in town? (Did I mention that Fox 
decided to undercut CW, which is charging stations for affiliations, by 
offering the new network on straight barter?)

Boston was one of the last markets where MNTV ended up clearing an 
affiliate. Fox only owned the one station here, CW is replacing WB on 
56, and CBS had its own ideas about what to do with 38 in lieu of UPN. 
(Several other CBS-owned former UPN affiliates did end up signing with 
MNTV a couple of weeks ago.)

MNTV will also help to fill all those new hours of airtime being created 
by new DT2 subchannels in many markets. Even if it doesn't make a penny 
from all that smaller-market distribution, as long as it remains a cheap 
way for Fox to program its second stations in its O&O markets, it'll be 
worth it for the parent company.

Yes, it means a big headache for the strategy CBS and Time Warner 
thought they had all nailed down by merging UPN and WB - but there's 
your free market in action.

s