[Mei Zhuo]

new thread!

bringing this over from the last thread, thanks to Folie, taken from TVGuide

Question: What's your take on the CW, now that it's almost done with its first month of sweeps? Practically every show is down from its ratings last season (except America's Next Top Model, I believe), but this was expected. People are still finding CW channels in their homes, and some ignorant people I talk to haven't even heard of it. Do you think Dawn Ostroff is pleased? I wasn't surprised to see Runaway chased out, but The Game's pickup wasn't expected. I guess they couldn't admit both of their newbies failed. Gilmore Girls, though still one of the top-rated dramas, is about a million viewers below last year and is getting beat by Smallville. And as far as dramas go, Supernatural has the best retention rate. Do you think any of the CW's shows will not make it through this season?— Sonya Matt Roush: This is all pretty much uncharted territory for a network like the CW, which is trying to establish itself in a very cluttered and confusing media environment, so I'm generally reserving judgment during its first season. There are even isolated markets where there are no CW affiliates (or so I've been told by some frustrated consumers out there), and growing pains are inevitable for a startup, even one with so many preexisting franchises. Several of the shows will probably take breathers in the winter and spring (including, as previously mentioned, Veronica Mars) to make room for some new shows, as well as for short-run reality franchises, like Beauty and the Geek. But I'd be surprised if any of the existing CW shows were yanked before the season is out. Now, when it comes to renewals for the CW's second year: That oughta get interesting.

also, another article, linked by Bee

btw, if someone has a better idea for a title, just change it please

[HappySquared]

Thanks for the new thread Fla for Supernatural.

[CogitoErgoFeminaSum]

Go Supanatural GO!

[Tennessee Whiskey]

WooHoo! Just think what kind of ratings they would be getting if they weren't up against the heavy hitters.

[Mei Zhuo]

I know ANd if The CW gets more exposure and more affiliates, it would be really, really awesome for the ratings

[~Maz~]

Yay for the thread. And its awesome about SN having the best retention, but we're not surprised.

[Folie]

Another article that mentions Supernatural's relatively good performance

The CW: one plus one doesn't equal three

The new youth-oriented network, created from the merger of the WB and UPN, is off to a tough start. But some still see hope for a ratings revival.

By Paul R. La Monica, CNNMoney.com editor at large
November 10 2006: 12:36 PM EST

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Does the CW stand for Can't Win?

The new CW television network, created from the merger of UPN and WB, has gotten off to a rough start since it launched in September.

According to data from Nielsen Media Research, the CW has averaged about 3.4 million viewers overall in prime-time during the first seven weeks of the new TV season and 1.9 million in the 18-49 demographic that advertisers desire most.

By way of comparison, the WB, owned by media giant Time Warner (Charts), averaged about 3.6 million viewers overall and about 2 million in the 18-49 demographic at this point a year ago. (Time Warner also owns CNNMoney.com.) And the UPN, owned by CBS (Charts), was also pulling in about 3.6 million overall and 1.9 million in the 18-49 age group.

And based on figures provided by the CW, the network is off to a sluggish start in the key November "sweeps" period, with overall ratings during the first few days of November flat when compared to the WB and UPN during the same period last year.

The "sweeps" months of November, February and May are important since they include the most detailed amount of ratings data and are relied on by the networks and marketers when negotiating advertising rates for the following season.

Ratings among 18-49 year olds and 18-34 year olds, the market that the CW is specifically targeting, are also unchanged from a year ago so far this November.

When the merger was announced in January, some television industry experts believed that the combination of these two struggling networks would create a stronger network that would be able to compete more effectively with the big four: Walt Disney's (Charts) ABC, CBS, General Electric (Charts)-owned NBC and News Corp.'s (Charts) Fox.

"Out of the box, this is disappointing. Most people thought the CW would be slightly above what the UPN and WB had done on an individual basis," said Brad Adgate, senior vice president of corporate research for Horizon Media, a media buying firm.

After all, the WB and UPN cherry-picked the best shows from each network to create the CW lineup. The CW launched with only two new shows. The rest were returning series from the other networks, such as the WB's "Gilmore Girls" and "Smallville" and UPN's "America's Top Model" and "Veronica Mars."

"There was hope that the way the CW selected the shows, above average performers on the WB and UPN would carry over and find an audience," said Lyle Schwartz, an analyst with Mediaedge:cia, a media buying firm in New York. "But the CW skews to a younger audience that is very quick to move to and away from programs."

Paul McGuire, a spokesman for the CW, admitted that it's been a challenging start. Viewers had to get used to an entirely new network. And many people used to watching their favorite UPN shows also had to deal with trying to find the show on a new channel, because in their markets the new CW is running on former WB affiliates. Several shows also switched nights.

But he said it's not fair to grade the network's progress after only seven weeks.

"We live in an instant gratification snapshot culture but internally we've been preaching patience," he said.

McGuire said the network was pleased with the results it has seen from "America's Top Model" on Wednesdays --its ratings are actually higher than a year ago -- and that "Smallville" and "Supernatural" are holding up reasonably well on Thursdays, the night McGuire referred to as "the land of giants" since it features TV's first and third top-rated shows, ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" and CBS' "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."

Mondays and Tuesdays have been problems though. The network moved its block of comedies from Sunday nights to Monday nights and although ratings have improved since the switch, the numbers for "Everybody Hates Chris" and "Girlfriends" are lower than a year ago.

On Tuesdays, it's a mixed bag. "Veronica Mars," formerly on the UPN, has enjoyed a slight bump in ratings from a year ago but "Gilmore Girls," one of the WB's signature shows, has seen a notable drop in viewers.

Still, despite the network's initial ratings struggles, media buyers say that the CW remains an intriguing option for advertisers, mainly because it has such a devoted core audience of younger viewers.

"The CW is the only broadcast network that consistently delivers an audience with a median age under 35 so it's not going away. There are advertisers that covet that demographic," Horizon's Adgate said.

But in order for the network to become a bigger success, the CW will need to launch more new hits instead of relying only on older shows from the WB and UPN, media buyers believe. The CW has already cancelled one of this fall's new shows, "Runaway." And its other debut, "The Game" is not a completely new show since it's a spin-off of "Girlfriends."

"The biggest challenge for the CW is development. They need more signature shows," said Bill Carroll, vice president and director of programming with Katz Television Group, a media buying and consulting firm.

But McGuire defends the network's decision to not launch too many new shows in conjunction with the CW's debut. He argues that a new network with lots of new shows would have led to an even bigger ratings decline.

"Some criticized us for not having that much new programming. But given the marketing we had to do with a brand new network and moving shows, if we had a plethora of new shows, we'd be seeing a considerable ratings contraction. We feel vindicated," he said.

McGuire added that the CW already has several new shows ready for its mid-season schedule, including another installment of the Ashton Kutcher-developed "Beauty and the Geek," a reality show focusing on the pop group The Pussycat Dolls and "Hidden Palms," a teen-oriented show created by Kevin Williamson, the man responsible for "Dawson's Creek," one of the WB's biggest hits.

Still, it may be tough for the CW to make significant gains in the ratings race as the season progresses. That's because Fox, which has had a poor start so far, is likely to come roaring back in January once the network brings back hit shows "24" and "American Idol."

McGuire concedes that "Idol" presents a particularly tough challenge for the CW since the show airs on multiple nights and is a big hit with many of the younger viewers that the CW targets.

"'American Idol' is a vaunted foe and is something to be obviously highly respected. We have to pick our spots for programming and promoting against it," said McGuire.

So advertisers will be keeping a close eye on the network's progress. While the CW's target market is attractive, advertisers may be cautious, especially as the Internet, with video sites like YouTube, which Google (Charts) is in the process of buying, and social networking sites like News Corp.'s MySpace, becomes more and more popular with teens and young adults.

"The CW does reach a younger part of the spectrum and that's valuable to advertisers. But the question is will the CW achieve ratings numbers that makes them both effective and efficient for advertisers," Mediaedge:cia's Schwartz said.

Link

[Tennessee Whiskey]

Thanks for that Folie it's great to hear!

[Folie]

Interview with writter and Executive Story Editor Sera Gamble found over at Sequentialtart.com

Super Women: Supernatural's Executive Story Editor Sera Gamble

Warning for some mild spoilers....so click at your own risk

Extra thanks to Supernatural.tv for the heads up

[HalesNLuke]

I just got my tv guide today.. and it's says Dec 14th "Bloodlust" is on, i thought "Hunted" was going to be on next week and then we went on break....

[Mei Zhuo]

thanks for that Folie

wait, what? we're not getting back to back new episodes? can someone post the schedule if anyone knows it?

[xstarsgoblue25x]

wasn't sure where to post this ... but the News thread seemed the best

did any of you know that they released trading cards from season one?

some of the cards actually contain a piece of cloth worn by the stars?

Inkworks | Supernatural Season One

i totally want the trading cards.

[Tennessee Whiskey]

Fla, I don't know the whole schedule but new episodes either start on the 4th or 11th of Jan...so either way we have a long wait.

Keish! Thanks for brining over the link. I've been collecting them already...only need one more to complete the set. I have it on order but it hasn't arrived yet. I'm so worried it gets lost in the mail but it's probably just slow with the Christmas rush. If you're thinking of starting to collect them, try looking on ebay. or here

[Mei Zhuo]

Bee, January??? But... that's a long time! I can't wait that long to know the secret

I wanna collect the cards too, I hope I have enough money. I'm gonna save up for it hehe. It looks pretty cool.

[Folie]

A very interesting John Shiban interview...

Exclusive Interview: John Shiban, Executive Producer of Supernatural

!!! Warning !!! some spoilery stuff can be found at the third part of the interview....
But parts 1 and 2 are pretty much spoiler free.

As always extra thanks to Supernatural.tv for the heads up