Who owns wb network

Eastern and Pacific Time. The network's first programs were mostly sitcoms targeted at an ethnically black audience. Even though four of the five shows that debuted in the netlet's first nine months were renewed beyond the first year — The Wayans Bros. On August 17, , the Tribune Company acquired a The WB expanded its programming to Sunday nights for the —96 season, but none of the new shows including the Kirk Cameron vehicle Kirk and night-time soap opera Savannah managed to garner much viewing interest.

The network also launched the Kids' WB programming block in September , which featured a mix of existing Warner Bros. The WB continued to expand in the —97 season, adding programming on Monday nights. The WB first began to experience success with Buffy the Vampire Slayer a series based on the film of the same name , which became a hit with critics when it premiered as a mid-season replacement in March It debuted with the highest Monday night ratings in the network's history, attracting not only new teenage viewers, but new advertisers as well.

While the Fox network, the previous destination for teen television with shows such as Beverly Hills, and Parker Lewis Can't Lose , began to court older audiences with shows such as Ally McBeal, The WB began to craft its identity with programs targeted at teenagers. The network's breakout hit and, arguably, its signature series was Dawson's Creek, which debuted in January to what were then the highest ratings in the network's history and made stars out of its four principal actors, James van der Beek, Michelle Williams, Joshua Jackson and Katie Holmes.

It quickly became the highest-rated show on television among teenage girls, and the most popular program on The WB. With three hit shows in its roster, The WB continued to build its teen fanbase the following season with college drama Felicity which made a star out of lead Keri Russell and the wicca-themed Charmed which was also produced by Aaron Spelling, and co-starred Alyssa Milano and alumnus Shannen Doherty , both of which set new records for the network when they respectively premiered to 7.

At the start of the —99 season, the network expanded its programming to Thursday nights. That season, 7th Heaven overtook Dawson's Creek as the network's highest-rated program, and garnered The WB the highest ratings it would ever see — the show's February 8, episode attracted For the — season, the network concluded its primetime expansion with the addition of programming on Friday nights. New shows that season included Roswell, Popular, and the Buffy the Vampire Slayer spin-off Angel, the latter of which premiered with 7.

During this season, The WB was the only network to have gains in its total audience viewership and in each key demographic. As the teen boom of the late s began to wane, The WB attempted to broaden the scope of its primetime lineup. Although teen-oriented fare like Popular and Roswell had premiered to strong ratings, both series saw serious ratings erosion in their sophomore seasons, leading the network to cancel them both Roswell, like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, would end up being revived by rival network UPN.

Meanwhile, even though ratings for 7th Heaven, Buffy and Charmed remained consistent, viewership for flagship series such as Felicity and Dawson's Creek began sagging. The network realized that it could no longer rely merely on the tastes of young teenage girls, and thus began moving back into more family-friendly fare, attempting to launch a successful sitcom, and generally targeting a more diverse audience. The removal of The WB's programs from the WGN national feed effectively reduced the network's potential household audience by 10 million homes WGN-TV continued to carry WB programming over-the-air and on cable within the Chicago market until the network shut down in Despite the slight downturn in the network's fortunes, there were a few bright spots during the era.

Gilmore Girls, which debuted in , netted meager ratings when it debuted in a tough Thursday timeslot where it competed against NBC's powerhouse Must See TV lineup , but subsequently grew into one of the network's most successful shows after moving to Tuesdays in , where it remained for six seasons before moving to The CW for its seventh and final season.

Also in the fall of , the fantasy sitcom Sabrina, the Teenage Witch moved from ABC to The WB as part of its Friday night schedule; the show continued on the network for three more seasons before ending in May Entertainment over to its Turner Broadcasting System division in In October , the Superman-inspired Smallville debuted with 8.

Other series to gain attention during this period were the family drama Everwood, and the short-lived but critically acclaimed soap satire Grosse Pointe. Despite some early success, the network struggled to shift its focus from the female 12—24 demographic to the broader 12—34 range, in its attempt to attract a broader young adult audience.

In , the network retired Michigan J. Frog, as the network's trademark mascot. The WB's president of entertainment at the time, David Janollari, explained in July at the network's summer press tour that "[Michigan] was a symbol that perpetuated the young-teen feel of the network. That's not the image we [now] want to put to our audience. Still, the move did not seem to help the network.

The period from to produced only three viable new series, the teen-oriented drama One Tree Hill, social experiment reality competition Beauty and the Geek and fantasy drama Supernatural all of which ultimately moved to successor network The CW , and even still their ratings paled in comparison to the ratings peaks of Dawson's Creek, which had ended its run in May Ratings dropped for many of The WB's shows, while also cancelling shows with steady ratings such as Angel; the network failed to launch new hit shows to take their places.

Although The WB's well-known inability to launch successful comedy series was nothing new Reba being the sole exception , this period saw the network struggling to establish new dramas as well. During the —05 season, The WB finished behind rival UPN for the first time in four years, and fell even further behind in the fall of Both networks fell behind Spanish language network Univision in the overall 18—34 demographic. Warner Bros. Entertainment Wiki Explore. Swackhammer Dorian Tyrell.

Animaniacs Pinky and the Brain Detention Histeria! Superman: The Animated Series. DC Comics. Explore Wikis Community Central. Register Don't have an account? List of assets owned by WarnerMedia. History Talk 0. Seal Flagship Production Pact ". Invests in Spyglass Media " in en , Variety April 16, Consolidates Its TV Studios ". Oscar nominated director Michael R. Roskam to become a partner in the company ". Digital Networks ". Anime News Network.