Memo to all CW employees from Time Warner and The Church of Tisch: We have you backs. By the power and the salvation of the almighty dollar, The CW will be saved from a fate worst than anything: cancellation, thanks to Pastor Les Moonves and Deacon Dawn Ostroff.
WBBM General Manager Joe Ahern will now make the rounds with the collection plate for your "donation".
In letters mailed to CW affiliates yesterday morning, Time Warner and CBS executives addressed their concerns about the fledgling network and remain 100 percent committed to the cause.
The announcement comes amid reports Tribune and others are making alternative plans to program prime-time just in case CW goes under, and a few stations are re-branding themselves without the CW name.
Ratings for CW are down 15 percent from a year ago, which was hard hit by the writer's strike. The network's ratings remain low despite the most buzzed-about shows on television. The network also recently rented out Sunday nights and Saturday mornings to outside suppliers.
Even worse, one of the network's "prize jewels" (Gossip Girl) was recently outrated in the teenage demo by ABC Family's The Secret Life Of The American Teenager, though Gossip was in repeats.
The network is being criticized for airing too many look-alike dramas featuring young, affluent spoiled brats and only targeting an audience (women 18-34) that is abandoning television for entertainment from other sources.
CW has a lot riding on this season with the revival of 90210, which I'm sure they'll declare a hit after the first hour of its two hour premiere on Sept. 2.
It is no one's surprise CBS and Time Warner is hanging on to this embarrassment of a network. After all, with members of The Church of Tisch running things, no wonder it's going to pot.
When the numbers for 90210 come out on Sept.3, you wonder if CW execs are going to be rewarded with an expensive lunch and marble showers...
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