Let's start with Tuesdays on The CW, or Fox Wednesday, circa 1993. Literally. Melrose Place is paired with 90210 again. It's the first time in television history a network's entire slate is shown all-new, 16 years later on another network. Kind of reinforces my ravings how Hollywood no longer has any original ideas. But I disgress especially since I think the CW is on to something here. They're going for teenage girls and female 20-somethings (ok, really women 18-34) and are nailing it. Of course, the numbers won't be as high as the other networks, but they're really defining themselves for their targeted audience.
Just three new shows (Melrose Place, The Beautiful Life and The Vampires Diaries) this season gives them five "sexy angst" shows, two sci-fi shows and one reality platform. They mercifully returned Sunday nights back to their affiliates after last year's failed attempt to sell the night to MRC. It would be nice if they'd pair something with Smallville (moved to Friday) instead of a repeat of America's Next Top Model.
Overall, I like the way they're positioning themselves and attempting to use social networking to get the word out about their shows. They won't beat the so-called Big 4, but there's a lot of buzz about their programming. Let's see how buzz translates to eyeballs.
