(sometimes written '''My Network TV''', and unofficially abbreviated '''MyNet''', '''MyTV''', '''MNT''', or '''MNTV''') is a
Television Network in the
United States , owned by
News Corporation . It is the lowest-rated of the six major US English-language commercial broadcast networks.
The network began operations on and
UPN affiliates. Its original primetime format consisted of
Hour-long Soap Operas (the first two being ''
Desire '' and ''
Fashion House '') that aired on a five-nights-per-week, 13-week pattern.
After failing to attract viewership with that ,
2007
MyNetworkTV is a sister network to the
FOX network, but operates separately.
Roger Ailes oversees the network as chairman of the
Fox Television Stations Group (FTSG). Greg Meidel, the network's president, supervises its day-to-day operations, along with Fox executives Jack Abernethy, Dennis Swanson, and Bob Cook.
''See also:
2006 United States Broadcast TV Realignment ''
MyNetworkTV arose from the announcement of new in
New York City ,
KCOP-TV in
Los Angeles , and
WPWR-TV in
Chicago . Fox had bought most of them after acquiring most of the television holdings of
Chris-Craft Industries , which founded UPN with
Paramount Pictures (which was acquired by
Viacom around the time of UPN's founding), while WPWR was bought in 2003 from
Newsweb Corporation . Despite concerns about UPN's future at the time Fox purchased these three stations, UPN renewed its affiliation deals with the stations in 2003 for three years. That agreement's pending expiration--and some others'--in 2006 gave UPN parent
CBS Corporation and The WB parent
Warner Bros. the rare opportunity to merge their respective struggling networks, the result being The CW.
The CW included no Fox-owned stations; in fact, the coveted New York, Los Angeles and Chicago affiliations all went to stations owned by The WB's co-owner,
Tribune Broadcasting . In response to the announcement, Fox promptly scrubbed all UPN references from its UPN affiliates' logos and promotions and stopped promoting UPN programs altogether. However, in all three cases (especially in the cases of Los Angeles and Chicago), the WB affiliate was the stronger station; CW executives were on record as preferring the "strongest" WB and UPN affiliates.
Media reports speculated that the Fox-owned UPN affiliates would all revert to being
Independent Station s, or else form another network by uniting with the other UPN and The WB affiliates left out of The CW. Fox parent News Corp chose the latter route, and announced MyNetworkTV on
February 22 , less than a month after CBS and Warner Bros. announced The CW on
January 24 . News Corp may have chosen the name ''MyNetworkTV'' for synergistic means, as it also owns the popular networking website ''
MySpace ''.com.
See Also: List of programs broadcast by MyNetworkTV
See Also: 2007-08 United States network television schedule
MyNetworkTV began operations on /
Pacific time) Monday through Saturday.
MyNetworkTV is more akin to a
Syndication model, such as the
Prime Time Entertainment Network ,
Operation Primetime , or
The Disney Afternoon , than major broadcast networks' programming.
At least four affiliate stations present MNTV programs out of pattern:
- KEVU in Eugene, Oregon airs the MNTV schedule from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., after the "Prime Time Talk" block of '' Dr. Phil ' and " Oprah ".
- KQCA in Sacramento, California airs the MNTV schedule from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. This is is due to '' Oprah '' airing in the 9 p.m. slot as their lead-in to their 10 p.m. newscast. KQCA is the second TV station in its time zone, and indeed in its market (after local CBS affiliate KOVR ) to start airing network primetime shows an hour early.
- KRON in San Francisco airs MNTV programming from 9 to 11 p.m., after '' Dr. Phil ''.
- with CBS Owned-and-operated Station KUTV , which allows KJZZ to re-air some syndicated shows from KUTV, and an extensive schedule of Utah Jazz Basketball games (the station and team have the same owner, Larry H. Miller ). It had originally aired from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the network's launch.
Heavy sports preemptions are an ongoing problem for MyNetworkTV. Affiliates often scheduled contractual "make goods" of its daily line between 3 and 6 a.m. Not only are these light viewing hours, but they air after Nielsen processes its preliminary morning network ratings. {Link without Title}
:''See
MyNetworkTV Telenovelas
The network's original format focused on the 18-to-49-year-old, English-speaking population
12 with programing consisting exclusively of .
The announcement of the new network also stated that additional unscripted (i.e., "reality") and current-affairs programming were in development. These were:
MyNetworkTV would abandon development of these programs in Summer 2006 its reality-show development (leaving that responsibility to
FOX ) and focus solely on telenovelas, even if the format did not initially prove successful.
Recent announcements by Fox regarding additional programming to air on MyNetworkTV
O&O s—such as ''
Desperate Housewives '' repeats, a trial run of the now-
TBS sitcom ''
Tyler Perry's House Of Payne ,'' and a daytime viewer-participation
Game Show , ''
My Games Fever '' which has since been cancelledhttp://www.tvweek.com/news/2006/08/twentieth_tv_shine_plan_live_d.php—do not apply to the network as a whole.
In response to the , in conjunction with
Fox Sports Net .
FSN & MyNetworkTV Reach Strategic Programming Alliance with International Fight League , ''Yahoo!'', January 16, 2007
Fox Networks Enter Mixed Martial Arts Ring , ''TV Week'', January 16, 2007
On '' and ''
Watch Over Me '' finished their runs),
Telenovelas occupied only two nights of programming, airing in two-hour movie-style blocks rather than on multiple nights. The remainder of the schedule includes theatrical movies and the new ''
IFL Battleground'' (originally titled ''Total Impact'').
In addition, the Saturday night
Telenovela recaps ended immediately, in favor of movies until March. The
1986 Film ''
Something Wild '' aired on
February 3 , becoming the network's first non-telenovela presentation.
Specials and reality programming are also a part of the network's reformatting. The first two specials aired on
March 7 --a one-hour preview of ''IFL Battleground'' and the ''
Access Hollywood ''-produced biography special ''
Anna Nicole Smith : A Centerfold Exposed''.
MyNetworkTV Presents Special on Anna Nicole Smith ''Broadcasting & Cable'' February 28, 2007 Subsequent specials have included:
A side effect of the new programming schedule is the loss of the network's claim that they were the only U.S. broadcast network to have their entire schedule available in
HDTV , due to the
IFL , some of the network's movies, and the additional programming being produced in
480i Standard Definition only.
MyNet Drops Pure-HD Format; Shift From Soap Operas Brings Standard/HD Mix , ''TV Week HD Newsletter'', March 8, 2007
In fall 2007, MyNetworkTV is removing telenovelas and beginning to air reality and sports shows.
MyNetworkTV Seeks Arresting Programming , ''Digital Video Editing'',
May 29 ,
2007
On September 1, 2007, the network aired its first live program, the mens final of the
AVP Croc Tour's
Cincinnati Open.
MyNetworkTV has added '',
2007
MyNetworkTV has also added two new shows for ,
2007
See Also: List of programs broadcast by MyNetworkTV
Movies are in ; new reality shows are in '''
gold'''; sports programming is in '''
purple'''.
All times are
Eastern and
Pacific (subtract one hour for
Central and
Mountain time).
See Also: 2007-08 United States network television schedule
:''See
MyNetworkTV Telenovelas
MyNetworkTV's debut was far from successful. ''Desire'' scored a 1.1 household rating/2 share; ''Fashion House'' went up to 1.3/2.http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=47801
Fox had sold about half of its projections of $50 million in advance commercial sales.http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0609030319sep03,1,390611.story?coll=chi-business-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true
As of , along with the constant sound of a
Flatline and calls to
911 .
Despite such controversy, ''IFL Battleground'' and the Thursday and Friday movies have helped increase overall ratings for MyNetworkTV (in number of households, male and female demographic groups). The reality format is slated to continue, with network executives taking what they've termed an "unconventional" upfront presentation for 2007-2008--small yet direct meetings with media buyers in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles (forgoing the traditional splashy shows other networks employ during upfronts).
Last-minute changes to the Fall MyNetworkTV schedules includes the title of "Divorce Wars" being changed to "Decision House" and the addition of "Celebriry Exposé" and "Control Room Presents" (a concert series) to the network's Monday line-up and a one-hour "IFL Battleground" followed by "NFL Total Access" on Saturdays.
MNT Opts for One-On-One Upfront Presentations, Speeds Up Reality ''Broadcasting & Cable'' April 24, 2007
As of ;
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ; and
Seattle, Washington ), and three owned by CBS Corporation; however,
Gannett purchased
WATL , the Atlanta Tribune station, shortly after Fox confirmed it as a MyNetworkTV affiliate (Gannett's acquisition of WATL was finalized on
August 7 ,
2006 ).
On
March 6 2006 ,
Sinclair Broadcast Group announced that 17 of its stations, mostly affiliates of The WB but also a few from UPN and some independent stations, would become MyNetworkTV affiliates in September 2006. This occurred despite the widespread presumption that affiliation with The CW, which at this point was still available in most markets, would be more valuable; however, Sinclair implied that MyNetworkTV was more financially attractive for the company. Some of the markets the 17 Sinclair stations occupy include
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ;
Tampa, Florida ;
Cincinnati, Ohio ;
San Antonio, Texas ;
Birmingham, Alabama ;
Raleigh, North Carolina ;
Nashville, Tennessee ; and
Milwaukee, Wisconsin .
One of the stations named in a
April 26 ,
2006 announcement of MyNetworkTV affiliates was
KNVA Austin, Texas , which The CW had added to its list of confirmed affiliates a week previously. On
May 1 ,
2006 KWKB Iowa City, Iowa , another previously-confirmed affiliate of The CW, signed on to carry MyNetworkTV. Currently, these two stations are the only in the US to be aligned with both new networks. KNVA will brand MyNetworkTV shows as "MyNetworkTV on The CW Austin". KWKB's website features station logos labeled as both "KWKB The CW" and "My KWKB". In May,
WAWB in
Huntsville, Alabama became an official My Network affiliate with the call letters WAMY.
On to affiliate with MNTV as a response to pulling UPN names from the Fox-owned stations that were affiliated with UPN.
In
August 2006 , MyNetworkTV filled in its remaining gaps within the top 100 television markets. On
August 11 ,
2006 , MNTV announced
WNAC in
Providence, Rhode Island , market #51, as a secondary affiliate; and
WNGT-LP in
Toledo, Ohio , market #70, as a primary station. Additionally, on
August 22 ,
2006 , the network added
KAUT in
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma , market #45, and a digital sub-channel of
WRGT in
Dayton, Ohio , market #59, to the affiliate list on its website. Also that month,
WZMY in
Derry, New Hampshire was announced as the
Boston -market affiliate.
Mobile, Alabama is currently the largest city without a MyNetworkTV affiliate, although the city's
DMA (which includes
Pensacola ,
Fort Walton Beach, Florida , and the rest of the
Gulf Shores region) has Fort Walton Beach station
WFGX as the area's station for the network. This is due to WFGX's weak analog signal, which is not available west of Pensacola, and the lack of a
Must-carry agreement with Mobile's
Comcast system, most likely a renmant of the station's former status as a low-rated
Jewelry TV station before the launch of MyNetworkTV.
Due to the availability of "instant duopoly" digital subchannels that are likely easily available on cable and satellite, and the overall lack of a need to settle for a secondary affiliation with shows aired in problematic timeslots, both The CW and MyNetworkTV launched with far greater national coverage than that enjoyed by UPN and The WB when they started in 1995. UPN for several years had gaps in the top 30 markets, and by 2005 managed to reach only 86% of the population. This resulted in secondary affiliations with stations carrying other networks. In those markets, programs were either shown out of their intended time-slots or not at all. Examples included ''''; when they were preempted, there were many viewer complaints.
At first, many Fox owned-and-operated stations branded local programming with the ''My''
Moniker . An example is ''
My 9 '' and ''My 9 News'' for
WWOR-TV . However, by the third week in October, at least one station,
KCOP , went to a two-column brand, with the network logo on the left side and the channel number, 13, on the right. The verbal identification became "MyNetworkTV channel 13."
The network has no digital on-screen graphic logo in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen on the SD feed (although the HD feed does), allowing their local stations to use their own logo instead. On
November 13 , the network added a translucent show logo to the bottom left side of the screen, but discontinued it in March with the beginning of the third telenovela cycle.
In the months before the network's launch, several stations changed their on-air identities to accommodate for the then-upcoming network, including all of the Fox Television Stations Group-owned stations. Affiliates also began to show promotions for the network featuring the theme of "''Entertainment you can call your own.''"
At the time plans for MyNetworkTV were announced, there was at least one station that was using a similar moniker.
WZMY Derry, New Hampshire filed a trademark for the "MyTV" name in the summer of 2005, and for a short time there was speculation the station might sue Fox for the use of "MyTV".
3 However, on
July 21 ,
2006 , an e-mail was sent to WZMY's MyTV e-mail subscribers that the station would become the
Boston area's MyNetworkTV affiliate. The official announcement came the following week.
4
