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WB and UPN stations are scrambling to find a new model
With The WB and UPN shutting down next fall to form The CW, dozens of orphaned affiliates are scrambling to align with the new network or find a way to go it alone.
The CW and the stations With deals with Tribune and CBS, the new network is already cleared in 20 of the top 25 TV markets, leaving Fox-owned UPN affiliates out in the cold
Market | WB owner | UPN owner | CW affiliate |
New York | Tribune | Fox | Tribune |
Los Angeles | Tribune | Fox | Tribune |
Chicago | Tribune | Fox | Tribune |
Philadelphia | Tribune | CBS | CBS |
Boston | Tribune | CBS | Tribune |
San Francisco | Granite* | CBS | CBS |
Dallas | Tribune | CBS | Tribune |
Washington | Tribune | Fox | Tribune |
Atlanta | Tribune | CBS | CBS |
Houston | Tribune | Fox | Tribune |
Detroit | Granite* | CBS | CBS |
Tampa, Fla. | Sinclair | CBS | CBS |
Seattle | Tribune | CBS | CBS |
Phoenix | Belo | Fox | TBD |
Minneapolis-St. Paul | Sinclair | Fox | TBD |
Cleveland | Winston Bcstg. | Raycom Media | TBD |
Miami | Tribune | CBS | Tribune |
Denver | Tribune | Channel 20 TV Co.* | Tribune |
Sacramento, Calif. | Gannett | CBS | CBS |
Orlando, Fla. | Emmis | Fox | TBD |
St. Louis | Tribune | Roberts Bcstg. | Tribune |
Pittsburgh | Sinclair | CBS | CBS |
Portland, Ore. | Tribune | Meredith | Tribune |
Baltimore | Sinclair | Fox | TBD |
Indianapolis | Tribune | LIN TV | Tribune |
The shift could mean more local news and programming in some markets, but it also threatens to put some affiliates out of business. And now some station owners, who had no advance warning about the deal, are threatening legal action.
"These broadcasters woke up one day and found out that, come September, the affiliation agreements were null and void," says an...