UPN: The Rise of the 5th TV Network (pt. 1)

00:32:32
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVwcD66KUSY

الملخص

TLDRThe video chronicles the rise and fall of the United Paramount Network (UPN), launched in 1995 as a competitor to the big three networks. UPN aimed to cater to urban audiences, particularly African Americans, building a diverse programming lineup with hits like 'Star Trek: Voyager'. Despite initial success, UPN struggled with maintaining ratings against competitors like Fox and the WB, leading to a decline in viewership and profitability. This ultimately resulted in its closure in 2006. The network's story reflects the challenges faced by smaller networks in a competitive television landscape.

الوجبات الجاهزة

  • 📺 UPN launched in 1995 as a challenger to the big three networks.
  • 🌟 Initial success was driven by shows like 'Star Trek: Voyager'.
  • 🎯 Targeted urban and African American audiences in large cities.
  • 🚩 Faced strong competition from WB and Fox from the start.
  • 📉 Declining ratings and poor programming decisions contributed to its downfall.
  • 💰 UPN lost significant viewership and financial stability over the years.
  • 🔄 Attempted to revamp programming but struggled to find a solid audience.
  • 🤝 Merged with CBS's ownership in 1999 but continued to lose traction.
  • 🛑 UPN ceased operations in 2006, replaced by the CW Network.
  • 🎥 The history of UPN reflects challenges smaller networks face in a competitive environment.

الجدول الزمني

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    In January 2018, Viacom rebranded the Spike channel to Paramount Network, reviving the Paramount name in television, coinciding with the launch of the United Paramount Network (UPN) back in 1995, which initially aimed to compete against CBS, NBC, ABC, and Fox, attempting to carve its niche in the broadcasting landscape.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    Television has historically been dominated by three primary networks (NBC, ABC, CBS) since the 1940s. Attempts to create a fourth network were made with various contenders, notably the Dumont Network, which failed to gain traction amid the growing technological landscape and limited space for competitors.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:15:00

    Paramount's early television endeavors included the Paramount Television Network (1948-1956), which struggled but paved the way for future productions. The company made significant strides in the industry, notably producing iconic shows like 'Mission Impossible' and 'Brady Bunch,' laying the groundwork for their later ambitions in establishing a full network.

  • 00:15:00 - 00:20:00

    In 1978, Barry Diller's vision for a Paramount Television Service was derailed due to corporate fears, after which he left to help launch Fox in the 1980s, which eventually established itself as the fourth network, further shaking Paramount's ambitions. Paramount remained focused on producing shows while waiting for chances to enter the network arena.

  • 00:20:00 - 00:25:00

    The shift in policy from the FCC opened opportunities for Paramount to establish UPN in 1995, partnering with Chris-Craft, which brought together resources from United Television. Despite initial excitement, hesitations from Viacom, Paramount's parent company, juxtaposed the threats posed by other emerging networks, particularly the WB.

  • 00:25:00 - 00:32:32

    UPN launched with two hours of original programming, scoring initial success with 'Star Trek Voyager.' Yet, it quickly faced challenges with lackluster shows, eventually pivoting to appeal to urban African American audiences, which led to the introduction of shows with predominantly black casts. As they expanded their reach and faced competition from WB, strategies shifted toward finding unique viewer demographics.

اعرض المزيد

الخريطة الذهنية

فيديو أسئلة وأجوبة

  • What is UPN?

    The United Paramount Network (UPN) was a television network launched in 1995 aiming to compete with major networks like ABC, CBS, and NBC.

  • Why did UPN fail?

    UPN struggled with programming quality, viewer retention, and competition from other networks like WB and Fox, leading to financial losses.

  • Who launched UPN?

    UPN was launched by Paramount Pictures and Chris-Craft Industries.

  • What was UPN's target audience?

    UPN originally aimed to target urban audiences, particularly African Americans.

  • When did UPN start broadcasting?

    UPN started broadcasting on January 16, 1995.

  • What are some shows that aired on UPN?

    Notable shows include 'Star Trek: Voyager' and 'Moesha'.

  • How did UPN compare to the WB?

    UPN faced similar challenges as the WB, both vying for the title of a fifth network but with UPN having more success in African American viewership.

  • What happened to UPN's programming strategy over time?

    UPN attempted to adjust its programming to appeal to a broader audience and introduced nighttime programming and wrestling.

  • When did UPN cease operations?

    UPN ceased operations in 2006 and was replaced by the CW Network.

  • What was the significance of Star Trek: Voyager for UPN?

    It was one of UPN's flagship shows and significantly contributed to its early success.

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التمرير التلقائي:
  • 00:00:00
    in january of 2018 the paramount network
  • 00:00:03
    came onto cable systems nationwide
  • 00:00:05
    viacom the owner of the channel
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    rebranded spike which they had broadcast
  • 00:00:08
    since 2003 with the name of their
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    largest property their movie studio
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    however this actually isn't the first
  • 00:00:14
    time that the name paramount and the
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    word network have gone side by side far
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    from it actually paramount had their own
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    network for years right around the turn
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    of this entry this one though wasn't
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    cable during its tenure you would have
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    seen among the big boys like cbs nbc abc
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    and fox and this network was eager to
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    become a direct competitor to these four
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    it was aiming to change the big four to
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    the big five a little more ambitious
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    than a rebranded cable channel right
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    however despite their best efforts this
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    didn't happen and this particular
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    network is no longer on the airwaves so
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    how did a network with such big dreams
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    and from such a big company fail to
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    stick around
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    join me as we find out and take a good
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    look at the rise and fall of the united
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    paramount network
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    upn
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    [Music]
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    so let's talk about tv alright tv is old
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    the big three broadcast networks have
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    been around practically since the medium
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    began in the 1940s nbc abc and cbs are
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    veterans to say the least an important
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    distinction to make is that these are
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    broadcast networks as in stations that
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    are transmitted over the air by local
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    affiliates of that network hence why
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    these are often called over-the-air
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    networks or terrestrial networks if
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    you're outside the us
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    and for quite a while after the meeting
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    was started up broadcast networks were
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    the only way to watch live television
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    you had three networks and you chose one
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    that was the way americans watch tv but
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    it didn't always seem that way though
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    numerous networks stepped in and thought
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    to be the quote-unquote fourth network
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    these were guys who thought that there
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    was room for one more network to step in
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    and offer some serious competition in
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    the early days there actually were four
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    networks and the fourth one was called
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    the dumont network however this wasn't a
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    fourth network in the traditional sense
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    see when television was just getting
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    going early affiliates didn't choose one
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    station and stick with it today most
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    markets have clearly defined abc nbc and
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    cbs affiliates but this hasn't always
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    been the case affiliates often had
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    primary affiliations and secondary
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    affiliations and this made sense meaning
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    that there weren't as many affiliates in
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    most markets so if a station had a
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    primary affiliation with abc that
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    affiliate would air abc's primetime
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    lineup and more or less at standard time
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    but they would cherry pick popular
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    programs from their secondary
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    affiliations to preempt whatever is
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    being shown on abc at the time they
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    could also air the prime time lineup for
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    their secondary affiliate in a slightly
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    different time slot just to fill up
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    empty air time sometimes multiple
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    affiliates shared a secondary
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    affiliation so that more of that
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    network's programming could be
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    collectively seen by the area so say if
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    you had two networks one cbs affiliate
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    and one nbc affiliate they might both
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    have a secondary abc affiliation so that
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    one shows three abc shows and another
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    shows three different abc shows you see
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    six abc shows and everyone's happy does
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    that make sense
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    if it doesn't don't feel bad because
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    television really was a mess at the time
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    and the dumont network wasn't helping
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    with the technology still growing there
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    simply wasn't room for four players to
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    squeeze in there so something had to
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    give and ultimately the dumont network
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    which faced numerous struggles in trying
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    to establish themselves and grow to the
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    size of the other guys faded away
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    leaving just three networks for a number
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    of decades but one of those networks abc
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    wasn't always sure to be a big player
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    though because in 1951 they were nearing
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    bankruptcy in fact abc was actually kind
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    of an outsider and for some markets
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    there were really only two stations with
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    abc being the distant third see abc got
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    significantly less coverage nationwide
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    than cbs or nbc
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    now meanwhile on the complete other side
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    of the aisle paramount was forced to
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    part ways with its theater division
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    which would be named united paramount
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    theaters this new offshoot of paramount
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    with money to burn and wish to branch
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    out acquired abc and gave it the
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    financial boost it needed to steadily
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    rise paramount can largely be credited
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    for giving the country abc and with that
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    three networks became the industry
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    standard abc cbs and nbc these were the
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    three networks and you picked one that's
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    just the way it was
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    this isn't to say that other guys didn't
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    try to be the fourth guy in fact
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    paramount actually had their own serious
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    contender for a little bit paramount was
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    a corporate partner of dumont that had
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    gained some control of the company and
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    proceeded to sabotage it in attempts to
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    chase its own television ambitions the
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    reason dumont fell and paramount's
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    involvement with that is a whole
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    different story and a tragic one at that
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    but suffice it to say that dumont faded
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    and we got the paramount television
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    network as the result it had
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    considerably less success than the
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    dumont network but it managed to last
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    for eight years between 1948 and 1956
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    before biting the dust and it managed to
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    produce a couple of decently popular
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    shows though it'd be a stretch to call
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    any of them hits paramount though they
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    didn't have a network proceeded to put
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    their production studios to work
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    producing programs for the networks that
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    had managed to survive the early days
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    and they actually managed to crank out
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    quite a few hits for both syndication
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    and networks popular series include
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    mission impossible the odd couple happy
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    days and the brady bunch just to name a
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    few paramount was doing exceptionally
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    well with television and many within the
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    company felt that they had still yet to
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    do so much in many ways paramount was a
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    great force that played a major role in
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    shaping television up to this point by
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    1978 with newer shows doing great
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    paramount began to return to the idea of
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    having their very own network four years
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    earlier a man named barry diller had
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    become the chief executive diller had
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    previously worked as the vp of
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    development at abc and he's actually
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    credited with pioneering the concept of
  • 00:05:30
    the tv movie he was a very television
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    oriented guy and it was diller who
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    pushed and pushed for people within
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    paramount to believe that the company
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    could occupy the coveted spot of the
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    fourth network the station he proposed
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    would broadcast only on saturdays and it
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    would screen an episode of star trek
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    phase 2 followed by a movie simple
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    enough but that left room to grow the
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    station would be called the paramount
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    television
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    service everything was all set for an
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    april 1978 launch they had even gone so
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    far as to create idents for the network
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    but then it got delayed due to issues
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    with advertisers and then due to
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    corporate fears that it would be too
  • 00:06:06
    much of a money hog the network was
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    ultimately cancelled six months before
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    the new proposed launch date the
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    paramount television service never saw
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    the light of day
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    but barry diller however barry diller
  • 00:06:17
    was a determined man he knew that there
  • 00:06:19
    was room for a fourth network but he
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    learned that paramount was not the place
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    it was going to happen so after a bitter
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    departure from paramount he moved to
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    another company and along with that
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    company's rupert murdoch started up a
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    new television network that bore the
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    name of another popular movie studio
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    that had previously played a production
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    role in television in 1984 diller was
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    named chairman and ceo of fox
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    incorporated his intentions for fox were
  • 00:06:41
    well known throughout the industry he
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    wanted to start the fourth network the
  • 00:06:44
    fox broadcasting company was born in
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    1986 and under diller's lead the fox
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    network slowly grew to become a serious
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    force to be reckoned with after shows he
  • 00:06:52
    greenlit like married with children and
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    the simpsons became smashed successes in
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    1994 a nationwide tv realignment took
  • 00:06:59
    place wherein fox was pretty much
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    officially totally almost irreversibly
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    recognized as a new network and their
  • 00:07:05
    nationwide affiliation was greatly
  • 00:07:07
    expanded there was a fourth network now
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    and it was fox
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    during this whole ordeal paramount was
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    sitting back from the sidelines and
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    continuing to produce more shows but
  • 00:07:17
    they certainly took notice paramount had
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    never really lost hold of its wish to
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    have the extra tv station and they kept
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    their eye out for an opening all right
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    press pause on paramount for a second
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    we're going to go back a little bit and
  • 00:07:27
    take a look at yet another important
  • 00:07:29
    player here chris craft industries if
  • 00:07:31
    you've never heard that name don't be
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    surprised because in their earlier years
  • 00:07:35
    chris craft was actually the largest
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    manufacturer of small boats on the
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    planet however as time went on different
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    parent companies gobbled them up and
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    restructuring took place the company
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    began to focus more on broadcasting in
  • 00:07:45
    addition to their manufacturing and they
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    founded the broadcast holding company as
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    a corporate subsidiary to help out with
  • 00:07:50
    this new direction they began to invest
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    in 20th century fox and they owned 19 of
  • 00:07:54
    the company by 1980. they also bought up
  • 00:07:56
    19 of a company called united television
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    and continued to buy more until 1983 hit
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    and with over 50 ownership bhc was the
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    parent company of united television
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    united television was a company they
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    wanted primarily for the local
  • 00:08:08
    affiliates that they owned in big
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    markets the next year the company sold
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    off their boat division and the
  • 00:08:12
    crisscraft boats that exist today only
  • 00:08:14
    had the name in common with the original
  • 00:08:15
    company the company owned and operated
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    eight local affiliates by 1993 all of
  • 00:08:20
    them in big markets including los
  • 00:08:22
    angeles and new york and this made them
  • 00:08:23
    a big name in the tv business because
  • 00:08:25
    all of these large markets made them the
  • 00:08:27
    sixth largest broadcaster in the company
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    and they reached 20 percent of u.s
  • 00:08:31
    households so naturally anyone looking
  • 00:08:33
    to start up a new network would want
  • 00:08:35
    chris kraft as their corporate buddy
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    back over to paramount who is now
  • 00:08:38
    looking to start up a new network of
  • 00:08:39
    their own once again their main motive
  • 00:08:41
    was to have a more tangible means to
  • 00:08:43
    distribute their programming see the fcc
  • 00:08:45
    had recently loosened its rules and the
  • 00:08:46
    changes allowed networks to own their
  • 00:08:48
    programming and practice not allowed
  • 00:08:50
    previously since paramount could now own
  • 00:08:51
    the shows on its network it seemed a
  • 00:08:53
    great time to start one up it meant that
  • 00:08:55
    paramount wasn't restricted to other
  • 00:08:57
    networks or syndication it could make
  • 00:08:59
    its own shows for its own network well
  • 00:09:02
    if they had a network so that's what
  • 00:09:03
    they set out to make once paramount went
  • 00:09:05
    looking for partners in their new
  • 00:09:06
    network venture in 1993 chris craft was
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    up to negotiate the negotiations were
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    largely kept out of the public eye as
  • 00:09:12
    much as they could be and info is
  • 00:09:13
    limited but chris craft was definitely
  • 00:09:15
    very involved they weren't going to be
  • 00:09:17
    merely a tunnel through which paramount
  • 00:09:18
    could spread their new network they
  • 00:09:20
    would be a key player in the network
  • 00:09:22
    itself and they would own the network
  • 00:09:23
    outright the agreement they reached by
  • 00:09:25
    july 1994 was 120 pages and it became
  • 00:09:28
    known that the network would not be
  • 00:09:30
    called simply the paramount network as
  • 00:09:32
    many had thought but the united
  • 00:09:33
    paramount network with the united
  • 00:09:35
    portion of that name coming off of
  • 00:09:36
    united television all of this signal
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    that chris craft would have a larger
  • 00:09:40
    role than many originally thought the
  • 00:09:41
    proposed network would launch in january
  • 00:09:43
    1995 and initially reach over a quarter
  • 00:09:45
    of u.s households of course they would
  • 00:09:47
    expand over time this was all going on
  • 00:09:49
    immediately after paramount had been
  • 00:09:51
    through more changes earlier in 1994
  • 00:09:53
    viacom had merged with paramount after a
  • 00:09:55
    long battle with qvc over who would get
  • 00:09:57
    the company interestingly barry diller
  • 00:09:59
    had moved qvc by this point and many
  • 00:10:01
    believe that the move toward a tv
  • 00:10:02
    network at paramount was just one big
  • 00:10:05
    jab at diller who was vicious in his
  • 00:10:06
    pursuit for paramount and had burned
  • 00:10:08
    quite a few bridges on his way out of
  • 00:10:10
    paramount and over to fox ultimately
  • 00:10:12
    diller would not get his claws on
  • 00:10:13
    paramount and new parent viacom had
  • 00:10:15
    approved the idea of a new television
  • 00:10:16
    network during merger talks but after
  • 00:10:18
    the paperwork had gone through viacom
  • 00:10:20
    began to feel a little bit less
  • 00:10:21
    confident that a tv network would be
  • 00:10:23
    anything more than a cash hog and their
  • 00:10:24
    approach became one of hesitants
  • 00:10:26
    ultimately though they would go through
  • 00:10:27
    with it in order to compete with time
  • 00:10:29
    warner wait what okay it's hard to talk
  • 00:10:32
    about upn without talking about the wb
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    which is a similar fifth network concept
  • 00:10:36
    that was taken on by time warner at the
  • 00:10:37
    same time as paramount tackled it these
  • 00:10:39
    two networks are certainly similar but
  • 00:10:41
    in order to keep this video kind of
  • 00:10:43
    short i'll be talking about the wb in a
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    completely separate video for the
  • 00:10:46
    purposes of this video i'll tell you
  • 00:10:47
    only what you need to know about the wb
  • 00:10:49
    as it pertains to the upn and since
  • 00:10:51
    paramount did face the threat of another
  • 00:10:53
    new network coming onto the scene at the
  • 00:10:54
    same time they did they made the call to
  • 00:10:56
    go ahead and launch so that they
  • 00:10:57
    wouldn't fall behind both networks
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    however knew they were facing an uphill
  • 00:11:00
    battle it didn't help matters that cable
  • 00:11:02
    had only continued to grow the usa
  • 00:11:04
    network in particular was very popular
  • 00:11:06
    and many considered it to be the
  • 00:11:07
    spiritual fifth network even if it was
  • 00:11:09
    cable upn's strategy was effectively
  • 00:11:11
    trying to emulate the success of fox and
  • 00:11:13
    in doing so they'd follow fox's model
  • 00:11:15
    the whole story of how fox became the
  • 00:11:17
    fourth network is a story for another
  • 00:11:18
    day but they did start small and proceed
  • 00:11:20
    to produce more content as time ticked
  • 00:11:22
    on and growth continued and this is the
  • 00:11:24
    most sensible way to go about starting
  • 00:11:25
    up a new network upn would begin by
  • 00:11:27
    broadcasting only two nights a week with
  • 00:11:29
    two hours of original programming
  • 00:11:31
    nightly paramount would flaunt their
  • 00:11:32
    golden boy star trek with a tv series
  • 00:11:34
    called star trek voyager alongside that
  • 00:11:36
    show would be four new original shows
  • 00:11:38
    pigsty platypus man the watcher and
  • 00:11:40
    marker i don't have time to delve into
  • 00:11:42
    the specifics of every show in upn's
  • 00:11:44
    lineup so just take these shows at face
  • 00:11:46
    value suffice it to say that it wasn't
  • 00:11:47
    particularly anything special one
  • 00:11:49
    newspaper described the initial lineup
  • 00:11:51
    as reheated leftovers sitcoms action
  • 00:11:53
    series dramas it was all being played
  • 00:11:55
    pretty safe the network was being
  • 00:11:57
    prepped to launch on monday january 16th
  • 00:11:59
    1995. the very first broadcast would be
  • 00:12:01
    the inaugural two-hour episode of star
  • 00:12:03
    trek voyager now when airtime arrived
  • 00:12:05
    the results were explosive upn believe
  • 00:12:08
    it or not won the night with a 14.2
  • 00:12:12
    rating and over 20 million viewers more
  • 00:12:15
    than the season premiere of the roseanne
  • 00:12:17
    revival believe it or not the network
  • 00:12:18
    placed first in ratings across the
  • 00:12:20
    nation's major cities and second was fox
  • 00:12:22
    in third was cbs and fourth was nbc and
  • 00:12:25
    for the first time ever an established
  • 00:12:27
    big three network in this case abc
  • 00:12:29
    placed fifth it was unheard of even with
  • 00:12:32
    the wb's launch earlier the same month
  • 00:12:34
    it didn't make anywhere near as much of
  • 00:12:36
    a splash so things were looking pretty
  • 00:12:38
    good for upn unfortunately things really
  • 00:12:41
    didn't get better star trek though still
  • 00:12:43
    remaining popular never was able to
  • 00:12:44
    reach a rating anywhere near the 14.2 it
  • 00:12:46
    received on its first night often
  • 00:12:48
    garnering a third of that and as for
  • 00:12:50
    those other four shows they were nearly
  • 00:12:51
    universally panned by critics many
  • 00:12:53
    called the show's bland and unoriginal
  • 00:12:55
    or at best watchable unsurprisingly not
  • 00:12:58
    attracted to any real following by just
  • 00:12:59
    may of 1995 it was announced that upn
  • 00:13:02
    would drop all four of these shows from
  • 00:13:03
    their fall lineup leaving only star trek
  • 00:13:06
    as a survivor upn did perform better
  • 00:13:08
    than rival network wb and the
  • 00:13:09
    performance of upn was actually better
  • 00:13:11
    than what fox had when it was so young
  • 00:13:13
    in fact upn averaging a 4.5 rating
  • 00:13:15
    wasn't too much worse off than fox the
  • 00:13:17
    last place network at this time who
  • 00:13:19
    averaged 7.7 the wb meanwhile managed
  • 00:13:22
    pathetic 1.8 upn was off to a bumpy yet
  • 00:13:25
    considerably strong start oh and it was
  • 00:13:27
    also around this time that abc merged
  • 00:13:28
    with disney yeah that was kind of a big
  • 00:13:31
    deal once ball rolled around and it was
  • 00:13:33
    time for the real television seasons to
  • 00:13:34
    get going upn had purged their original
  • 00:13:36
    lineup and tried to capitalize further
  • 00:13:38
    on the only audience who was really
  • 00:13:39
    tuning in the star trek audience two new
  • 00:13:42
    hour-long science fiction shows were
  • 00:13:43
    introduced and an hour-long drama was
  • 00:13:45
    added for
  • 00:13:46
    balance i guess interestingly missing
  • 00:13:49
    were sitcoms the wb had built its entire
  • 00:13:52
    lineup around sitcoms and upn had its
  • 00:13:54
    fair share of them in their original
  • 00:13:55
    january lineup ubn was aiming for a more
  • 00:13:58
    distinct audience counter programming
  • 00:14:00
    was the concept show things unavailable
  • 00:14:02
    elsewhere upn wanted desperately to be
  • 00:14:04
    considered unique in a manner similar to
  • 00:14:05
    how fox had established themselves as a
  • 00:14:07
    younger edgier network regardless the
  • 00:14:09
    season proceeded and new shows came and
  • 00:14:11
    just as quickly went upn still wasn't
  • 00:14:14
    making waves but the game to realize
  • 00:14:16
    that there was a market a much larger
  • 00:14:18
    one for which content wasn't being mass
  • 00:14:20
    produced for on the big four networks
  • 00:14:22
    upn set their sights on african american
  • 00:14:25
    viewers it really made sense considering
  • 00:14:27
    that upn was available primarily in
  • 00:14:29
    large cities with diverse populations
  • 00:14:30
    and when it came to nielsen ratings it
  • 00:14:32
    was the large cities that really counted
  • 00:14:34
    alright so ubn decided to take the idea
  • 00:14:36
    of counter programming and really run
  • 00:14:37
    with it and with a market so large and
  • 00:14:39
    untapped like african american viewers
  • 00:14:40
    especially after the predominantly black
  • 00:14:42
    sitcoms of the 1980s wore thin with
  • 00:14:43
    viewers upn had their work cut out for
  • 00:14:46
    them if they wanted that audience and so
  • 00:14:48
    when upn was making the calls on what
  • 00:14:49
    shows to green light they leaned heavily
  • 00:14:51
    towards shows with black cast it was
  • 00:14:53
    also around this time may of 1996 that
  • 00:14:55
    ubn began broadcasting on wednesdays in
  • 00:14:57
    addition to the mondays and tuesdays
  • 00:14:58
    they had broadcast on since their
  • 00:14:59
    beginning for their new target audience
  • 00:15:01
    they assembled an arsenal of new shows
  • 00:15:03
    six of them as a matter of fact all of
  • 00:15:04
    them comedies all with majority black
  • 00:15:06
    cast worth noting as a show called in
  • 00:15:08
    the house and ll cool j show that nbc
  • 00:15:10
    had aired for two seasons before giving
  • 00:15:12
    it the axe that's really only notable
  • 00:15:14
    because of the fact that it was a former
  • 00:15:15
    nbc show see paramount loved making
  • 00:15:17
    television shows however there's only so
  • 00:15:20
    much that one company can put out and
  • 00:15:21
    they were forced to find other people to
  • 00:15:23
    make their shows for them but believe it
  • 00:15:24
    or not there weren't many people waving
  • 00:15:26
    their shows in front of upn's face
  • 00:15:28
    begging for them to be picked up shows
  • 00:15:29
    went to upn when other networks had
  • 00:15:31
    canceled them or rejected them outright
  • 00:15:33
    upn was notoriously a network for shows
  • 00:15:35
    that needed a plan b it was a reputation
  • 00:15:37
    they would struggle to shake the other
  • 00:15:38
    notable show is moisha see the creator
  • 00:15:40
    of moisha ralph farquhar was coming hot
  • 00:15:42
    off another show south central that it
  • 00:15:44
    aired on fox for one season before the
  • 00:15:46
    network cancelled it the show was loved
  • 00:15:47
    by critics because despite technically
  • 00:15:49
    falling into the comedy genre it got
  • 00:15:51
    very real at times giving a dark edge
  • 00:15:53
    that displayed the true hardships of
  • 00:15:54
    urban life that didn't stop fox from
  • 00:15:56
    accident after just 10 episodes in fact
  • 00:15:58
    fox canceled all of the shows that aired
  • 00:16:00
    on south central's night citing low
  • 00:16:02
    ratings all the shows they got the boot
  • 00:16:04
    though did have black cast which didn't
  • 00:16:06
    make fox any friends in the racial
  • 00:16:07
    activism world jesse jackson was
  • 00:16:09
    especially not a fan and called for a
  • 00:16:11
    boycott of the network regardless the
  • 00:16:13
    creator the show created moisha and
  • 00:16:14
    after cbs declined to pick it up upn
  • 00:16:16
    gave it the go-ahead the show was not
  • 00:16:18
    only popular and an average of about 3.5
  • 00:16:20
    million viewers an episode but it was
  • 00:16:22
    praised though the show was a more
  • 00:16:23
    traditional sitcom compared to south
  • 00:16:25
    central the recurring theme of biting
  • 00:16:26
    issues being present remained by
  • 00:16:28
    september the results were in if nothing
  • 00:16:31
    else upn was beating out the wb and
  • 00:16:33
    considerably at that they were also
  • 00:16:35
    nearing and in some cases getting ahead
  • 00:16:37
    of fox especially in the comedy
  • 00:16:38
    department which by this point upn had
  • 00:16:40
    embraced with very open arms upn was
  • 00:16:42
    posting that black viewers made up 52
  • 00:16:44
    more of their audience than white
  • 00:16:45
    viewers and that might sound like a lot
  • 00:16:47
    but it was actually third highest behind
  • 00:16:49
    fox at 105 and the wb at the
  • 00:16:51
    astronomical number of and you're not
  • 00:16:53
    gonna believe this
  • 00:16:55
    586 percent in overall viewership though
  • 00:16:58
    upn had the edge over the wb in december
  • 00:17:01
    of 1996 a big announcement was made
  • 00:17:04
    viacom was buying half of upn chris
  • 00:17:07
    craft had on the station and hole up to
  • 00:17:08
    this point but with this move viacom and
  • 00:17:10
    chris craft would be equal partners in
  • 00:17:12
    ownership of the network this was big
  • 00:17:14
    and it signaled that change was on the
  • 00:17:15
    horizon for the network approaching its
  • 00:17:17
    second birthday these changes certainly
  • 00:17:19
    didn't come right off the bat of course
  • 00:17:20
    the network for the early part of 1997
  • 00:17:22
    didn't do much more than just trudge
  • 00:17:24
    along a new show the sentinel however
  • 00:17:26
    came in as a mid-season replacement and
  • 00:17:27
    saw decent success of course as is
  • 00:17:29
    tradition tv shows come and tv shows go
  • 00:17:32
    and there are plenty that simply for
  • 00:17:33
    time constraints i'll be ignoring
  • 00:17:34
    perhaps the biggest change to come was
  • 00:17:36
    the expansion to thursdays after the 96
  • 00:17:37
    97 season ended at four nights a week
  • 00:17:39
    they were slowly growing to become a
  • 00:17:41
    larger network however thursday was a
  • 00:17:43
    strange day to add considering nbc's
  • 00:17:45
    famous or infamous in the network
  • 00:17:46
    business at the time must-see tv a
  • 00:17:48
    thursday night lineup packed to the brim
  • 00:17:50
    with smash hits like friends seinfeld
  • 00:17:52
    and er the other broadcast networks
  • 00:17:54
    didn't really even try to win over the
  • 00:17:55
    nbc audience on thursdays and it was a
  • 00:17:57
    graveyard slot for networks other than
  • 00:17:59
    nbc for many years the only programming
  • 00:18:01
    in this new night though would be a
  • 00:18:03
    sci-fi movie for 1997 their new lineup
  • 00:18:05
    included clueless a two-season abc show
  • 00:18:07
    that upnabbed after abc decided they had
  • 00:18:10
    had enough along with some new shows
  • 00:18:11
    from god knows where none of which
  • 00:18:13
    lasted for more than a season but they
  • 00:18:15
    were still clinging to star trek voyager
  • 00:18:16
    though and moaisha stuck around that's
  • 00:18:18
    all that mattered by this point both upn
  • 00:18:20
    and the wb were well known both in the
  • 00:18:22
    industry and in the homes many within
  • 00:18:24
    the industry had dubbed them the many
  • 00:18:25
    networks or the quasi networks or the
  • 00:18:28
    wannabe fifth networks in any list of
  • 00:18:30
    the broadcast networks there would
  • 00:18:31
    always be a break right after the name
  • 00:18:32
    fox was listed to introduce the would-be
  • 00:18:34
    brothers of the big four and upn and the
  • 00:18:37
    wb by this point it had become clear
  • 00:18:39
    that even though these networks had
  • 00:18:40
    launched with plans to be radically
  • 00:18:41
    different from the other networks their
  • 00:18:43
    execution had clearly been more of the
  • 00:18:45
    same with the exception of course of
  • 00:18:46
    their performance the proper broadcast
  • 00:18:48
    networks weren't doing particularly well
  • 00:18:49
    so the smaller networks were having
  • 00:18:51
    inherent troubles getting off the ground
  • 00:18:52
    there was the occasion where one of the
  • 00:18:54
    larger networks would absolutely tank
  • 00:18:55
    and one of these networks would come in
  • 00:18:57
    fourth but it was a rarity the two
  • 00:18:58
    networks had lost so much money that
  • 00:19:00
    merger talks actually started up between
  • 00:19:02
    the two these were a non-starter though
  • 00:19:03
    because chris kraft wanted absolutely no
  • 00:19:05
    part of it because of the adjustments
  • 00:19:06
    they'd have to make to their stations
  • 00:19:08
    the chief executive of the wb also
  • 00:19:09
    flatly stated i don't think there will
  • 00:19:11
    be a merger i think one of us is going
  • 00:19:13
    away even still many believe that the
  • 00:19:15
    market hadn't adjusted and that there
  • 00:19:16
    just wouldn't be room for an extra
  • 00:19:18
    network let alone two of them if only
  • 00:19:20
    one of them could survive experts
  • 00:19:21
    projected that it'd be the wb citing a
  • 00:19:23
    stronger lineup of shows and a better
  • 00:19:25
    overall strategy this speculation came
  • 00:19:27
    at the same time that yet another new
  • 00:19:29
    network was in the works a man named
  • 00:19:31
    lowell paxson who is credited with
  • 00:19:33
    inventing the infomercial was very
  • 00:19:34
    interested in having a network of his
  • 00:19:36
    own and he believed that he could really
  • 00:19:38
    do it he wanted to take a new strategy
  • 00:19:40
    entirely he already owned a vast arsenal
  • 00:19:42
    of stations many of which he used as
  • 00:19:43
    24-hour infomercials but with his new
  • 00:19:45
    network the plan was to seek not to pick
  • 00:19:47
    up shows but companies his idea was to
  • 00:19:50
    sell 30 minutes of programming to a
  • 00:19:52
    company like universal who could slot
  • 00:19:54
    whatever the show they wanted to without
  • 00:19:55
    approval from the network itself but
  • 00:19:57
    would also be responsible for
  • 00:19:58
    advertising they could at any point
  • 00:20:00
    change the show in their slot and would
  • 00:20:02
    have full freedom another 30 minute slot
  • 00:20:04
    could go to sony and another to a
  • 00:20:05
    smaller company perhaps even a more
  • 00:20:07
    distribution oriented one it was a
  • 00:20:08
    unique strategy to say the least
  • 00:20:10
    ultimately though the strategy he would
  • 00:20:12
    take would be a more traditional one and
  • 00:20:13
    in 1998 pax tv came onto the airwaves
  • 00:20:16
    pax would never see the level of success
  • 00:20:18
    of upn or the wb but ironically it is
  • 00:20:20
    the only one of the three that is still
  • 00:20:22
    alive today only now it goes by the name
  • 00:20:25
    ion okay sorry back to upn now i've
  • 00:20:28
    largely ignored the growth of both of
  • 00:20:30
    these networks as in the gaining of
  • 00:20:32
    affiliates and expansion into new
  • 00:20:33
    markets and resultantly new households
  • 00:20:35
    but as of july 1997 upn reached 75 while
  • 00:20:38
    the wb reached 69 however a shake-up
  • 00:20:41
    took place that month which was a
  • 00:20:42
    significant blow to upn the wb had work
  • 00:20:45
    to deal with station owning giant
  • 00:20:47
    sinclair to switch five upn stations to
  • 00:20:49
    the wb and these five were located in
  • 00:20:52
    big markets pittsburgh baltimore
  • 00:20:53
    cincinnati san antonio and oklahoma city
  • 00:20:56
    this brought both networks to 72 percent
  • 00:20:58
    of the nation which many agreed would
  • 00:21:00
    bring the race down to who had the
  • 00:21:01
    better programming upn was not too happy
  • 00:21:03
    about this and they actually proceeded
  • 00:21:05
    to sue sinclair who still owned five
  • 00:21:07
    other upn stations supposedly sinclair
  • 00:21:09
    didn't properly disclose that they were
  • 00:21:10
    making the deal with the wb but most
  • 00:21:12
    people just didn't buy it it was also
  • 00:21:13
    around this time that a former disney
  • 00:21:15
    executive dean valentine took the helm
  • 00:21:17
    of upn and promised to shift the
  • 00:21:18
    programming focus away from what he
  • 00:21:20
    called narrow groups of viewers or
  • 00:21:22
    really african americans a phrase he
  • 00:21:24
    liked to use was i believe you have to
  • 00:21:25
    broadcast not narrow cast
  • 00:21:29
    clever one of these new programs was the
  • 00:21:31
    next logical step in the emulation of
  • 00:21:32
    fox's success an adult cartoon after all
  • 00:21:36
    fox had struck gold with the simpsons
  • 00:21:37
    which was an absolute juggernaut and
  • 00:21:39
    that's exactly what upn hoped they were
  • 00:21:41
    developing in 1998. in this cartoon
  • 00:21:44
    gilbert this went right along with the
  • 00:21:45
    other shows that were announced for the
  • 00:21:46
    98.99 season these included comedies
  • 00:21:49
    like deresta and guys like us the latter
  • 00:21:51
    being a show that dan schneider would go
  • 00:21:52
    on to copy the premise of not once but
  • 00:21:54
    twice as well as more dramas including
  • 00:21:56
    mercy point seven days and legacy of
  • 00:21:58
    those five only seven days would move
  • 00:22:00
    beyond its first season also there is
  • 00:22:02
    one more series the secret diary of
  • 00:22:05
    desmond pfeiffer yes that's actually how
  • 00:22:08
    you pronounce it not too many people
  • 00:22:10
    were happy about what they thought would
  • 00:22:11
    be a very light-hearted take on a dark
  • 00:22:13
    part of american history because this
  • 00:22:15
    wasn't a drama oh no it was a comedy a
  • 00:22:17
    sitcom no less a sitcom centered around
  • 00:22:20
    the same political satire of the modern
  • 00:22:21
    day applied to a president of old the
  • 00:22:23
    whole irony of this show is that it
  • 00:22:26
    parodied the clinton white house in the
  • 00:22:28
    lincoln white house see bill clinton had
  • 00:22:30
    changed the landscape of political
  • 00:22:31
    commentary and satire with his scandals
  • 00:22:34
    so this wasn't anything surprising but
  • 00:22:36
    even with such a broad concept with so
  • 00:22:37
    many poignant possibilities wouldn't you
  • 00:22:39
    expect more from the first episode aired
  • 00:22:40
    than lincoln engages in telegraph sex
  • 00:22:43
    with a woman he's never seen clearly it
  • 00:22:45
    was trying to find an audience
  • 00:22:46
    relatively similar to that of south park
  • 00:22:48
    which was new and hot activists
  • 00:22:50
    misguided or not were still not amused
  • 00:22:52
    with anything tied to slavery being
  • 00:22:53
    trivialized and protests ensued in
  • 00:22:56
    response the pilot episode was not aired
  • 00:22:58
    by upn with the second episode being
  • 00:22:59
    substituted and the show did go on as
  • 00:23:01
    scheduled and it was panned not
  • 00:23:04
    necessarily because it was satirizing
  • 00:23:06
    slavery but because it was satirizing
  • 00:23:08
    the whole time period very very poorly
  • 00:23:10
    it treated the subject matter with very
  • 00:23:12
    little taste or cleverness even so upn
  • 00:23:15
    advertised the show with the slogan the
  • 00:23:16
    critics hate it you'll love it but even
  • 00:23:18
    with the controversy this show stirred
  • 00:23:20
    before it aired the show really suffered
  • 00:23:21
    to find any audience upn quit airing the
  • 00:23:24
    show after only four episodes which left
  • 00:23:26
    five episodes including the pilot
  • 00:23:28
    unaired good thing star trek voyager and
  • 00:23:29
    moisia stuck around though upn also made
  • 00:23:32
    a strange decision when they decided to
  • 00:23:33
    orient the monday night lineup which
  • 00:23:35
    went head to head with abc's signature
  • 00:23:36
    monday night football towards men they
  • 00:23:38
    insisted that only 12 to 15 of male
  • 00:23:40
    viewers tuned into the game but the
  • 00:23:42
    number really resembled 34 percent upn
  • 00:23:44
    was the second most male favorite tv
  • 00:23:46
    channel in the us second only to fox
  • 00:23:48
    kids roughly 63 of upn's viewers were
  • 00:23:51
    male so when a chunk of your audience
  • 00:23:53
    that large is watching something else
  • 00:23:54
    it's no wonder that the new shows that
  • 00:23:56
    went on monday nights all tanked on the
  • 00:23:58
    other side of the aisle the 90s was a
  • 00:24:00
    merger-filled decade and though abc had
  • 00:24:02
    disney and fox was attached to the movie
  • 00:24:04
    studio the same name cbs and nbc the
  • 00:24:07
    letter of which had general electric who
  • 00:24:08
    wanted out of television and the former
  • 00:24:10
    had westinghouse who had given
  • 00:24:12
    everything they had to cbs and
  • 00:24:13
    ultimately renamed himself to the cbs
  • 00:24:15
    corporation were both constantly facing
  • 00:24:17
    rumors that they were soon to merge with
  • 00:24:19
    a big company one of the prime suspects
  • 00:24:21
    was viacom who staunchly denied interest
  • 00:24:23
    because of financial setbacks they were
  • 00:24:24
    still ironing out from their acquisition
  • 00:24:26
    of paramount years earlier time warner
  • 00:24:27
    was also suspected along with barry
  • 00:24:29
    diller's usa network company both viacom
  • 00:24:31
    and time warner already had tv networks
  • 00:24:33
    of course but they couldn't deny the
  • 00:24:34
    advantages of owning one of the big boys
  • 00:24:36
    instead of one of the little guys
  • 00:24:37
    nothing was coming out of these rumors
  • 00:24:38
    though at least
  • 00:24:40
    not yet upn situation had gotten worse
  • 00:24:43
    the wb had grown by 20 over the past
  • 00:24:45
    year largely thanks to their successful
  • 00:24:47
    focus on teenagers and young adults with
  • 00:24:48
    shows like buffy the vampire slayer and
  • 00:24:50
    dawson's creek they consistently roped
  • 00:24:52
    in a very young audience and that made
  • 00:24:53
    advertisers willing to cough up bigger
  • 00:24:55
    money like fox had done before them they
  • 00:24:57
    targeted young viewers and landed them
  • 00:24:59
    though the wb's audience was younger up
  • 00:25:01
    ended aimed at a broader audience one
  • 00:25:03
    not dissimilar to the big three the
  • 00:25:05
    problem lied in the fact that the big
  • 00:25:06
    three who weren't called big for nothing
  • 00:25:08
    already had that audience an audience
  • 00:25:10
    with no real incentive to look elsewhere
  • 00:25:11
    euphean argued that they just needed
  • 00:25:13
    good shows something that with a few
  • 00:25:14
    exceptions they were struggling to
  • 00:25:16
    attain industry experts argued that
  • 00:25:18
    upn's approach would never work without
  • 00:25:19
    a strong arsenal of shows or a more
  • 00:25:21
    narrow target for whom content was
  • 00:25:23
    scarcer the problem was that no such
  • 00:25:25
    demographic existed anymore largely
  • 00:25:27
    thanks to cable they still had
  • 00:25:28
    programming for african americans but it
  • 00:25:30
    wasn't providing the results upn had
  • 00:25:31
    hoped for so they looked to branch out
  • 00:25:33
    and if the duds of seasons pass were any
  • 00:25:35
    indication the former would not happen
  • 00:25:37
    anytime soon the head of euphian himself
  • 00:25:40
    acknowledged that upn had become
  • 00:25:41
    synonymous with bad programming whatever
  • 00:25:43
    the solution to this problem was upn
  • 00:25:45
    needed to figure it out fast because
  • 00:25:47
    over the course of one year they had
  • 00:25:48
    lost 40 percent of their audience and
  • 00:25:50
    nearly 200 million dollars in fact the
  • 00:25:52
    upn show reunited received some of the
  • 00:25:55
    lowest ratings in nielsen history
  • 00:25:57
    getting fewer than 900 000 viewers to
  • 00:25:59
    tune into new episodes upn's future was
  • 00:26:01
    bleak so much so that some show's
  • 00:26:03
    contracts had a clause stating that if
  • 00:26:05
    upn went bust in fewer than four years
  • 00:26:07
    which is generally the amount of time
  • 00:26:09
    needed for a show to reach
  • 00:26:10
    syndication-ready status upn would be
  • 00:26:12
    forced to pay the production company's
  • 00:26:14
    deficits many believe the fate of upn
  • 00:26:16
    was writing on whether or not one show
  • 00:26:17
    was successful that show the
  • 00:26:20
    aforementioned dilbert gilbert was
  • 00:26:21
    announced earlier on but didn't actually
  • 00:26:23
    premiere until january of 1999 and when
  • 00:26:25
    it did it showed that upn's life wasn't
  • 00:26:27
    over yet posting a higher rating than
  • 00:26:29
    both nbc's and fox's offerings in the
  • 00:26:31
    monday 8 o'clock time slot gilbert
  • 00:26:32
    looked as though it could bring the
  • 00:26:34
    network back from the brink of death
  • 00:26:35
    upn's other shows primarily star trek
  • 00:26:37
    voyager and to a lesser extent militia
  • 00:26:39
    were enough to post impressive numbers
  • 00:26:40
    during sweep season not all shows
  • 00:26:42
    perform well though and legacy placed
  • 00:26:44
    dead last for any show in that sweep
  • 00:26:46
    season other than gilbert star trek and
  • 00:26:48
    militia upn had no other hit shows so
  • 00:26:50
    even though the network wasn't on life
  • 00:26:52
    support anymore it was still in the icu
  • 00:26:54
    so to speak by april upn was airing
  • 00:26:57
    another animated show one you might be
  • 00:26:59
    familiar with home movies now if you're
  • 00:27:01
    vaguely familiar with the show you
  • 00:27:02
    probably don't remember it airing on upn
  • 00:27:04
    and you'd be remembering correctly upn
  • 00:27:06
    aired 5 episodes none of which performed
  • 00:27:08
    well and then gave the series the axe
  • 00:27:11
    cartoon network however saw potential in
  • 00:27:13
    it and picked it up home movies was the
  • 00:27:15
    inaugural program of their new adult
  • 00:27:16
    swim block which launched later the next
  • 00:27:18
    year home movies received three more
  • 00:27:20
    seasons and lasted until 2004. but at
  • 00:27:22
    upn it was may of 1999 time to unveil
  • 00:27:24
    the fall lineup by far the biggest
  • 00:27:26
    adjustment was the announcement that upn
  • 00:27:27
    would be dedicating its thursday night
  • 00:27:29
    lineup to its newly acquired wwf
  • 00:27:31
    smackdown while upn didn't carry sports
  • 00:27:33
    like football or basketball it decided
  • 00:27:34
    to break into the realm of wrestling
  • 00:27:36
    wrestling had previously been cable only
  • 00:27:38
    fair but upn decided to bring it to a
  • 00:27:40
    network and on cable it had seen
  • 00:27:41
    popularity and all those viewers would
  • 00:27:43
    migrate to upn the logic went
  • 00:27:45
    new comedies the grown-ups whose
  • 00:27:47
    interracial casper to julia white the
  • 00:27:49
    parkers also known by the name of its
  • 00:27:50
    star monique it was a spin-off of
  • 00:27:52
    militia and shasta mcnasty a name i
  • 00:27:55
    wished i'd never have to say out loud
  • 00:27:56
    was added too there was also secret
  • 00:27:58
    agent man a spyfy drama all of these
  • 00:28:00
    shows with the exception of the parkers
  • 00:28:02
    had interracial casts a clear side
  • 00:28:04
    effect of dean valentine's efforts to
  • 00:28:06
    broadcast ironically the parkers was
  • 00:28:08
    also the only show to last beyond its
  • 00:28:10
    first season upn appear to be chasing
  • 00:28:12
    the anti-wb audience the wb and targeted
  • 00:28:15
    teenage girls above all else with buffy
  • 00:28:17
    and dawson's creek so especially upon
  • 00:28:19
    picking up wwf smackdown upn appeared to
  • 00:28:21
    be going after the opposite audience
  • 00:28:23
    teenage boys upn's reputation though
  • 00:28:25
    remained as the network for black
  • 00:28:26
    viewers though the wb briefly had a
  • 00:28:28
    stent as the most predominantly black
  • 00:28:29
    network on tv upn rebounded in the
  • 00:28:31
    99-2000 season while the wb had isolated
  • 00:28:34
    all of their black oriented shows on
  • 00:28:35
    where else thursday night which mad tv
  • 00:28:38
    did not find amusing why did they put
  • 00:28:40
    all the black shows on the same night
  • 00:28:42
    like black folks are only home on
  • 00:28:44
    thursday the real chris rock though like
  • 00:28:47
    the up and remain true to its audience
  • 00:28:48
    even if it didn't have as many shows
  • 00:28:50
    targeting them as it once did it was
  • 00:28:51
    still the network leader in racial
  • 00:28:52
    diversity and he even worked in this
  • 00:28:54
    friendly jab at it in his hbo show upn
  • 00:28:57
    the black man's friend now
  • 00:28:59
    even the award-winning news team has
  • 00:29:01
    managed to keep its identity can we see
  • 00:29:03
    a little bit of last night's upn news
  • 00:29:06
    telecast come on can we see that
  • 00:29:08
    the dow closed after a day of mixed
  • 00:29:11
    trading with a modest posted gain of six
  • 00:29:13
    points high technology stocks
  • 00:29:15
    experienced a rally late in the
  • 00:29:17
    afternoon despite increasing uncertainty
  • 00:29:19
    in that area especially the internet
  • 00:29:22
    related companies which remain volatile
  • 00:29:24
    so with the new lineup of shows and
  • 00:29:25
    revamped thursday night upn continued to
  • 00:29:27
    quietly turn along but viacom on the
  • 00:29:30
    other hand was quite busy they were
  • 00:29:31
    having a lot of
  • 00:29:33
    meetings with the cbs corporation the
  • 00:29:36
    meetings themselves were kept out of the
  • 00:29:37
    public eye but the word to the meetings
  • 00:29:38
    inevitably leaked to the press and by
  • 00:29:40
    september 3rd 1999 rumors of what
  • 00:29:42
    exactly was happening began to stir some
  • 00:29:44
    projected that the two would trade parts
  • 00:29:46
    of or even merge their station units now
  • 00:29:48
    buying and selling stations was very
  • 00:29:49
    common in the tv industry so it wouldn't
  • 00:29:51
    be anything unusual but it still has the
  • 00:29:52
    potential to be a big deal especially if
  • 00:29:54
    the station units merged some of the
  • 00:29:56
    more brazen rumors speculated that the
  • 00:29:58
    two companies would merge altogether and
  • 00:30:00
    that would be huge
  • 00:30:02
    and that's why everyone lost it on
  • 00:30:03
    september 7th 1999 when the two
  • 00:30:05
    companies announced that yes
  • 00:30:07
    they would be merging into one giant
  • 00:30:10
    mega corporation
  • 00:30:12
    so what were the implications of this
  • 00:30:13
    deal and what did it mean for upn
  • 00:30:16
    i'll be answering those questions and
  • 00:30:17
    several more
  • 00:30:18
    in part two
  • 00:30:20
    thank you so much for watching part one
  • 00:30:22
    of this two-part series this video has
  • 00:30:24
    been in production for the better part
  • 00:30:25
    of three months and i'm so very glad
  • 00:30:27
    that you watched it and i very much hope
  • 00:30:29
    that you enjoyed it uh part two will get
  • 00:30:30
    us hard and heavy into the fall of upn
  • 00:30:32
    so you're not going to want to miss that
  • 00:30:34
    a few notes one earlier in the video
  • 00:30:36
    right around the time i was introducing
  • 00:30:37
    chris kraft there was a footnote and it
  • 00:30:39
    said p-t-e-n yeah remember that uh so so
  • 00:30:41
    what what the heck is that all right so
  • 00:30:43
    i meant to mention this in the main
  • 00:30:44
    video uh but i forgot so here is the
  • 00:30:47
    very very basic version uh pte which by
  • 00:30:49
    the way stands for primetime
  • 00:30:51
    entertainment network was yet another
  • 00:30:53
    fifth network concept now this one was
  • 00:30:55
    older than upn and like upn it was a
  • 00:30:57
    joint venture of which chris craft was a
  • 00:30:59
    party but the other party however might
  • 00:31:02
    surprise you it was warner brothers
  • 00:31:04
    television now contrary to what you
  • 00:31:05
    might think uh that company was a much
  • 00:31:07
    more distribution focused company not
  • 00:31:09
    necessarily a production company pten
  • 00:31:11
    lasted from 1993 to 1997 because it
  • 00:31:14
    really had a hard time
  • 00:31:16
    existing um i'll likely talk about pten
  • 00:31:20
    and its whole story at another time
  • 00:31:21
    because this video's time is running out
  • 00:31:23
    uh so for now that's all you get um also
  • 00:31:26
    i know i promised a video about the wb
  • 00:31:28
    at some point but i'm gonna go back on
  • 00:31:30
    that promise i'm not ruling it out don't
  • 00:31:31
    worry don't get me wrong but since these
  • 00:31:33
    two networks are so similar i'll only
  • 00:31:36
    make a video about it if there's some
  • 00:31:38
    sort of demand
  • 00:31:39
    so let me know if you'd like to see that
  • 00:31:41
    otherwise
  • 00:31:42
    i think that's about all i have to say
  • 00:31:43
    for right now the tentative release date
  • 00:31:45
    for part two is a uh i'm sorry august
  • 00:31:47
    sixth which is a monday uh but i have
  • 00:31:50
    i'll make no promises and that's subject
  • 00:31:52
    to change so uh so check the description
  • 00:31:54
    field for updates and if you have
  • 00:31:55
    anything i missed in the video or any
  • 00:31:57
    mistakes that you picked up on please do
  • 00:31:58
    not hesitate to tell me in the comments
  • 00:32:00
    just be polite that's all i ask
  • 00:32:02
    so until next time have a great day
  • 00:32:04
    don't forget to be real i'll see you in
  • 00:32:05
    part two
  • 00:32:09
    [Music]
  • 00:32:15
    [Applause]
  • 00:32:18
    [Music]
  • 00:32:24
    wow
  • 00:32:31
    you
الوسوم
  • UPN
  • television history
  • Paramount
  • Chris-Craft Industries
  • Star Trek Voyager
  • Moesha
  • network television
  • cable competition
  • viacom
  • fall of UPN