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It seemed an impossible answer to an insoluble problem. When The WB television network launched in January 1995, few in the entertainment industry were placing bets that the fledgling network would last. The joint venture between Warner Bros., Tribune Broadcasting…
Sept. 21, 1998: The WB 100+ Station Group, a division of The WB Network, launches its first broadcast, making television history with 80 stations signed on. The initial reach is into 2.8 million homes. Prior to its launch, it has…
The marketing director’s question came at the end of a routine media presentation. “That’s all fine,” she said, “but how many people are going to see the ad? And how often are they going to see it?” In essence, the…
From a distance, the marquee in the etching of the old Rigas Theatre appears to read “Shame.” But it’s an optical illusion. The marquee actually reads “Shane,” the title of the classic 1953 Western. But “Shame” would be a logical…
Proponents of a Senate resolution to overturn the Federal Communications Commission’s media ownership deregulation were threatening to force a vote in the House of Representatives on the issue last week-if House GOP leaders refuse to bring the measure to the…
Five years ago, a group of executives at Warner Bros. made television history. With fledgling network The WB in hand and a lack of Federal Communications Commission licenses to take it nationwide, they chose to do the near impossible: create…
With a little help from its “Friends,” NBC tops the network chart with the top three highest-priced programs in Advertising Age’s exclusive annual fall prime-time network pricing survey. Going into its last season, “Friends” hit No. 1 for the second…
As a schoolboy in St. Petersburg, Fla., Russell Myerson purchased a kit from RadioShack full of components to build a rudimentary radio transmitter. After he assembled the transmitter Mr. Myerson became a disc jockey, spinning top 40 records for his…
The high-tech industry, which once lusted after new inventions, has now fallen in love with the re-invention. Shaken by shrinking revenues, companies are saying goodbye to old brands and hello to new categories. To wit: * Cablevision, the cable TV…
It was a marriage of two unlikely partners. When The WB’s Jamie Kellner first proposed the game plan in 1998 for a nationwide station group to distribute the channel in small and mid-range markets, the plan called for cable operators…