WB Network Cuts Jobs as It Faces Losses, Falling Ratings

WB Network Cuts Jobs as It Faces Losses, Falling Ratings
By Meg James, Times Staff Writer


The ratings-starved WB television network gave pink slips Friday to nearly
two dozen employees, bringing to about 40 the number of people at the
network who have lost their jobs during the last month.

The layoffs come at an uncertain time for the 11-year-old Burbank-based
network. The WB has said it will lose about $35 million this year. Its
partners - Time Warner Inc., which owns 78%, and Tribune Co., which owns the
remaining 22% - have not reached a long-term agreement to replace the deal
expiring next fall.

In addition, the WB's ratings are down 12% this season compared with a year
ago in its target demographic of viewers 18 to 34 years old.

WB executives said the layoffs were part of a broader effort to trim
expenses for all of Warner Bros.' operations. Last month, Warner Bros.
confirmed that it had eliminated about 300 jobs, in part because of slowing
growth in DVD sales and a softening TV syndication market.

Executives said the WB action was not a commentary on the network's
long-term prospects. Much of the job cuts came in marketing and the Kids'
WB! children's programming unit.

The WB would not specify exactly how many jobs were lost. After the cuts, it
is expected to employ 220 to 240 people.

In an e-mail to employees, WB Chairman Garth Ancier described the layoffs as
"painful and heartbreaking."

"Some months ago, The WB - like every other division of Warner Bros. - was
asked to do a top-to-bottom analysis of our business," Ancier wrote. "The
objective, in our constantly changing media marketplace, was to attempt to
harness the opportunities provided by new technologies and distribution
platforms, while managing our costs."

Time Warner executives maintain that the WB remains strategically important
because it provides an alternative outlet to networks owned by competitors
for Warner Bros.-produced shows.

Chicago-based Tribune, owner of the Los Angeles Times, also has said it
remains committed to the WB. The two companies this year agreed to a
one-year contract extension that expires in September 2006.

The job cuts follow the disappointing launch of several new shows.

The WB spent millions of dollars promoting "Supernatural" and "Related," but
neither has emerged as a hit. The drama "Just Legal" starring Don Johnson
flopped.

To save costs, the WB last month trimmed its orders for episodes of
established shows, including "What I Like About You" and "One Tree Hill."

Broadcast networks and TV stations face additional challenges as consumers
turn to the Internet, iPods, video games and cable channels for their news
and entertainment.

Advertisers this year shifted dollars from the networks to other media such
as the Internet. Further clouding the outlook for TV is the increasing use
of digital video recorders, which allow users to zip through commercials.

Separately, CBS executives on Friday confirmed that about 25 employees of
its Spelling Television unit were being laid off. Spelling Television has
two shows on the WB network, "Charmed" and "7th Heaven."

Source:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/valley/la-fi-wb10dec10,1,4026495.story?coll=la-editions-valley


I predict that The WB will cease operations as a broadcast network at the
end of the 2007-08 season, if it makes it that long. It'll probably morph
into cable and/or web distribution for Warner Bros. produced shows.

I would also believe that layoffs at The WB and Spelling mean the end of
"Charmed". The WB will want as many in house shows as possible to keep
costs down and "Charmed" must be getting up there in price.


.

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