MyNetworkTV Shifts Focus

NEW YORK: News Corporation’s MyNetworkTV is undergoing a revamp this fall, shifting from a broadcast-network model to a "hybrid" service that will continue to deliver content to its affiliate stations.

Now being positioned as a programming service, MyNetworkTV will cut its its hours from 10 p.m. to midnight, Monday to Friday, eliminating its Saturday schedule, beginning in September. The service is also shifting more towards a traditional syndication TV model, moving away from original content to ad-sharing partnerships with content suppliers. The service has announced the acquisition of NBC Universal’s Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and will continue to be home to the WWE’s Friday-night SmackDown program, which has been drawing in the young male demographic.

In the New York Times, Greg Meidel, the president of MyNetworkTV, is quoted as saying: "The economic situation in the country makes it impossible to support the high costs of original programs. We did not have the $3 million or $4 million an hour that programming now costs.”