Yeah, I did say The WB.
Some of you have repeatedly said in commentary or email communications with me that you’re tired of network TV and it just doesn’t appeal to you. I don’t blame you.
As of August 27th, The WB is trying to give you more options beside advertiser controlled TV.
TheWB.com website is officially launching on the 27th of August. From the offered line up of web-casts, The WB is looking like it’s hoping to snag the viewers who used to watch The WB network on TV before it got absorbed into The CW because some of the offerings are old familiar, popular shows.
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So I went over to the TheWB.com Beta site to check it out. The Beta wants me to sign up before accessing anything. I usually don’t like signing up before looking, but for you guys, I dove right in. It’s a stupid web page so far. When I hit return to auto-fill in the fields, it doesn’t and tells me I’ve not completed the form properly. It took me three tries to get the dang thing filled out!
After filling in my name and email address, it took me to a thanks splash screen… The sign up splash screen tells us some of what we’ll be able to watch on the website.
Meanwhile, I waited over on AOL for what I assumed, would be my confirmation email. And waited… I went off to make the bed and had breakfast.
And waited… Sometimes AOL cuts you off at the knees and you never see what they consider to be spam. Maybe that’s why I never got the email. But that’s for my consumer blog somewhere else.
I tried again, this time using my other throw away Yahoo.com email account that let’s me decide what is junk, and I instantaneously received my registration information from theWB.com.
My confirmation email said the following:
We can’t thank you enough for your interest and support of TheWB.com and we’re psyched that you’d like to join our beta test group.
Your info has been received by our account managers and once your account is approved, you’ll receive an email from us confirming your application. This may take up to a week. Please know that we haven’t forgotten about you, we just have a lot of names to sift through. The response has been a littleoverwhelming!
Thanks again for applying to our test group. The WB is back.
Best,
Brent & The WB Team
Thanks Brent! Wow, the disappointment begins so soon as it’s already feeling like the usual network treatment. Fine.. so I can’t peruse everything for you. At least I tried.
The web site will have shows like: All Of Us, Angel, Babylon 5, Blue Water High, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dangerous, Everwood, Firefly, Friends, Gilmore Girls, In Living Color, MADtv, One Tree Hill, Roswell, Smallville, The Loop, The OC and Veronica Mars.
What an interesting mix of old shows. It looks like they’re trying to draw the tried and true demographic from when the network actually had any kind of a semi-decent line up – while interspersing new shows, which I assume they’re beta testing on us in this venue.
From my own experience, fans of Roswell, the older Smallville seasons, Angel, Babylon5, Firefly shows will be happy, but we’re a demographic unto our own. That’s just something advertisers haven’t figure out yet. Someday they will.
I’m guessing that The WB is showing older, proven shows to at least start getting viewers logged in. I anticipate that these viewers will be marketed to, trying to get them to check out the newer offerings that The WB is producing.
As far as new, “original” content is concerned, The WB is offering up the following new shows on their site:
(Continue reading “The WB Tries To Make A Comeback”)
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15 Comments
Does anyone else find it funny that one of their premier programs is a show that they CANCELED half way through the first season??!!
…I miss Firefly
So, they’re starting out with at least half a dozen shows that have been released, in their entirety, on DVD, not counting a show canceled halfway through the first season and then released on DVD, and at least one or two shows that are still airing new episodes? Then they’re following up with ten shows that sound like they’re not going to have much appeal at all, including a reality show, all of which are expected to be watchable on sites where you don’t have to register to watch them?
Somehow, this sounds like a very poorly thought out plan.
Ya, call me when they bring back Firefly, lol.
I think I’ll stick to downloading my TV shows to watch on my computer rather than through low-quality streams in browsers. I hate watching vids in browsers.
From your article, it sounds like whoever’s making the decisions isn’t thinking much. Stuff like that make projects fail before they start. A second e-mail, up to a week away, to confirm? what?
Sometimes, I can’t decide: Watch stuff on the new WB web site, watch grass grow, or taste test my dogs ‘doggie-treats’?
Hmm… I have to think on this one.
“You gotta be in the USA to roll with us”
Too bad.
And yet another short sighted option.
Sorry about that Zlatan.
lol Bruce.
And good point Zlatan, I can’t stand all of these websites (ABC, NBC and now WB) restricting access so I can’t even watch any repeats of episodes on their sites. Convenient how they don’t restrict me access from seeing their stupid amount of advertisments and commercials.
Some of the Canadian broadcasters offer viewing on their websites and that’s mainly why other countries are excluded from U.S. website broadcasts (because of TV rights, etc. etc.). Kinda defeats the purpose of the freedom of the internet though.
I guess Torrents are the way to go for now.
After getting an e-mail from The WB about the new site, I also tried to sign up access. I got an e-mail saying they’ve be overwhelmed by requests and will let me know in a week if I will be approved. Strange. There’s also speculation that if this goes well, they might get their own cable channel. http://blogs.pioneerlocal.com/entertainment/
Hi Jenny,
Thanks for coming by and checking out the internet / network noise.
I’m surprised, disappointed and suspicious.
If you were trying to make a splash and a comeback in the eyes of the fans, I’d think you’d be better prepared with your website and not send out an email that sounds like one man is running the effort.
I’m suspicious because if the site will be ad supported, so far, all they’ve done is collect info from us with no return.
Have I passed judgment yet? Nope. Not going to waste my energy making a judgment.
I feel the NBC is the only network tv channel that has a load of good shows this coming season. Everything from “Life” to “Heroes.”
Funny you should say that Ash. I’m driving myself crazy… I mean compiling info for an article on the upcoming TV season.
Stay tuned.
I signed up for their beta ages ago, and I think they let me in, but I lost interest and never checked it out. I’ll have to dig up that email.
Bruce,
I look forward to your article!
I find it mindblowing that, with so much rubbish coming out of Hollywood, that Warners sit on two huge potential record breaking blockbusters and aren’t even aware of their own properties, while other rivals would cut their arms off to get hold of something so potentially million-selling and the chance of such box office runaway hits.
Firstly the ever brilliant Babylon 5. Ten years after it finished, it’s as popular as ever, and regarded worldwide with much more adoration than Star Trek, but is there any sign of a new movie or new series ?? Is there hell !!!!!
And fresh after the runaway success of the latest Batman film, the one DC Comic that’s screaming to be made into a motion picture is The Justice Society Of America (their most consistent selling comic book) but set in the 1940s against the Nazi threat, just as the original comic books were. No brainer, but as usual Warner Brothers sit in their complacency, paying obscene amounts to young yuppies to come up with new ideas when they haven’t got a single clue. It’s really sad, you know.
A Babylon 5 movie would sweep Paramount’s new Star Trek movie under the rug. A Justice Society Of America, dark and gothic, with Sandman, Starman, The Spectre, Doctor Fate, Hawkman, etc etc would top Batman at the box office.
But no……
They haven’t got a clue.
Meanwhile we have nothing better to go see than stupid super hero send-ups, and slushy love stories that bore 90% of the population.
SAD !!!!!!!!!!!
“Firstly the ever brilliant Babylon 5. Ten years after it finished, it’s as popular as ever, and regarded worldwide with much more adoration than Star Trek, but is there any sign of a new movie or new series ??”
Well, to be fair, the first two attempts at a B5 spin-off series failed. Granted one of them was killed by TNT before it aired and the other aired is pilot opposite the Superbowl, but neither one lasted long. I don’t believe the DVD of that one sold very well either, but I could be wrong about that. I also don’t know how well “The Lost Tales” sold.
Regardless, WB did have plans for a movie, but decided not to follow through after fans objected to the idea of recasting several major roles.
They’ve tried to capitalize on the B5 universe, they’ve just not been able to do so successfully. Whether that’s good or bad, I’m not sure.
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