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Local UPN Station to Switch to My Network TV

Posted on: Friday, 31 March 2006, 06:00 CST

By Cahalan, Steve

Local television station UPN La Crosse/ Eau Claire will switch to the new My Network TV network beginning Sept. 5, station officials said Thursday.

The local station is owned by QueenB Television Inc., which also owns local CBS affiliate WKBT-TV. The new UPN network affiliate began broadcasting Jan. 30.

It's carried on channel 10 on Charter Cable and CenturyTel in the greater La Crosse area. And it is available over the air on digital channel 8.2 to anyone with a digital television receiver.

The station will be carried as well by the Western Wisconsin Cable Cooperative in Independence, Wis., starting in March, and by Ace and Mediacom in April.

It was announced in January that the UPN and The WB networks will shut down this fall, and programming from both will be used to launch The CW network this fall.

WXOW-TV, the local ABC affiliate, also operates the local WB affiliate, WBCZ-TV, which is on area cable TV systems but doesn't broadcast over the air.

UPN La Crosse/Eau Claire had planned to compete with WXOW and perhaps others to become The CWs local affiliate.

But Scott Chorski, general manager for WKBT and UPN La Crosse/ Eau Claire, said the announcement of the new My Network TV on Feb. 22 prompted his company to reconsider that plan.

Affiliating with My Network TV will give the current UPN La Crosse/Eau Claire station more programming flexibility than it would have with The CW, Chorski said. This will allow it to continue and probably increase its commitment to new and innovative local programming, he said.

My Network TV will be operated by Fox Television Stations Inc. and Twentieth Television, and will provide about two hours of programming per night, Monday through Saturday. Chorski said some of that will be in the internationally successful telenovela genre, which he described as "movie-quality, prime-time soap opera."

Syndicated programs, such as "The Simpsons," and local programming will comprise the rest of the local station's fare.

WXOW officials were not available for comment Thursday.

Copyright La Crosse Tribune Mar 10, 2006

Source: La Crosse Tribune

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