KCOP Kicks My Network TV Out Of Prime Time!

[CaliRadioFan]

This is a first, and as far as I can tell, LA is the only market this is happening in, but it may be the beginning of the end for Fox’s “My Network TV”. Starting 9/14, the wheel of network and cable drama reruns will be moving from 8-10pm to 11pm-1am! My13 is putting TMZ Live into the 8pm hour weeknights, followed by Fox’s new Hollywood Today Live at 9pm. Both will be prime-time replays of shows seen earlier on Fox11 (1pm for HTL, and 4pm for TMZ Live). I’m sure the thinking here is that these celebrity-driven infotainment shows will do better on prime-time in the LA market. Across the country, the “My Network” affiliates are completely reworking their schedules for Fall 2014, and KCOP is no different. Here’s a look:

I Love Lucy goes back to an hour from 9-10am, as does Divorce Court from 10-11am. Law and Order: SVU, moves back to an earlier hour, 11am-Noon, followed by back-to-back Right This Minute from Noon-1pm. A “talk block” fills the afternoon schedule from 1-5pm: Dr. Oz (1pm), The Real (2pm), Wendy Williams (3pm), and the new entry, Crazy Talk, a comedic spin on other talk shows wraps things up from 4-5pm. Sitcoms in the early evening come next from 5-8pm: Anger Management moves up from the late-night schedule from 5-6pm, followed by How I Met Your Mother @6pm, back-to back The Big Bang Theory 6:30-7:30pm, and The Simpsons @7:30pm.

 

[K.M. Richards]

You are aware that Los Angeles is one of the markets where the MyNet affiliate is owned by Fox. As such, it is probably much easier for KCOP to get a waiver to run outside of prime time, especially since (as you note) the programming is being bumped partly in favor of first-run Fox-owned syndication.

Who syndicates TMZ? Warner Bros.? I honestly don't remember.

This is probably worthy of a thread on the National TV board to see if any other markets are following suit ... especially those where Fox has a duopoly (WNYW/WWOR in NYC?).

 

[ShawnHill1]

You are aware that Los Angeles is one of the markets where the MyNet affiliate is owned by Fox. As such, it is probably much easier for KCOP to get a waiver to run outside of prime time, especially since (as you note) the programming is being bumped partly in favor of first-run Fox-owned syndication.

Who syndicates TMZ? Warner Bros.? I honestly don't remember.

This is probably worthy of a thread on the National TV board to see if any other markets are following suit ... especially those where Fox has a duopoly (WNYW/WWOR in NYC?).

TMZ is indeed distributed by Warner Bros. Television.

As far as KCOP and the MyTV schedule...even if Fox did OK KCOP to run MyTV outside of prime time, it's still kinda surprising to me that they would allow it. Even said, some of MyTV's prime time schedule contains shows that KCOP already runs in off-network syndication (most notably "Law & Order: SVU" and "Bones"), so it's not that much of a loss. It kinda also says to me that Fox may not have much more hope in MyNetworkTV that if they're relegating the prime time lineup to late nights in market #2.

The only other Fox-owned MyTV station that kinda played fast-and-loose with the prime time lineup was WWOR; they would show a block of "Simpsons" reruns on Thursday nights (they no longer do), and Tuesday nights during baseball season had Yankees games (the Yanks, of course, have since moved back to longtime TV home WPIX this season).