Big TV Network Shakeup Coming

Say goodbye to the WB and to UPN. Say hello to CW.

C for CBS, and W for Time Warner, I suppose. For today CBS (aka Viacom and Paramount) and Time Warner have announced they are merging the two undersuccessful networks into one.

What does this mean for Veronica, the Winchesters and even Lex? They haven't said yet. The best we can hope for is that established shows will be tentpoles for the new network, that Veronica Mars will be seen as a bit of prestige, that Supernatural will be treated as the next big thing, and that Smallville will be put out of our misery but get to wrap up first.

Odds are that current WB stations will be home to CW, and that current UPN stations will need to find new programming. Since many UPN stations are owned by Fox, can we look for a new Fox network? Maybe.

For now, we can only hope that CW continues to give our shows a home. And find out who to send our e-mails to.

ADDENDUM: The official news release from the network does mention Veronica Mars, Supernatural and Smallville as assets the new network can draw on. Doesn't say, of course, that it will be reneweing them, but this is a hopeful sign. Also, it doesn't mention Charmed, so maybe that is finally going away?

Also, now seeing Michigan J. Frog, the WB's erstwhile spokes-amphibian, wearing a Starfleet uniform, ertswhile symbol of UPN.

More Media Merger Madness!

Disney is buying Pixar in a multibillion dollar stock deal. If my understanding of this is correct, Steven Jobs, the majority shareholder in Pixar, will now have a big voice at Disney.

This could mean that stodgy old Disney is about to be shaken up completely by the infusion of Jobs' ideas and vision. Or that Pixar will be swallowed whole and become irrelevant, the way that the Muppets have so far. Or that the Pixar geniuses will be let loose into the Disney animated universe and reinvent the wheel. Or that the culture clash between Pixar and Disney, or between Jobs and the current board of Disney, will be epic and painful to watch. Or that Pixar will continue to be Pixar, a branch of a large empire that gets autonomy, much as the Weinstein Brothers did in the early years of their deal with the Mouse.

Either way, this should be interesting to watch. And Jobs, if nothing else, continues to be THE man to watch in the worlds of both technology and entertainment.

ADDENDUM: John Lasseter, the genius behind much of Pixar's putput, will be named creative head of a combined Disney-Pixar animation division, and also head of the Imagineering division of the company, aka the people who invent the rides at Disneyland. Which rules out the last option I suggested above.

Maybe I should wait to speculate till AFTER I read the full story?

Anyway, this bodes wells as nothing Lasseter has been connected with, including Disney's English language dub of Spirited Away, has been anything short of great. But can he make Mickey relevant? Does he even want to? Stay tuned.