You mentioned recently that ...
Question: You mentioned
recently that MyNetworkTV was created to fill the void created by former UPN and WB affiliates who didn't sign up with the CW, and that "even a test pattern would be preferable" to what they run. I have a better idea: Why does there even
need to be a small network to fill the void? What's wrong with these stations becoming good old local independents like '70s and '80s TV was before Fox and others came along? Those kinds of stations have a better idea of what their audiences want than some West Coast programming jockey. They could carry local ball games and other community-oriented programming that affiliates — back in the bad old days — used to bump network shows for. There are tons of old series in the vaults that no cable network will run these days that the indies could get access to. Indies are still around in Chicago, Minneapolis and Kansas City, and they continue to hold their own. Get local independents rolling again!
Answer: I'm far from an expert in the economics of local markets, and transitioning some of these stations back to a schedule of local and syndicated programming could be more costly than I'd imagine. But having grown up addicted to a local independent (Cincinnati's WXIX, former home of the Cool Ghoul and Larry Smith Puppets, to name a few highlights) that is now part of the Fox family, I get where you're coming from. Those were the good old days, to be sure.
