I Don't Want MyNTV

Why does My Network TV continue to exist?

Seriously, why does Fox continue to prove that they cannot operate a second broadcast network? MNT's a failure.

A miserable, tactless failure that needs to go the way of DuMont and PTEN.

The telenovella format bombed. The lineup is now filled with old movies, failed reality shows, celebrity news "documentaries," and an MMA league that's not UFC nor Pride. The new lineup looks the same as well. And poor affiliates that aren't owned by Fox have to suffer with limited acquisitions, no Saturday morning lineup, and little support from Fox themselves. All because they wanted to be affiliated by a network since UPN and The WB merged into The CW. Of course, the reason why they did that is because, well, if they didn't, Fox would have killed UPN in September 2006 by dropping the network affiliation from top markets.

MNT barely registers on the consciousness of Americans. Even The CW has created a niche in its year of existance. Still, The CW has more to offer than MNT, at least the ones not owned by Fox. The existance of MNT helped bury a syndication market that really needed a jolt. Free airwaves could have brought a reinaissance in syndication programming, but Fox felt the world needed another network. The execution was a failure, and it's still a failure.

Nobody watches MNT. It's saddled with a terrible brand name. It basically turned some networks into informercial wastelands on Saturday mornings. I won't say it ruined television because a lot of people didn't know it existed.

So, the question remains. Why does My Network TV continue to exist?

Just a thought.

Comments

Daikun said…
I've heard you rant about MNTV many times before, but I've never been able to see it.

Finally, I Googled it and went to the website to see what the big fuss is about. I took one look at that website and never wanted to go again.

Ugh. The programming looks awful.
6/02/2007 01:43:00 PM
Emperor Fred said…
Yeah, I've never seen it either. The UPN or WB affiliates I had access to all became CW -- except for one CBS-owned channel from Boston that simply went independent. (Though all that means is reruns of Dr. Phil and Jeopardy in prime time, blah.)

Though it doesn't look like I've missed much. Usually when a new network pops up - like in the early days of Fox, WB, and UPN - there's usually some kind of buzzworthy show that gets the network some attention and encourages its growth. For Fox it was Married with Children, The Simpsons, In Living Color, for the WB it was Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dawson's Creek, and for UPN it was Star Trek Voyager and... Smackdown? Anyway...

They're not going to last too long if they don't start to offer people like me a reason to care that they don't get this network. (At least PTEN had Babylon 5.)
6/03/2007 08:52:00 PM
C.M.B. said…
So what about ION Television?
6/09/2007 12:18:00 AM
Jeff Harris said…
Dai - Yeah. It's that bad.

Emp - Don't forget Buffy for UPN as well. UPN also least had urban comedies like Moesha, The Hughleys, The Parkers, One on One, All of Us, Girlfriends, Half and Half, and Everybody Hates Chris which brought in audiences and kept the network afloat until the merger. Urban sitcoms like The Wayans Bros, The Jamie Foxx Show, and The Steve Harvey Show also helped The WB build an audience. Not surprisingly, once The WB dropped those shows, the ratings began to dip dramatically.

Woodstock - ION is an interesting case. ION is built up mostly of older syndicated fare. But it's GOOD older, syndicated fare. Amen, Alice, Mama's Family, The Wonder Years, Battlestar Galactica, Growing Pains, Who's The Boss?, Designing Women, Perfect Strangers, the lineup is growing and is essentially becoming a haven for classic TV watchers, something both Nick at Nite and TV Land are abandoning. With ION on the air and Retro Television Network coming soon, classic television is finding a place on broadcast television once again.

Now, MNTV could easily use the popular shows of the Fox/MTM libraries to build a lineup. Who wouldn't want to see something like WKRP, Mary Tyler Moore, In Living Color, or others on in primetime? They could even put the first five seasons of The Simpsons exclusively on MNTV on weeknights if they wanted to. It certainly beats IRL Battleground and those telenovellas the channel has.
6/11/2007 07:25:00 PM
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