It was a idea that was bad as the shows themselves… Independent studio Media Rights capital and The CW have agreed to part ways after the Sunday night lineup the company programmed tanked in the ratings.
The CW has took back the night and plans to program it with reruns of Everybody Hates Chris and The Game, off-network repeats of The Drew Carey Show, former CBS series Jericho, and a movie from MGM.
As for the MRC block, ratings for the shows were so atrocious they were often outdrawn by religious programming airing earlier in the day on some of these same stations – not to mention the MRC block’s ratings were down from already-invisible numbers The CW itself put up last year. Some of the MRC shows went into reruns already during the November sweep periods as the studio canceled bombs Valentine and Easy Money.
In addition, the programs were not promoted until the last minute and were practically absent at the TV Critics Press Tour last July.
A form letter from CW’s COO John Maatta was sent to every affiliate notifying about the changes, effective Nov. 30. While the letter details the changes occurring, it does not say whether or not The CW will air original programming on the night next year, fueling speculation The CW may give the affiliates Sunday nights back next season for them to program.
If that were to happen, a possible beneficiary could new syndicated action hour Legend of the Seeker, which premiered to strong ratings on Nov. 1. Seeker is already airing on the Tribune station group, where many of its stations (including WGN-TV here in Chicago) are CW affiliates.