News Corp. said yesterday it will launch a new broadcast network to supply shows to its 10 local TV stations that will lose programming this fall after the WB Network and UPN merge.
At a splashy Midtown press conference yesterday, News Corp. said the new network, which will be called My Network TV, will anchor its primetime lineup on two dramas that resemble soap operas: “Desire” and “Secrets.”
Several other shows are also in development, including “Catwalk,” a reality show that searches for the next supermodel; “Celebrity Love Island,” another reality show in which six single celebrities are thrown together on an island with six non-celeb singles; and a quiz show with the working title “America’s Brainiest.”
News Corp. is the parent company of The Post.
The 10 stations that will initially carry the new network are part of the Fox television station group, which has a total of 35 stations in 26 cities – many of which are affiliated with the Fox network.
“Losing is highly overrated as a learning experience,” said Roger Ailes, the head of News Corp.’s Fox TV station group and the boss at Fox News. “I absolutely believe we will win with this.”
My Network TV will hit the airwaves Sept. 5 in major cities, including on local channel 9 in New York.
About a month ago Time Warner and CBS said they would merge their two money-losing networks, WB and UPN, into a new network called CW, which will launch in the fall.