In an interview in the latest issue of Television Week, UPN head Dawn Ostroff had the following comments on the fate of “WWE SmackDown!” …
TVWeek: Let me ask you about a couple of things that have been franchises and now don’t seem to be as strong-and that’s ‘Star Trek’ and ‘WWE SmackDown!’ What’s the status of each of those?
Ms. Ostroff: Well, wrestling is a show that still helps us be competitive. It still is coming in third or fourth place in our 18- to 34-year-old demo. It’s a tough night on Thursday night, and we still feel that it helps us be competitive on that night.
TVWeek: So even though the numbers are down a little, you still feel it’s a strong situation for you?
Ms. Ostroff: Yeah, because, you know, the numbers have been down, but really they’re still good for this network, and we still feel that [World Wrestling Entertainment owner Vince McMahon and his family], who have continually reinvented and re-created different types of story lines within the series, have done a terrific job. And in terms of ‘Enterprise,’ you know, it’s early. It’s been the kind of show that we’ve looked at every year, and it’s still too early to tell, but we’ve been happy with it so far.
TVWeek: You did a lot fine-tuning on ‘Enterprise.’ You did some character changes, you brought in some new, higher-profile people. Has that made a difference?
Ms. Ostroff: We did. Creatively, we’ve gotten some very good feedback because we have changed some of the direction of the show creatively, and we’ve gotten great feedback. The show moved from Wednesday to Friday this year, so it’s hard to make year-to-year comparisons, but the show definitely has changed direction, and I think for the better.
For the full story, along with tons on the 10th anniversary of UPN, click here.
