CW, States

Finals!! Tomorrow! Eeeeeeek! I have shuffled my life into school and drawn 7 days of hectic preparation for finals.

The WB and UPN to Merge – This news was posted barely four hours ago on the net and has shocked many people in the industry. It’s not a bad thing at all, but it sure comes as a surprise. Could this news eventually result in us getting Pokemon back on a more regular basis again? Who knows, but hopefully Pokemon and a Kids’ WB after school block will be considered again.

In a bombshell announcement that caught television industry insiders by surprise Tuesday morning, The WB and UPN have cut a deal to join forces as a new single network dubbed The CW that will be comprised of programming and executive talent from both of its predecessors.

In a top-secret megadeal unveiled at a surprise news conference in midtown Manhattan, CBS Corp. and Time Warner will own 50 percent of the new network that will eventually have coverage in more than 95 percent of the country. UPN president Dawn Ostroff will become The CW’s president of entertainment; WB Network chief operating officer John Maata will be the chief operating officer of the newly formed entity.

Both UPN and The WB will cease operations and go off the air in September. The CW will program 13 primetime hours across six nights as well as a Kids WB block on Saturdays and two hours of syndicated programming in the weekday afternoons, essentially mirroring The WB model. While a schedule won’t be released until the upfronts in May, the new network could carry shows like “Gilmore Girls,” “Supernatural” and “Smallville” from The WB and “America’s Next Top Model,” “Veronica Mars” and “Everybody Hates Chris” from UPN… (WPM Note: And you guys better include Pokemon or I EAT YOU!!)

Official State Championship FAQ Up – The official Pokemon TCG website has posted up its FAQ on the State Championships for the 2005-2006 tournament season. States will be taking place between March 4th and March 19th, and will be a Pokemon TCG Player’s ticket to Nationals, which could then qualify a person for Worlds. For those of you who have not already heard, people who win State Championships this year will not be allowed to participate in another one, which is also mentioned in the FAQ. Thus, you won’t be seeing any two-time winners this time around. To read the FAQ, which contains all information you need to know about the State Championships and its prizes, you can [click here].