Two years ago The WB and UPN announced they would merge to create the The CW Network. In one fell swoop, we said goodbye to a network brand that brought us youth hits like Dawson's Creek and Buffy The Vampire Slayer, among others. Now after a two year hiatus we will be able to see the WB brand again, this time though it will be an online destination, exclusively. Under the Warner Bros. Entertainment umbrella, TheWB.com and KidsWB.com will launch officially next month (they're currently in beta right now) featuring a slate of ad-supported episodes of former hits ranging from Buffy to Smallville to even episodes of the iconic Friends, still after all of these years a top 15 program among teen and college women. Along with the archived shows, The WB hopes to get some mojo by launching new made for online series created by the likes of Josh Schwartz of O.C. fame and McG another top writer/producer. As noted, some pundits express a lot doubt about the viability of new video-based destination site. On the contrary, I think it's a slam dunk. Some of the most streamed episodes online are hits of yesteryear. The WB still has extremely high levels of brand awareness, especially among 18 to 28 year old women. The addition of Friends alone will certainly provide an immediate boost and assuming one of the star writers/producers can create something that sticks, there is no reason not to believe the new sites won't draw in at least a couple of million uniques each month.
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