Guest Former Member 207 Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 WGN America http://www.wgnamerica.com Their website made the changeover, I believe, today. However, as of this writing, the transition hasn't made it over to the TV side yet. There some talk that with the recent changes under the new Tribune regime, that the "WGN" brand was going away for good, and that the new "Superstation" would be totally independent of WGN Television. That still might be the case later on down the line, but I guess until some other factors are taken care of, things for now (at least as far as programming is concerned) will stay status-quo. I still believe that everything Chicago-centric (news, sports, local specials) will completely disappear from this new WGN in a matter of time. By the way, if you see the new logo on the website, it reminds me a bit of The Movie Channel's logo from the 1990s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMA 135 Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 Strangely, there's an affiliate page: http://www.wgnamerica.com/affiliate.html I'm assuming WGN America would be on digital subchannels, now that I see this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecs0013 9 Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 Yeah - I was watching the Cubs tonight and they had Rocky promos and it was referred to as WGN America. Later on, the same promos aired with the SuperStation WGN logo/voiceover. I don't care what they call it, but they could've really capitalized on the SuperStation branding, since TBS ditched it. Instead, they've been airing a lot of weak programming and a lot of people only watch the network for sports or the occasional movie. Obviously, other shows might spark interest here and there, but as a whole, their programming is on the weaker side. 24 in the early AM hours on the weekend? Scrubs at close to midnight? Movies that people have seen a hundred times? If they get rid of the sports, I think a lot of people are going to not even bother tuning to the station. Often with the Cubs broadcasts, there's a huge promotion that the Cubs and WGN have been together for years, and even if they kept airing the games on WGN9, a lot of people who grew up watching the games on the national WGN feed will be disappointed. This could also apply to White Sox fans in more recent times. Basically, do they want to turn WGN9 into a glorified CW affiliate? I think the new branding/identity/slogan are also your standard weak-Tribune work - the slogan - did anyone see the Chevy Malibu commercials that aired like crazy 6 months ago? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrfRptr 3 Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 I think, if I recall the rumblings, is that in certain markets (essentially those away from Chicago) would get the WGN America branding and Chicago and surrounding areas would keep the current look/branding/slogan etc. BTW: wgntv.com is still the orginal site with CW stuff. WGN really should try and make their news more national, they may be able to compete on a totally different level than TBS. Not to mention, a fourth source from the main cable news networks. Let's face it, WGN seems to get the hand-me-downs of syndicated shows. If they expanded their news slightly and broadened the reach, it could be something new and different. My idea...wow this post became much longer than planned: 5-9AM: morning news--Chicago emphasis with many national/world headlines to boot 9-12PM: daytime television--Ellen, Tyra, Soaps etc 12-1PM: news--emphasis on local 1-5PM: more daytime programming, gameshows etc 5-6PM: Chicago news 6-7PM: all national/world news 7-9PM: syndicated programming/CW primetime junk 9-10PM: Chicago late news 10-11PM: National/world late news 11PM-1AM: be creative and develop a late night program 1-5AM: syndication, paid programming, etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A3N 996 Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 What would really help them out is if they would show the WGN morning news on the Superstation/WGN America. I would watch that over my local news any day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
first on fox 18 Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 Srsly, WTF is that logo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CircleSeven 1944 Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 Boy, Boy, Boy, I am not thrilled about their re-brand. I think they're doing this as one of their phases to completely drop the WGN name. When I saw this Robert Feder column on the Sun-Times website last month, I thought it was inevitable. I'm sorry to say, but that logo is like the ugliest logo i've ever seen. I remember the classic early 90s TMC logo and it looked far better then this. They should've use the regular WGN logo, drop that swirl "S" and at least have America on the bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weeters 1811 Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 Srsly' date=' WTF is that logo?[/quote'] If you're referring to the ugly eyes with green eyeliner, I think they're trying to say "WGN America: It's kinda sorta like MTV... maybe" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ntropolis 593 Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 TV you can't ignore? Like... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevieboy247 42 Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 TV you can't ignore? Like... It's True!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrtraveler01 737 Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 If they lose the Chicago-centric programming. Not only will that be the dumbest move ever for them but they will lose a lot of viewers including myself. It's pretty much the only reason I watch the channel in the first place. There programming lineup is much weaker than TBS which is what they are obviously going after and needs the Chicago programming to give them an advantage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecs0013 9 Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 If they lose the Chicago-centric programming. Not only will that be the dumbest move ever for them but they will lose a lot of viewers including myself. It's pretty much the only reason I watch the channel in the first place. There programming lineup is much weaker than TBS which is what they are obviously going after and needs the Chicago programming to give them an advantage. I couldn't agree with you more - I'm from the Chicagoland area, but live about 4 hours away (central Indiana) and still will flip on WGN News to see what's going on at home (Tom Skilling's weather is more in-depth even for where I am than the local meteorologists), in addition to watching the Cubs games. Obviously, I can respect that people like other baseball teams, but if the Cubs were to move to CSN (which I can get here on anything but Comcast cable - go figure) fully, I think there would be a bit of an uproar, since in many places, the Cubs have become the "default" team in places where there is no baseball. Obviously, the sports and news are the only real "Chicago-centric" programming on SuperStation WGN, but that's the primary reasons people even watch the station. TBS has better syndicated programming and movies, Comedy Central has better movies (and Scrubs on more hours in the day), and Sleuth took over Magnum, PI and Rockford Files awhile back (two shows I grew up with and used to catch every once in awhile on there). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lugnuts6 89 Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 I agree the logo just sucks!, now if it was me...THIS is the logo I wouldve had, or just bring back the classic WGN globe logo sans "America" Here is my WGN AMERICA LINE UP ..See if this meets with approval (times eastern) 6-10 TOP O' THE MORNING (WGN AMERICA version of WGN Chicago Morning News) 10-1pm: BOZO CIRCUS CLASSICS 1pm: WGN AMERICA AT NOON (WGN NOON NEWS) 2pm: WGN AMERICA AT THE MOVIES 4pm: SCRUBS 4:30: BARNEY MILLER 5pm: REBA 5:30: HAPPY DAYS AGAIN 6pm: BATMAN/GREEN HORNET Hour 7pm: WGN AMERICA PRESENTS 10pm:WGN AMERICA NEWS 11pm:SCRUBS 11:30:CORNER GAS Midnight: WGN AMERICA NIGHTBEAT 12:30: RENO 911 1am: WGN AMERICA LATE MOVIE 3am: TEXT ME AMERICA (Live Interactive Text Chat/Game Show) Saturday and Sunday 6-10am: America Weekend News 10am-1pm: WGN AMERICA MOVIE CLASSICS 1pm-3pm: Classic Comedies 3pm-5pm: WGN AMERICA AFTERNOON MOVIE 5pm-6pm: 90210 6pm-7pm: WGN AMERICA MYSTERIES 7pm-10pm: WGN PRESENTS 10pm: WGN AMERICA NEWS 11pm:CORNER GAS PIT-STOP Midnight: CREATURE FEATURES 2am-NIGHTBEAT WEEKEND 2:30am-6am: TEXT ME AMERICA (Live Interactive Text Chat/Game Show) During baseball Season WGN AMERICA will carry 64 White Sox and Cubs games Basketball Season is safe with 20 Bulls Games Due to National Cable Rights with Versus WGN AMERICA will not air Blackhawks Games TEXT ME AMERICA is a live interactive text/chat show based on a show in Lansing,Michigan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecs0013 9 Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 I agree the logo just sucks!, now if it was me...THIS is the logo I wouldve had, or just bring back the classic WGN globe logo sans "America" Here is my WGN AMERICA LINE UP ..See if this meets with approval (times eastern) I think that another idea would be for them to air CW programming on weekends (can they do that?) in case people are watching other networks instead during the week...WNDY used to air repeats Veronica Mars and a few other shows on Sunday nights when they were the UPN affiliate before network programming kicked in and supposedly that helped build a viewer base. Back when TBS went from the general interest programming to "comedy", I was not exactly thrilled, since it seemed like a bad ripoff of the old TBS and Comedy Central, but they seemed to find their groove. WGN America needs to try something else instead of being the low-rent TBS. Also, my take on the logo is there - I decided to keep the same text, since obviously sports and news have to match with the local WGN...I see maybe a red/white/blue motif for graphics like USA had in the mid-90s. However, the whole branding now reminds me of BBC America, which makes it seem like Chicago is in a far off land. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tw-804 190 Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 The logo is well...eh. I wonder if they'll use it for promos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10Viewer 319 Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 I love watching WGN News, especially Tom Skilling's forecast at either noon or 9pm. Usually the weather Chicago has will impact Ohio a day later. I think it would be a mistake to remove the Chicago centered programming, like the Cubs and WGN News. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnya2k6 171 Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 My idea...wow this post became much longer than planned: 11PM-1AM: be creative and develop a late night program How about... 11PM-Midnight: "CBC News: The National" Jonathan Allen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjohnson 15 Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 I like Superstation WGN better. "WGN America" sounds like British (or most of Europe for that matter) people who have trouble articulating "United States." Crazy "eyeliner" girl has got to go... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecs0013 9 Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 I like Superstation WGN better. "WGN America" sounds like British (or most of Europe for that matter) people who have trouble articulating "United States." Crazy "eyeliner" girl has got to go... Kind of also reminds me of WNDY's branding when UPN got the circle logo. They had UPN 23...then there was a countdown on the corner of the screen for a week advertising the days until UPN Indy - a day or so before the countdown ended, it disappeared and all the promos/graphics said UPN Indiana instead (I guess they felt that since it covered most of Indiana, rather than just the city of Indianapolis, it made sense). Still, it sounded weird and I was glad when they went back to WNDY-23 (in the days right up before the My Network launch). I'm watching WGN America right now, and I just have to say - the promo graphics are actually pretty good - a bit like the old NBC plasma graphics (a definite upgrade from the white, non-animated stuff they had before) - the previous voiceover guy (forget who he was - did most of the Tribune stuff) is gone, replaced with someone else. Also, the whole east/west timing sounds odd... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lugnuts6 89 Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 I think it was rockwell who sang it best "I always feel like, Somebody's Watching Me" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyrannical bastard 3464 Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 I'm also watching...the promo graphics are nice but that logo HAS to go. It's just bland. I'll miss the "Superstation".... Seriously, what is the deal behind all of these HIDEOUS new logos and branding appearing across network and pay tv? VH1, CW, Animal Planet, TruTV (the logo's ok..the name sucks!) and now WGN America. Who is designing this crap? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecs0013 9 Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 They're going for the "modern" look....unfortunately they've failed. These logos are not "modern", they're ugly. I've got it! I'm watching the Cubs pregame show right now and they have the logo in the upper-corner and it's distracting. How about (ready for this), they just use WGN as their logo? Seriously....people outside of Chicago still call the channel WGN regardless of what other words are tacked on - in Chicago, I think people would know the difference between WGN9 and WGN... Speaking of other logos - I liked the round UPN logo - shame it couldn't be reworked for the CW,Animal Planet's is just childish, VHr's is terrible, History Channlel's update is weak, but I do like the new Discovery Channel one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecs0013 9 Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 I think they will - seeing as the WGN Sports (HD) logo is on the scorebar...either that or they're going to rival ABC for the dumbest use of unnecessary logos during sports... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColumbusNewsFan 217 Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 I think it was rockwell who sang it best "I always feel like, Somebody's Watching Me" You couldn't put it any better. Those eyes got to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lugnuts6 89 Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 I think THIS says it best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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