The WB is counter-programming the Emmys this year with the second movie in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.
Network chairman Garth Ancier says it is not a move to send a message to the Emmy voters, but rather good counter-programming that is more acceptable today than it would have been in the past.
“There was that sense many, many years ago, when there were so few channels, that the networks didn’t counter-program it,” he says. “There used to be much more laying down.
Today, if the networks lay down, big deal. Then people would only have 142 other channels to look at and they’re not laying down. Originally there was that agreement [not to counter-program the Emmys] many years ago, but it was before satellite and cable, and now it’s a different world. All bets are off.”
Ancier maintains the move has nothing to do with Emmy voters generally ignoring The WB.
“This is just good counter-programming,” he says. “We think that young boys aren’t going to be watching the Law & Order cast up there. At least we’re hoping.”
The network will air The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers on Sunday, Sept. 18, in a four-hour block beginning at 7 p.m.
