The CW: Fox-owned stations yank UPN logo

Before and After at KCOP-TV

Fox-owned stations currently affiliated to the UPN network that will lose that affiliation when UPN shuts down in September to make way for The CW have already started abandoning the UPN brand.

This morning, KCOP-TV in Los Angeles removed all mention of UPN from its on-air and online promotional material. The station's corner bug now simply displays "13," the station's terrestrial channel number, and its website sports a "get it on" slogan. UPN-provided promos for network programming are airing without the circular UPN logo.

Andrew Butcher, a spokesperson for Fox TV Stations parent company News Corp., told Broadcasting & Cable: "We’d be crazy not to cut spending money on a network we’re no longer going to be affiliated with."

The UPN branding has been pulled from other stations in addition to KCOP-TV, including WWOR-TV in New York City.

Speculation is mounting that instead of choosing to schedule each individual station with syndicated shows, Fox may choose to use the major-market stations bereft of UPN programming come September as the foundations for a "Fox 2" network, airing re-purposed programmes from FX and even the Fox News Channel.