Posted on: Thursday, August 15, 2002

K5 soon to become 'Hawai'i's WB,' too

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

K5 The Home Team will drop UPN programming on Sept. 2.

The station has been home to both United Paramount Network (UPN) and Warner Bros. (WB) shows, but will become a primary WB station.

Fox affiliate KHON-2 and KGMB-9, the CBS affiliate, will likely pick up four UPN shows, said Bruce Sawyer, KHON marketing director. Parent company Emmis Corp. of Indianapolis is negotiating for UPN titles for broadcast on both of its Hawai'i channels.

It means that UPN shows such as "The Parkers" and "WWE Smackdown," the wrestling staple, may be missing from the local television roster.

New episodes of WB staples such as "7th Heaven," "Smallville," "Charmed" and "Dawson's Creek" will return this fall on K5, which will launch a prime-time slate from 7 to 9 p.m. weekdays and 5 to 10 p.m. Sundays. WB does not have Saturday programming.

But University of Hawai'i sports coverage, which has become the K5 franchise, will be a major part of the K5 prime time, said John Fink, who is general manager of K5 and its sister station, KHNL News 8, the NBC affiliate. "WB is a growing network and we look forward to branding one network, combined with our UH sports," said Fink. K5 will bill itself as K5 The Home Team — Hawai'i's WB.

Maintaining both UPN and WB shows had become increasingly difficult, Fink said. The UPN contract, in place since the mid-1990s, expires Sept. 1. UPN has its share of hit shows, including "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Enterprise," the "Star Trek" spinoff series.

KHON airs syndicated versions of "Buffy," and will show the new season of the series starting Sept. 7. Emmis plans to pick up at least four other UPN shows, including "Enterprise" and "The Twilight Zone," but has not yet determined the days and times they would be televised.