It's official.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hol...sion/index.jsp

UPN stakes claim to 'Buffy'
Apr. 20, 2001

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is headed to UPN. After months of renewal negotiations with the WB Network, 20th Century Fox TV wound up striking a deal with UPN for a two-year, 44-episode pickup of "Buffy" starting this fall. Sources said UPN will shell out $2.2 million-$2.3 million per episode for the series. 20th's negotations with the WB, which launched "Buffy" in 1997, reached an impasse earlier this year over the price tag for the renewal. (Cynthia Littleton)

Really sh*tty of 20th to do this after WB took a chance on them when nobody else would touch this show.

But money is money.

Word is that WB is so pissed that they are considering cancelling Roswell.

I agree 100%. It'll be interesting to see how long Angel lasts without having Buffy as a lead-in on the same network. I don't dislike Angel, but I don't think I'd watch it under different circumstances.

I pretty much lost interest in Buffy and only watch Angel now. I kinda liked how they had tie-ins a lot too, like Willow/Harmony made at appearance on Angel last episode. Since its on UPN, I guess thats the end of crossovers. Fortunately Angel still has 2 years on its contract, so it isn't going anywhere for a while.

I like both shows and feel that Angel can stand on it's own.

Does Fox produce Roswell?

Yes, Fox produces Roswell.

Angel, IMHO, seems more like a low-budget syndicated series, especially compared to Buffy. I like "Angel", but I adore what Joss and company have done with "Buffy". I think the ratings will drop for "Angel", but I can see it lasting for another 2 seasons. (Really, I don't think either show will go on any longer than that...)

I wonder if Fox will shop around for Roswell or let it go. I've been watching it, and although the writing has improved this season, it seems to lack direction overall.

Here's more from Zap2It:

http://tv.zap2it.com/news/tvnewsdaily.html?17335

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - It's official: "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is moving to UPN. The network closed a 44-episode deal for the series late Friday (April 20), according to 20th Century Fox Television Presidents Dana Walden and Gary Newman, as well as UPN President and CEO Dean Valentine. The series, created and executive produced by Joss Whedon, will begin airing on UPN's schedule in the fall.

"We are incredibly pleased to have 'Buffy, the Vampire Slayer' on UPN, not just because it is one of the best shows on the air and represents a new era in UPN's life and direction, but more importantly because Joss Whedon is one of the finest writers and producers in television," said Valentine.

"Our main motivation for pursuing 'Buffy' so aggressively was to be in business with Joss and with 20th, one of the most successful and professional studios in the industry, and we're very pleased to have that opportunity."

Although the media considered UPN a longshot for the series, Newman said the network was "passionate about the series" and "invested in its long-term success."

The deciding factor, however, may have come down to dollars and cents. According to media reports, 20th Century Fox was seeking approximately $2.3-$2.4 million per episode for the vampire drama, while The WB's last offer was $1.8 million per show. A recent report said that UPN ponied up $2.3 million per episode.

In an interview earlier this week with "Buffy" regular Nicholas Brendon, the actor told Zap2it that UPN was first in line for the series.

"UPN is the front runner, cause apparently money talks," he said.

Asked if the move would affect the show, Brendon said he didn't think it would.

"We would still be shooting the show in the same place; we'd have more money to work with."

In a statement to the press, Newman says that one of the reasons behind the deal was UPN's "aggressive offer that will allow Joss Whedon to produce the show the way we believe he's earned the right to after five years of incredible work."

On the other hand, the 20th Century president stressed creative differences between The WB and the studio.

"Creatively, we've had a great partnership with The WB on 'Buffy, the Vampire Slayer' over the past five years and we are grateful for their contributions to making this show a hit. Unfortunately, The WB did not share our vision or passion for the show's future, and quite simply UPN did," said Walden.

Brendon also revealed that, due the network's uncertainty about the future location of the 20th Century Fox show, both "Buffy" and spin-off "Angel" did not participate in The WB's yearly Faces promotional campaign.

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" premiered on March 10, 1997 to widespread critical acclaim and immediately established itself as The WB's first breakout hit. The series has consistently ranked as one of the network's top shows as well as its No. 1 show among key male demographics.

The series has earned nine Emmy nominations, including a 2000 nomination for Joss Whedon for Outstanding Writing in a Dramatic Series for the acclaimed "Hush" episode.

Not necessarilly... Ally McBeal (FOX) and The Practice (ABC)
has crossed over. X-Files (FOX) technically crossed over with Homocide (NBC) with Munch. I know there are other cross-network crossovers but I can't remember them now.

It will be interesting to see what kind of numbers Buffy does over there. UPN has even less affiliates than the WB. Other than the Star Trek shows, the only UPN series to ever do better than a 3 share is Seven Days.

Dammit! It's really gonna be hard now for some people (like me) to watch the show, cuz they don't get friggin UPN in their area!

This is horrible news for the show.

Not only does it probably mean the end of the Buffy/Angel crossovers, but UPN has a lousy track record of toying with series -- dumbing them down to appeal to their primary market of drooling 13 year old boys. What they've done to the Star Trek franchise is criminal.

How many episodes before the first WWF crossover "demon" appearance? My guess is five shows.

Well UPN has just about no ratings. other then there WWF coverage, they do not have much of any ratings grabbing. this will offer it some levarge. and i doubt they will dumb it down. only time will tell.

Agreed! I don't get UPN either. FOX $uck$!

My local UPN affiliate is actually a better station (better over-the-air reception) than the local WB affiliate. For me, it's just a matter of switching to channel 21 instead of channel 33 to watch Buffy.

And in the town where my parents live, they have a UPN over-the-air affiliate, but the WB is cable-only.

The same thing could be said for the WB five seasons ago. The WB was a deadfish before Buffy and subsequent series raised it from a the level of dreck, this moves might signal that the UPN is interested in the same type of revival, so we may see better stuff pop up on UPN.

adamblast - I knew someone who was a producer for Trek. UPN had little to nothing to do with how Trek was produced. For the f*ck-up of Trek you can thank Paramount suits and Berman.

If Joss has stones like JMS, they won't get away with screwing with his story. JMS chose to walk away from TNT and Crusade rather than let TNT screw it up. I would hope that Joss would be the same regarding Buffy/Angel.

Well, this stinks, big time. i dont get UPN. Hopefully they will pull some kind of deal like my local WB station has- they run Voyager on Sat nights, a week or so after the episode premires on UPN, kinda like the Law and Order Special Victims Unit USA network deal. Otherwise, i wont get to see buffy at all. F**k me, i guess. Buffy/Angel Tuesday nights are/were my only tv night i religiously watched tv.

Oh well, regardless of whether i get to see it next season or not, i hope Joss and crew get the freedom they deserve and continue to make great shows.

[Edited by iaido on 04-21-01 at 10:42 AM]

We can also hope that Buffy comes out on DVD this October, which is when I've heard it's been bumped back to. Originally, first season was supposed to be out this January and then it went away. Something about syndication. The last rumor I heard was this October. Anybody hear anything on this?

Last I heard, season 1 hits syndication in October, but the DVD set won't be out until very, very late 2001 or, more likely, the beginning of 2002. The syndication deal is the same as X-Files -- f/X gets dibs on weekdays, and weekends is a free-for-all.

I guess that I am the only one cheering. Here in my local town I get Buffy at 10pm Tuesday and Angel at 10pm Wednesday. All of this because of the UPN. Maybe now I can watch Buffy and Angel on the same night. UPN has some strange deal with the WB where they can use the same broadcast station.
Too bad the UPN does not show nudity, I would to see a sex scene with Willow and Tara.....

junkie - Uhhhh, even if UPN did show nudity, you're not likely to see that anytime soon. We're still talking TV here. Check for some of the fanzines, that's the best you can hope for right now.

I think junkie is thinking about "Buffay: The Vampire Layer"

To begin with, Fox is apparently in talks to merge with UPN, which might bring more stations into the fold.

The WB currently pays $1 million per episode for Buffy. Their final offer was $1.8 million. According to E!Online, the UPN offered $2.3 million for the first year, and has guaranteed a second year at $2.35 million. Also, they have agreed to pick up Angel for 2 years, should the WB cancel it (out of retaliation?)

If Angel stays on the WB, I doubt we'll see any inter-network crossovers, as there seems to be plenty of bad blood (no pun intended) between Joss and the WB. As E! Online also reports:

From the above, it doesn't sound like money was the sole factor in this move, and I'm pretty sure that matters of creative freedom were discussed as part of the negotiations. This show is Joss' baby, and I don't think he'd go anywhere that wouldn't allow him to "realize his vision" or would require him to "dumb it down".

I do, however, worry that Angel may be the big loser here. (If it stays on the WB, that is.) Without the Buffy anchor on "New Tuesday", it might be kicked around the schedule, losing ratings along the way. (Fridays at 9:00, anyone?)

I love both shows, and fervently hope this doesn't damage either one. It would have been nice if Buffy had stayed on the WB, but, since that's not to be, maybe it would be best if Angel moves, too.

Hard to believe that would get through anti-trust. They had to pass special rules just to allow Viacom to keep both UPN and CBS, muddying the waters more by adding FOX in an ownership role for one of the networks would seem to be pushing it.

But even so, I don't see how adding FOX would bring any more station to the fold anymore than having CBS around has. The problem seems to be in smaller markets where there simply aren't extra TV stations to be had to broadcast UPN content.