The new CW network is struggling temendously as its ratings have decreased in the high double-digits. Through Oct. 29, ratings for 7th Heaven are down 33 percent, Gilmore Girls is down 22 percent, Smallville is down 22 percent and Supernatural is down 32 percent. In the 18-34 demographic, America’s Next Top Model and Veronica Mars are the only shows that are up for the season.
Some media buyers have said that the problem is of CWs own makig as it was far too aggressive with the guaranteed ratings they offered; 15 to 25 percent higher than last seasons' on The WB and UPN. The 
network is in danger of an “out of sale” situation for the fourth quarter.
Dawn Ostroff, CW entertainment president said: “we didn’t want to undersell ourselves, and we thought they were attainable. We really had nothing to compare our projections with.”
This is one of those problems in managing any company. But in this case it really doesn't make any sense. Most people knew that this was going to be tough for the new network, and the comment by Ostroff contradicted itself. On one side she says that the company thought the results were attainable, and on the other hand, they had nothing to compare their projections with.
So what was the underlying reason for the projected outcomes? This is simply a case of putting some huge numbers out there that were impossible to reach. This will be pretty discouraging for the company when the numbers are so far behind projections that they are not only impossible to meet, but put the employees in way over their heads.
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