The WB had been soaring on its formula of teen shows like “Dawson’s Creek” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” along with the acclaimed family drama “7th Heaven.” It became the darling of Wall Street and Madison Avenue. It was leaving archrival weblet UPN in the dust.

And after five painful years, the frog network finally turned a profit $3 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31.

Then the bottom suddenly dropped out.

The WB’s ratings are down nearly 15 percent this season, the first dip since the network’s debut. It’s even slipped behind UPN. And it’s projected to drop back into the red this quarter, and not return to the black until the fourth quarter.

What happened? A confluence of events that includes programming being discontinued on feeds by superstation WGN, various creative problems, and the unexpected popularity of UPN’s “WWF Smackdown.”

No one is sounding the alarms quite yet. “Our feeling hasn’t changed at all about The WB,” said Tom Decabia, a media buyer for Schulman/Advanswers N.Y. “We consider our clients’ investments to be very smart.”

Tim Spengler, a media buyer for Western Initiative Media, added that “they have become a destination place for young kids, teens and some young adults and that speaks volumes about their long-term viability. They have become an essential brand.”

But that brand has definitely hit a rough patch.

Pulling the plug

The biggest source of falloff was stopping Chicago superstation WGN’s national feeds of WB programming, as of the fourth quarter. WGN is owned by Tribune Broadcasting Co., which is also a co-owner of The WB. The national feed was supplied as a means of helping the fledgling weblet build audience share. But that feed eventually grew into a source of complaints from The WB’s growing number of affiliate stations, because it competed with them.

Stopping the feed, while placating the affiliates, resulted in a loss of 16 percent of The WB’s total audience. “They lost 50 million viewers from WGN’s carriage,” Spengler said.

Worse yet, WB officials discovered that many of their newer affiliates lack the promotional punch of the departed superstation.

“Some of the audience didn’t move over (from WGN to the local affiliate), and we lost people,” said WB head Jamie Kellner. “Some of the brand-new stations don’t have the strength to promote like the biggest stations.”

The WB is now pressing its affiliates to expand their marketing budgets and staff. The WB also has sent some of its stars, like Shannen Doherty of “Charmed,” to promote the weblet in cities no longer covered by WGN.

There also have been creative missteps that might be disaffecting viewers. Some of the teen dramas have lost their edge, and several new producers were brought in, and needed time to get up to speed.

Hair fallout

Probably the most publicized miscue was the early-season haircut of “Felicity” star Keri Russell. It was too short, according to various observers not to mention hordes of fans who complained loudly, especially on the Internet. “A lot of women didn’t like it,” Kellner conceded. “It’s growing out.”

A revived UPN hasn’t helped either. Thanks largely to its World Wrestling Federation show on Thursday nights, UPN now leads The WB with a 3.92 household rating for the season to date, compared to its rival’s 3.86 rating. The WB, however, leads in the more-desirable younger viewers, especially among young females.

While The WB was in the black for the fourth quarter of last year, losses are likely in the first, second and third quarters of 2000.

“The network business is much harder and young viewers are watching less and are intrigued by the Internet,” Spengler said. “They are going after an increasingly hard-to-reach audience and network TV, in general, is a shrinking pie.”

Spengler added that teen and young-adult viewers are fickle. Although they are quick to try something fresh and new, they also are the first to click onto something else that strikes their fancy. This will put pressure on WB programmers to adapt their schedules.

Decabia thinks The WB is doing that. He was especially enthusiastic about several new shows, “The Young Americans,” a spinoff from “Dawson’s Creek” set in a New England prep school; “Baby Blue,” an edgy animated comedy that has a raunchy appeal; and “D.C.,” a drama set in Georgetown about a group of young roommates.