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By FRANK SWERTLOW

Staff Reporter

All it takes is a single hit show to catapult an also-ran network into the big leagues, as upstart The WB is discovering with its new show “Felicity.”

The coming-of-age drama starring a little-known young actress is turning The WB into the bona fide fifth network, which is drawing off audiences and advertising dollars from its more-established competitors.

“This affects the success of the big boys (CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox),” said Bill Cella, an executive vice president in the media-buying division of McCann Erickson Worldwide. “The WB continues to grow, and it is really the one place to reach the elusive teen-age viewer.”

That’s a critical strategy because advertisers covet young adults. And The WB has proven remarkably successful at reaching them, with shows like “Seventh Heaven,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Dawson’s Creek” and “Charmed.”

When “Felicity” launched on Sept. 29, it was the most-watched program in The WB’s three-year history, with some 7.1 million viewers tuning in. “Felicity” pulled a 4.8 household rating and an 8 percent share of the audience.

The show’s ratings swamped those for The WB’s arch-rival UPN, whose two half-hour sitcoms, “Moesha” and “Clueless,” could manage ratings of only 2.0 and 1.8, respectively.

The WB’s success with the young-adult crowd has had a dramatic impact on ad sales. During the upfront selling period in advance of the fall season, it sold $300 million worth of advertising doubling its $150 million upfront performance in 1997. It was by far the best improvement of any network.

Things have not always been this good. After the network’s first year in 1995, its offerings could seldom pull down a rating of higher than 2 and media reports placed the network’s losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

“The WB is the survivor,” said Laura Martin, director of equity research at Credit Suisse First Boston Corp. in Pasadena.

The WB still loses money. But analysts say the continued success of “Felicity” could have an enormous impact on the financial viability of the network.

Harold Vogel, an independent entertainment-industry analyst based in New York, said “Felicity” could help reduce The WB’s losses from about $90 million to $65 million in calendar 1999.

“If ‘Felicity’ hits, The WB will substantially reduce its losses,” Vogel said.

In addition, he projected that the series would help The WB reach its goal of becoming profitable by 2001.

WB President Jamie Kellner agreed with Vogel’s analysis, saying that the network’s losses would drop by one-third in 1999. But he maintained that the network’s gains go beyond “Felicity.”

“It’s never about one show,” he said. “It’s about building momentum. The WB brand is that we are the network for young adults and teens.”

“Felicity,” starring 22-year-old Keri Russell, clearly fits that profile, oozing teenage angst. It’s the story of a confused 17-year-old from Northern California, Felicity Porter, who heads to college in New York to find herself.

“At its core, it is about taking risks and living with the consequences,” said J.J. Abrams, the show’s co-creator and also the screenwriter of “Armageddon.” “It’s a very universal idea.”

The early success of “Felicity” is the latest chapter in the WB’s effort to establish itself as the fifth network, competing primarily against UPN. Many analysts do not believe both networks will survive and The WB has clearly emerged as the front runner.

From the Sept. 21 beginning of the fall TV season through Oct. 6, UPN had drawn a 1.9 rating, compared with the WB’s 2.9. UPN’s performance so far this fall is 41 percent below its year-earlier ratings, while The WB’s ratings are off only 3 percent. NBC, last year’s No. 1 network, was off 9 percent from 1997.

“The gap between UPN and The WB seems to be widening,” said Bishop Cheen, an analyst at Charlotte, N.C.-based First Union Capital Markets. “I would think that at some point (UPN) would throw in the towel. It takes a lot of capital to keep rolling these shows out.”

Ironically, “Felicity” was bankrolled by Touchstone Television in association with Imagine Entertainment. Touchstone is a division of Walt Disney Co., the parent of ABC, which was off 10 percent from its year-earlier ratings on the week “Felicity” premiered.

ABC officials said they passed on “Felicity” because its audience was too narrow. ABC’s programming is directed to a broader, older audience. “It didn’t meet their demographics,” Martin said.

Added co-creator Abrams: “They (ABC officials) didn’t believe the show was right for them. I am sure they will regret it.”

This is not the first time a major network has passed on a series that went on to boost The WB’s fortunes. “Dawson’s Creek,” which is produced by Twentieth Television, Fox’s production arm, was rejected by the Fox network.

McCann Erickson’s Cella said ABC should have found room on its schedule for “Felicity.” “It was a mistake,” he said. “It might have helped ABC on Thursdays, where they are weak.”