The CW is going into its third season with one goal: stop the slide in ratings.

The network, formed in 2006 from the merger of UPN and the WB, saw ratings tumble nearly 30 percent last year from its inaugural season, despite having the hit “America’s Next Top Model” and the much-talked-about but low-rated “Gossip Girl.”

This season the CW will likely continue to see its ratings decline, but not as much as last year, say media researchers. And more important the network is positioning itself for a rebound in the 2009 season.

The CW has tightened its focus on women, giving it a better demographic flow night to night, which better positions it to promote upcoming shows to viewers most likely to tune in.

But to do that has meant ditching its second-most-watched program, “Friday Night Smackdown,” which is moving to Fox’s MyNetworkTV this season. Without wrestling, the CW's ratings are sure to fall.

“Two of their hours they’re basically throwing away,” says Jordan Breslow, director of broadcast research at MediaCom. “They’re getting rid of a 2.5 rating,” replacing it with shows that will draw far fewer viewers.

The dropping of wrestling is significant in another important regard. It addresses the network's very identity, which so far has been a mix of UPN and the WB, and not a particularly effective one.

With the departure of wrestling, the CW is shedding much of what remains of the old male-skewing UPN and aiming to become more like the female-skewing WB at its peak.

What may be surprising is why this didn't happen earlier. Of the two networks, the WB had more cachet with media buyers, and for much of its life pulled better ratings than UPN with long-running dramas like "Gilmore Girls."

But by the time of the merger, the WB was fading, weighted down by aging shows, and it happened the CW was largely staffed by a slew of former UPN executives. And their experience was in targeting men. They didn't understand the nuances of programming to women.

That led to last season's "Gossip Girl,” a show that generated great buzz but little in the way of ratings. That was so because it targeted teenage girls. In its best days, the WB, while perceived as a young women's network, aired shows like "Gilmore” that also attracted older women, indeed women of all ages.

The CW this season is beefing up its lineup with “90210,” a sequel to Fox’s “Beverly Hills, 90210” from the 1990s, and that show should bring in older women who remember that hit, in addition to the CW’s teenage viewers.

It's the CW’s most anticipated new show, it airs on Tuesdays, and it's followed by “Privileged,” a drama about a tutor for a wealthy family.

“They need to turn the buzz they had last year for ‘Gossip Girl’ and this year for ‘90210’ into ratings,” says David Scardino, entertainment specialist at RPA in Santa Monica, Calif. “If they get their losses down to low double-digit percentages this season, that would be an accomplishment for them.”

The CW is weak on Mondays with the returning “Gossip” and the long-running “One Tree Hill.”

It may see a ratings bump on Wednesdays with “Model,” which saw its audience slip last season, now leading into reality show “Stylista” from “Model” creator and host Tyra Banks.

The CW’s schedule pretty much falls apart for the remainder of the week. On Thursdays, it’s facing tough competition on the Big Four networks with weak returning shows “Smallville” and “Supernatural.”

On Fridays, wrestling is replaced with underperforming sitcoms “Everybody Hates Chris” and “The Game,” plus a rerun of “Model.”

The CW doesn’t program Saturdays and it has handed over its Sunday programming to production company Media Rights Capital, which is targeting a mass audience with dramas like “Valentine, Inc.,” about an agency that finds people’s lost loves.