Good news for fans of guilty pleasure shows like “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, “Felicity” or “Dawson’s Creek” - TheWB.com is about to be up and running. With those shows and others, the website hopes to bring in those 18-34 year-olds so loved by advertisers.

Thing is, the website exists even though the television network doesn’t. Recall the WB was folded into UPN a couple of years ago to create the CW.  (Warner Brothers, however, is still one of the major TV studios).

Given that, it’s sort of strange that Craig Erwich, EVP of Warner Horizon Television which oversees TheWB.com, tells Silicon Alley Insider in  an interview that the thing separating TheWB.com, from other websites it – well, the name.

“The WB is a brand that resonates with fans and we are capitalizing on the history of the brand have created a destination site that targets a niche audience and that gives fans an active experience,” he says.

(Otherwise, Erwich gives very little away in the interview, declining to discuss specific details and numbers)

The site is supposed to launch later today, and it will be interesting to see how it stacks up against Hulu.com, which most people considered a big leap forward for professionally produced online video sites. Already, TheWB.com has some good reviews from those who got an early look.

TechCrunch:

While TheWB fares well in terms of features when compared to its competitors, its content still falls well behind the multi-network selection offered by Hulu. That said, it’s always nice to see more (legal) free television on the web, and the advanced search alone could help set TheWB apart from the sites offered by each individual network.

Keep an eye on: 

• Taylor Nelson Sofres continues to recommend rejecting a hostile takeover bid from WPP despite preferred suitor GfK giving up its takeover attempt (Reuters)
• Rising development costs may drive Microsoft Corp, Sony Corp and others to publish more video games themselves (Reuters)
• TiVo reached a deal with Entertainment Weekly that will allow its users automatically record TV shows suggested by the magazine (WSJ.com)

(Reuters photo of “Buffy” co-stars Sarah Michelle Gellar Michelle Trachtenberg at the 2001 Teen Choice Awards)