As many of you know, Time Warner will be relaunching CourtTV as TruTV on Jan. 1, 2008. I have received hundreds of emails from readers in the past few weeks who want to know how the rebranding will affect the current content being offered by CTV both on air and on the net.

Based upon the memos I have received, a number of changes are in the works, some of which you will see on Jan. 1, while others will not be made until the spring of 2008. Regarding the online content, all of the afternoon trial coverage will be moved from CourtTV.com to CNN.com/crime. In addition to online trial coverage, CNN.com will also inherit CrimeLibrary.com. I am not aware of any changes to TheSmokingGun.com.

As a result of the changes, many online staffers at CourtTV.com have already been let go, and the entire staff at CrimeLibrary.com, myself included, has been notified that their positions will be terminated within the coming weeks. It is my understanding that Crime Library will no longer provide daily crime news and that the site will be used for archival purposes. According to an internal memo, CNN.com has no plans to add additional staff to operate it.

As part of Time Warner’s rebranding, TruTV will continue to air live trial coverage during the day, but prime time will focus on “real engagers.” According to a recent press release, some of the new programs will include:

Sky Racers: “When working in the most crowded airspace in the country, being a news helicopter pilot in Los Angeles means rushing to a story the moment it breaks. These pilots assist police during high-speed pursuits, all while using aerial acrobatics to jockey for position. This new series puts viewers inside the cockpit with Desiree Horton, a rare female news pilot and one of the best in the business.”

One False Move: “This gripping series will follow people whose jobs and adventures take them to the brink of disaster—like rescue crews that blast two miles below the Earth's surface or perform daring rope maneuvers hundreds of feet above ground. As this show will prove, a single mistake can be deadly.”

The Real Hustle: “This series from Objective Productions/Crook Productions shows how an elite team of experts can steal a person's money, possessions and even identity. It features Apollo Robbins, an expert pick-pocket and personal security consultant; Ryan Oakes, a sleight-of-hand and psychology specialist; and Dani Marco, a professionally trained actress skilled in distraction techniques. Taking on savvy New Yorkers, this trio will offer insider knowledge into the mechanics and psychology of how a con is executed.”

Neighbors 911: “From Granada America and executive producer Curt Northrup (Nanny 911) comes this new series in which former Green Beret Myke Hawke goes into the homes of people whose feuding has escalated into all-out conflict. Hawke is the judge and jury as he uses video evidence to force neighbors to confront each other and resolve their differences.”

Ski Patrol: “This exciting series from Bunim/Murray Productions (The Real World) gets viewers up-close and personal with the men and women who work in some of the most extreme environments in the country. They do everything from dynamiting snowdrifts to daring, out-of-bounds rescues to busting unruly snowboarders looking to party on the slopes.”

Black Gold: Few jobs have higher stakes than those of “wildcatters” in Texas, where oil prospectors race one another to tap into the last remaining U.S. reserves. From Original Productions' Thom Beers, an executive producer of the hit series Deadliest Catch, this show will follow several of these wildcatters and their crew of roughnecks as they risk lives, limbs and hundreds of thousands of dollars attempting to strike oil.

Already popular shows, such as “Forensic Files,” “Haunting Evidence” and “Psychic Detectives,” will also continue to air.

The changes are a result of the network’s desire to target “real engagers,” whom they describe as males aged 35 to 45, in part because advertisers have a preference for that particular demographic.

Whether the new changes will succeed is yet to be seen. In the meantime, at least two new Web sites will be available Jan. 1 to pick up Crime Library’s daily crime news traffic—Discovery Channel is putting together a new crime Web site, set to launch on Jan. 1, and another new true crime venture, not affiliated with either site, is set to launch that same day at 320Sycamore.com. So regardless of what happens with CTV and Crime Library, readers will have other options to explore in the coming weeks.