The CW Is Getting a New Owner

The CW Television Network is about to have a new corporate parent. News broke on Monday that Nexstar, the largest owner of local television stations in the U.S., will acquire a 75% stake in the network after six months of negotiations. Current corporate co-owners Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery will each maintain a 12.5% interest in the channel, and Nexstar will continue to order original programming from both company’s television divisions, as well as elsewhere. The CW’s current CEO, Mark Pedowitz, will remain in that position after the deal is finalized, which is expected to happen in Q3 2022.

The CW launched in 2006, gettings its name from the first two letters in the names of its original corporate owners, CBS and Warner Bros. However, there have been reports that both companies as they exist now have been looking to divest from the network following major corporate mergers (CBS joining with Viacom to first become ViacomCBS and now Paramount; Warner Bros. merging with Discovery to form Warner Bros. Discovery).

Reports suggest that Nexstar plans for The CW to become a network fully focused on its broadcast television potential. Previously, The CW has generated much of its revenue through lucrative streaming deals with companies like Netflix, which encouraged the companies involved to keep shows going that may otherwise not have justified renewals based on broadcast ratings alone. However, with Netflix generating increasingly more of its own original content, and Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery pivoting to focus on their own streaming platforms (Paramount+ and HBO Max/Discovery+, respectively), that business model makes less sense.

The CW was previously best known for being the hub of the shared DC Comics television multiverse that came to be known as the Arrowverse. The franchise included the shows Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, Black Lightning, and Batwoman. With The CW canceling and earlier this year, and The Flash wrapping with its upcoming ninth season, the Arrowverse will come to an end.

“Our acquisition of The CW is strategically and operationally compelling, as it will enable us to leverage our operational experience to improve the Network’s performance through our management of this powerful national platform,” said Perry Sook, Nexstar’s Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, in a press release. “We plan to apply the same strict financial standards to operating The CW as we apply to our other businesses.”

“The CW has delivered signature programming to its broadcast and digital audiences for 16 years,” said George Cheeks, President & Chief Executive Officer of CBS. “Together, with our partners at Warner Bros. and The CW, we have created a welcome home for content that has resonated with viewers on the network and on platforms around the world. This new ownership structure enables us to partner with Nexstar and Warner Bros. Discovery on the next chapter of The CW while re-deploying capital to other content platforms at Paramount.”

Channing Dungey, Chairman, Warner Bros. Television Group, added, “For 16 seasons, The CW has been home to some of the most groundbreaking and generation-defining programming in television, from the iconic DC Super Heroes of Greg Berlanti’s Arrowverse series to The Vampire Diaries, and everything in between, including the All American franchise, the original Gossip Girl, Kung Fu, Nikita, Riverdale, Smallville, and many many more. The network was also the home of Supernatural, the longest-running live-action fantasy series in U.S. TV history, for 14 of its 15 seasons. We’re excited that the Supernatural story will continue with The Winchesters premiering this fall. We look forward to continuing to collaborate on our shared series and future projects to come under Nexstar’s leadership. We are forever grateful to our partners at The CW, especially Mark Pedowitz, who has been a great friend to the studio for so many years, and to me personally. We know that the network will continue to thrive under his leadership.”