The CW Now Has A New Owner
Is the carnage over?
This article is more than 2 years old
The summer of television may be coming to an end very soon, but the season of shakeups seems to be never-ending. Warner Bros. Discovery has provided enough fodder recently for the viewing public to question the importance of the streaming wars, with a slew of titles seemingly disappearing from the subscription streaming platform practically overnight. The recent cancellation of Batgirl has sent fans into an uproar, and Netflix’s subscription woes appear to be getting worse with the news that Disney+ has surpassed them in paid subscribers. Nevertheless, the rumors of one network’s decline have seemed to rise above the rest, and viewers may see a significant change coming as The CW now has a new owner.
According to a report by comicbook.com, The CW’s ownership will soon change as Nexstar Media Group has purchased a majority stake in the network. Long rumored to be the next step in Nexstar’s journey, the company will buy a 75% stake in The CW, with Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery each retaining the remaining 12.5% stake in the network. The current CEO of The CW, Mark Pedowitz, is said to remain in his position through the transition and going forward. The overall deal for Nexstar to acquire The CW should take place in the next couple of months as fans of the network ponder what will happen to their favorite shows.
Before Nexstar Media Group made its deal to acquire the majority stake in The CW, the organization had been mainly known for its work in local television. According to Deadline, Nexstar is the leading voice in local television stations throughout the United States, as they own multiple stations as well as cable networks such as NewsNation, Antenna TV, Rewind TV, and WGN. They have an extensive portfolio of brands that includes digital media company The Hill and a minority stake in familiar brands like Food Network and the Cooking Channel. Their interest in The CW has long been rumored by industry experts, and the deal to acquire the network has been coming for months, just as The CW made strides to appear more profitable to a prospective buyer.
The CW has been an attractive brand for Nexstar for a while, mainly due to its fervent fan base of young adults. In recent months, The CW has struggled to stay afloat primarily because of the cancellation of once popular shows, many of which belonged to the network’s primetime lineup of Arrowverse series. TV Line reports that The CW chose to cancel a host of shows just this summer alone, including long-running series like Batwoman and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. The 4400, the reboot of Charmed, Roswell, New Mexico, Dynasty, Legacies, and In the Dark have also not survived the chopping block. The network’s most popular shows, The Flash and Riverdale, have been renewed but will see their series end sometime in 2023 with one more final season each. Many believe that these shows were prematurely canceled to make the company look more attractive to a buyer like Nexstar during negotiations.
