The popular CW television network will soon gain new ownership, IGN Citation reports.
Despite months of speculation about the CW Television Network acquisition, which the company had previously kept quiet about, the acquisition was recently announced in a filing and press release with the SEC.
The CW has been home to some of the most groundbreaking and generation-defining shows in television,” said Channing Dungey, president of Warner Bros. Television Group. We are forever grateful to our partners at The CW, especially Mark Pedowitz, who has been a great friend of the studio and a friend of mine for many years. We know that the network will continue to thrive under his leadership.”
Mark Pedowitz will continue as chairman and CEO of The CW, while Warner Bros. will reportedly continue to produce scripted content for the network.
Channing Dungey added, “Warner Bros. will continue Nexstar’s leadership on our joint series and future projects.”
CBS CEO George Cheeks also said, “Together with our partnership with Warner Bros. and The CW, we will create new content for audiences around the world, and this new ownership structure allows us to work with Nexstar and Warner Bros. Discovery on the next chapter of The CW, while capitalizing redeployed to Paramount’s other content platforms.”
Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but Nexstar is expected to assume all of CW’s debt and make the acquisition on a “no upfront fee” basis.
The CW has launched ‘Supernatural,’ ‘The Flash,’ ‘Arrow,’ ‘Riverdale,’ and many other popular series, but has been unprofitable for more than a decade since its inception, with most of its revenue coming from streaming and international sales, but with the two parent companies pushing their own streaming media, HBO Max and Paramount+, the CW’s revenue picture has been further damaged.
Warner Bros. found that the company had been looking for cost-cutting measures after the high-profile merger, and the sale of CW would certainly help balance the books.
