In a memo to staff Thursday, CW chief Mark Pedowitz confirmed that the network is on the block, adding that it is "too early to speculate what might happen."
The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news, says that local TV giant Nexstar is among the potential suitors. Nexstar, which owns 199 local TV stations as well as the cable channel NewsNation and The Hill, is one of the largest owners of The CW stations. It isn’t immediately clear whether ViacomCBS and WarnerMedia plan to sell the entire network, or retain minority stakes.
News of the possible sale arrives as the network — a joint venture between CBS and WarnerMedia — has never been profitable since its formation in 2006 when the two companies merged the former UPN and The WB Network. Much of the revenue that is generated from the younger-skewing network is generated from international and streaming sales for such scripted originals as The Flash and Dynasty.
The CW previously had a long-standing output deal with Netflix that helped series like Riverdale and All American reach broader audiences and, ultimately, grow on linear. That pact ended in 2019 as Warner Bros. TV and CBS Studios shifted library deals to their respective streamers, HBO Max and Paramount+. Also impacting the profit margins on originals is the fact that foreign sales have almost entirely ended as CBS Studios and Warners look to retain those rights for their respective streamers.
The end of the Netflix output deal and loss of revenue from foreign sales created a larger concern for the studios that previously generated revenue not from linear, but from Netflix and international sales.
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What a clusterfukk
Or HBO Max so Star girl and Superman can keep those budgets
Flash needed a boost in writing do it 