Nexstar Media Group has officially closed the deal to take 75% control of The CW network, according to Deadline. If you’re curious who owns the remaining 25%, Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global will each keep a 12.5% ownership stake.
After 11 years, CEO Mark Pedowitz will be stepping down. Deadline shared Pedowitz’s farewell message to the staff. “The CW has become a recognized leader on-screen and behind the scenes with our efforts to showcase and embrace the diverse world we inhabit,” he wrote. “We created an environment for people to express themselves without fear and created stability in an unstable business. We found ways to share our differences of opinion and arrive at a unified consensus.”
May the network’s journey continue to be one of unparalleled success and may all of you continue to Dare to Defy the naysayers. I know I will.
Pedowitz will now be working with his production/consulting company Pinestreet Entertainment.
Nexstar closes deal to acquire The CW
Nextar board member Dennis Miller will be named president of The CW as Pedowizt exits. Miller has been involved with TV Guide Network’s business operations, was a general partner at Spark Capital (they invested in Twitter, Tumblr, CNET, etc.), amongst other things.
The hope is that Nexstar will take the network in a completely different direction. This could mean that there are fewer campy, teenage angst shows, which I will certainly miss. That was one of my favorite things about the network.
But I am looking forward to seeing Nexstar’s vision. With that in mind, I can’t help but wonder if they’ll change the name of the network or if they’ll keep it the same. Any guesses as to what a potential new name could be?
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