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The CW reclaims Sunday nights


The Frog

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Nine years after the CW network reduced the nights it programs, returning Sunday to its affiliates, the network is taking it back. Starting next fall, the CW’s schedule again will span six nights a week, Sunday-Friday (8 PM – 10 PM) for 12 hours of programming. The network’s affiliate stations are on board with the expansion — the CW has secured the same clearances on all six nights via an agreement with its key affiliate partners, including the Sinclair Broadcast Group, Tribune Broadcasting, CBS Television Stations, and Nexstar Media Group.

 

Pedowitz said that reclaiming Sunday night for the CW had been an on-and-off conversation for the seven years he has been at the network. Finally, in discussing the subject with the CW owners, CBS and Warner Bros., last July, the sides concluded that “this might be the right time to do it,” Pedwoitz said.

 

The decision to proceed with the CW expansion was made this past December, and at the beginning of January, Chris Brooks, The CW’s EVP Network Distribution, and Ann Miyagi, EVP, Business Affairs, started the effort of reaching out to the affiliates to secure clearances across the country. Such a proposition is not always an easy sell as the stations may not be willing to forgo 16 minutes an hour of ad inventory in exchange for 3.5 minutes an hour they get from the network. In this case, the response was quick and positive, with clearances wrapped up within 5-6 weeks.

 

https://deadline.com/2018/02/the-cw-reclaims-sunday-expand-schedule-to-6-nights-fall-2018-1202288000/

 

How about that?

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I wonder why they are not taking the 7pm hour on Sundays as well.

 

The 7pm hour never did well for The WB to begin with; i'm curious if we'll see affiliates replicate their access hour programming on Sundays in order to maximize the new lineup.

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“As one of the largest CW affiliate groups, we are excited to see The CW Network reaffirm its commitment to broadcasting by expanding its schedule to Sunday night,” said Chris Ripley, President and CEO of Sinclair Broadcast Group

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I wonder if the FOX network will follow suit on this.

 

They effectively do already, if unofficially. On non-NFL weeks without the "OT" overrun it's a repeat-filled afterthought outside the occasional 7:30 p.m. Bob's Burgers.

 

Another note for the CW; in Louisville they got an upgrade to the main channel of what was WMYO, with that station taking the former WBKI call letters and bumping MyNet to .3 hell (Dish and DirecTV weren't carrying the CW schedule under the former post-spectrum arrangement because it was a subchannel, and literally the only people mad about the .3 move are court show fans). At this point, even though Fox insists MyNet goes to 2021, when do they cut bait?

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This may be possible but don't expect to see anything major on there unless CBS has no other place to put a sporting event. They could definitely get the second-tier stuff though.

 

Could they air MLS games?

 

When their contract with Fox expires, yes. I suppose they could air NHL games too when the contract expires but that's the only two I'll give them.

 

You all are forgetting one thing... this isn't 1994 anymore, it's 2018.

 

We live in a world where they are streaming sporting events on Amazon and YouTube. We live in a world where people are cutting the cords for streaming services left and right. Lest you also forget CBS is part-owner in The CW with Time Warner. Between CBS Sports and Turner Sports along with the streaming services, The CW will never air sports, period. End of discussion. Hell, CBS would air a live sporting event on CBS All Access before they ever consider moving a sporting event to The CW.

 

Why not you ask? That's not their demo. The CW, regardless of the current direction they are in with all the superhero shows and the dark dramas and Whose Line is it Anyway? is still catered to college-age millennials both male and female. Unless you're a college-age male who religiously watches ESPN all day, everyday (and I know a few) there are very few and far between that would tune in to The CW for a sporting event.

 

The CW is improving, and they may soon be as successful as The WB was, but they will never be a Big-4 network. The only reason FOX is a Big-4 network is because they got ballsy in a time where the internet was in its infancy and about 75-80% of Americans had basic cable television but didn't own a home computer. They outbid CBS for NFC rights in the 11th hour which caught everyone by surprise, and with the backing of Rupert Murdoch's money they were able to poach away some prime talent from other networks to build their NFL on FOX franchise.

 

You have to also consider if The CW were to ever be able to air sporting events, they would need to build a sports department from scratch and hire a bunch of personnel and spend millions building out a sports division. The CW doesn't have that kind of backing or money, and their parents already with sports divisions of their own will never let that happen.

 

EDIT: The CW HAS aired sports before in the form of WWE wrestling. It was a failure.

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It wasn't a failure. They dumped it because Dawn Ostroff didn't like wrestling.

 

The CW is in the sports business... eSports to be exact.

 

Esports and The CW would go very well together in terms of demos. The H1Z1 thing should not be a one-off for them. The problem is that tournaments tend to need earlier Sunday starts in order to be at good times for international audiences. Overwatch League doesn't even do regular Sunday broadcasts. NA LCS (League of Legends) is similar. Additionally, live programming means that it would have to be live each or most weeks, which would mean no effective prime time for West Coast affiliates, or something way too late out east (a constant problem for people who watch Super Smash Bros. on the East Coast are the late endings of tournaments out west).

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You all are forgetting one thing... this isn't 1994 anymore, it's 2018.

 

We live in a world where they are streaming sporting events on Amazon and YouTube. We live in a world where people are cutting the cords for streaming services left and right. Lest you also forget CBS is part-owner in The CW with Time Warner. Between CBS Sports and Turner Sports along with the streaming services, The CW will never air sports, period. End of discussion. Hell, CBS would air a live sporting event on CBS All Access before they ever consider moving a sporting event to The CW.

 

Why not you ask? That's not their demo. The CW, regardless of the current direction they are in with all the superhero shows and the dark dramas and Whose Line is it Anyway? is still catered to college-age millennials both male and female. Unless you're a college-age male who religiously watches ESPN all day, everyday (and I know a few) there are very few and far between that would tune in to The CW for a sporting event.

 

The CW is improving, and they may soon be as successful as The WB was, but they will never be a Big-4 network. The only reason FOX is a Big-4 network is because they got ballsy in a time where the internet was in its infancy and about 75-80% of Americans had basic cable television but didn't own a home computer. They outbid CBS for NFC rights in the 11th hour which caught everyone by surprise, and with the backing of Rupert Murdoch's money they were able to poach away some prime talent from other networks to build their NFL on FOX franchise.

 

You have to also consider if The CW were to ever be able to air sporting events, they would need to build a sports department from scratch and hire a bunch of personnel and spend millions building out a sports division. The CW doesn't have that kind of backing or money, and their parents already with sports divisions of their own will never let that happen.

 

EDIT: The CW HAS aired sports before in the form of WWE wrestling. It was a failure.

You all are forgetting one thing... this isn't 1994 anymore, it's 2018.

 

We live in a world where they are streaming sporting events on Amazon and YouTube. We live in a world where people are cutting the cords for streaming services left and right. Lest you also forget CBS is part-owner in The CW with Time Warner. Between CBS Sports and Turner Sports along with the streaming services, The CW will never air sports, period. End of discussion. Hell, CBS would air a live sporting event on CBS All Access before they ever consider moving a sporting event to The CW.

 

Why not you ask? That's not their demo. The CW, regardless of the current direction they are in with all the superhero shows and the dark dramas and Whose Line is it Anyway? is still catered to college-age millennials both male and female. Unless you're a college-age male who religiously watches ESPN all day, everyday (and I know a few) there are very few and far between that would tune in to The CW for a sporting event.

 

The CW is improving, and they may soon be as successful as The WB was, but they will never be a Big-4 network. The only reason FOX is a Big-4 network is because they got ballsy in a time where the internet was in its infancy and about 75-80% of Americans had basic cable television but didn't own a home computer. They outbid CBS for NFC rights in the 11th hour which caught everyone by surprise, and with the backing of Rupert Murdoch's money they were able to poach away some prime talent from other networks to build their NFL on FOX franchise.

 

You have to also consider if The CW were to ever be able to air sporting events, they would need to build a sports department from scratch and hire a bunch of personnel and spend millions building out a sports division. The CW doesn't have that kind of backing or money, and their parents already with sports divisions of their own will never let that happen.

 

EDIT: The CW HAS aired sports before in the form of WWE wrestling. It was a failure.

 

 

They probably won't air sports, but CBS could air some college basketball in January and February on the CW.

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