Nexstar buying The CW?

[Nelson R. 560]

7 minutes ago, Newsjunkie24 said:

 

Forgot about HLN. I wonder about American Heroes Channel and TruTV as well.

They might have to find another channel for March Madness

[Rusty Muck 4159]

On 6/5/2022 at 3:32 PM, CLETVFan said:

Does this mean Nexstar won't be buying The CW?  Plus, switching the network to streaming only would hurt the affiliates, unless MyNetwork TV could fill some slots.

This looks more and more like Paramount and Warner Bros. jointly shutting down the CW and selling the remains to Nexstar (satellite uplinks, whatever remains of an affiliate base).

[newsteam13 365]

On 6/8/2022 at 10:56 AM, Myron Falwell said:

This looks more and more like Paramount and Warner Bros. jointly shutting down the CW and selling the remains to Nexstar (satellite uplinks, whatever remains of an affiliate base).

 

That would mean that Nexstar-owned CW affiliates (even ones that used to be owned by Tribune) will become independents once again. That includes KWGN Denver, WPIX New York, KTLA Los Angeles, KPLR St. Louis, KDAF Dallas/Ft. Worth and KIAH Houston.

[Nelson R. 560]

On 6/8/2022 at 12:56 PM, Myron Falwell said:

This looks more and more like Paramount and Warner Bros. jointly shutting down the CW and selling the remains to Nexstar (satellite uplinks, whatever remains of an affiliate base).

 

7 hours ago, newsteam13 said:

 

That would mean that Nexstar-owned CW affiliates (even ones that used to be owned by Tribune) will become independents once again. That includes KWGN Denver, WPIX New York, KTLA Los Angeles, KPLR St. Louis, KDAF Dallas/Ft. Worth and KIAH Houston.

I could be way off but the existing CW shows left could go to streaming and the CW as we know it might not necessarily shut down completely but could turn into something completely different. That lines up with this rumor I saw on Twitter. 

 

[ColtFromGulfcoast 695]

1 hour ago, Nelson R. said:

 

I could be way off but the existing CW shows left could go to streaming and the CW as we know it might not necessarily shut down completely but could turn into something completely different. That lines up with this rumor I saw on Twitter. 

 

See, the problem I have with believing this is, Warner doesn't produce or own distribution rights for every single CW show. What about the ones that originate from CBS, as well as any future CBS owned pilots in the pipelines? Those wouldn't go to Paramount? I'm hesitant to believe that this is the plan but then again, this has been speculation for months and we've never heard any official announcement. Besides, Warner would have been out of owning broadcast networks a long time ago had CBS not agreed to merge UPN with the WB. CBS at least owned some of UPNs stations. Most of the WB shows worth picking up would have likely jumped to UPN or TNT.  Paramount could easily run the CW (which may or  may not be renamed) by itself. 

 

Honestly, based on all of the shutdowns and spinoffs that WBD has done (paring down content for TBS, TNT, selling off TMZ, Telepictures gradually putting out smaller output in general, among other things), I think it's only Warner that wants out of CW and not Paramount. Heck, by now, I'm expecting the announcement that Fox is buying the rest of Telepictures. But that's for another thread. 

Edited June 10, 2022 by ColtFromGulfcoast

[mre29 1339]

1 hour ago, ColtFromGulfcoast said:

See, the problem I have with believing this is, Warner doesn't produce or own distribution rights for every single CW show. What about the ones that originate from CBS, as well as any future CBS owned pilots in the pipelines? Those wouldn't go to Paramount?

 

I would think they would go to P+, while the WB Discovery-owned shows would go to HBO Max.

 

As for "The CW" as a name/branding, it'd probably be best to retire it and require the new owner to come up with their own name.

 

[ABC 7 Denver 1552]

53 minutes ago, ColtFromGulfcoast said:

See, the problem I have with believing this is, Warner doesn't produce or own distribution rights for every single CW show. What about the ones that originate from CBS, as well as any future CBS owned pilots in the pipelines? Those wouldn't go to Paramount? I'm hesitant to believe that this is the plan but then again, this has been speculation for months and we've never heard any official announcement. Besides, Warner would have been out of owning broadcast networks a long time ago had CBS not agreed to merge UPN with the WB. CBS at least owned some of UPNs stations. Most of the WB shows worth picking up would have likely jumped to UPN or TNT.  Paramount could easily run the CW (which may or  may not be renamed) by itself. 

 

Honestly, based on all of the shutdowns and spinoffs that WBD has done (paring down content for TBS, TNT, selling off TMZ, Telepictures gradually putting out smaller output in general, among other things), I think it's only Warner that wants out of CW and not Paramount. Heck, by now, I'm expecting the announcement that Fox is buying the rest of Telepictures. But that's for another thread. 

 

I think we're basically in a wait-and-see at the moment. David Zaslav and his team are doing an assessment of their assets. So it's going to be a slow roll for now. We know that Paramount is interested in selling their position in the CW because Paramount itself may be looking for new owners. Sale of the CW, for Paramount, helps their books look better, as does basically shuttering the London bureau. Also, having a long-term production contract with whomever buys the network looks good for Paramount's sale. However, because the CW is owned 50/50 by Paramount and DiscoveryWarner, there's effectively a 2-party consent rule for whomever buys out one or both owners.

 

My two cents is that I think David would be in a good position to buy out Paramount and sell a minority stake to Nexstar. I think the DiscoveryWarner catalogue is so big with mixed programming opportunities, that there's enough to flush out a whole first-run network and partner with Nexstar to develop network news programming on the CW, helping Nexstar find their footing with NewsNation and stabilizing CNN. Both cable networks are in desperate need of help and this could give them that opportunity by relying on each other.

[mre29 1339]

28 minutes ago, ABC 7 Denver said:

We know that Paramount is interested in selling their position in the CW because Paramount itself may be looking for new owners.

 

This is news to me. I would think National Amusements would be more interested in selling off its movie theaters.

 

[The Frog 392]

Sook is confident that they'll own a broadcast network.

[ABC 7 Denver 1552]

55 minutes ago, mre29 said:

 

This is news to me. I would think National Amusements would be more interested in selling off its movie theaters.

 

 

Paramount CEO Bob Bakish Maybe Just Hinted That Paramount Is for Sale

 

7 minutes ago, The Frog said:

Sook is confident that they'll own a broadcast network.

 

Sook can't even manage NewsNation or his own affiliates competently.

Edited June 10, 2022 by ABC 7 Denver

[ColtFromGulfcoast 695]

1 hour ago, ABC 7 Denver said:

 

I think we're basically in a wait-and-see at the moment. David Zaslav and his team are doing an assessment of their assets. So it's going to be a slow roll for now. We know that Paramount is interested in selling their position in the CW because Paramount itself may be looking for new owners. Sale of the CW, for Paramount, helps their books look better, as does basically shuttering the London bureau. Also, having a long-term production contract with whomever buys the network looks good for Paramount's sale. However, because the CW is owned 50/50 by Paramount and DiscoveryWarner, there's effectively a 2-party consent rule for whomever buys out one or both owners.

 

My two cents is that I think David would be in a good position to buy out Paramount and sell a minority stake to Nexstar. I think the DiscoveryWarner catalogue is so big with mixed programming opportunities, that there's enough to flush out a whole first-run network and partner with Nexstar to develop network news programming on the CW, helping Nexstar find their footing with NewsNation and stabilizing CNN. Both cable networks are in desperate need of help and this could give them that opportunity by relying on each other.

Personally, I think it'd be the other way around. Paramount would and should keep the CW and just buy out WBD. Clearly, they don't want to be in the broadcast business. 

[mre29 1339]

1 hour ago, ColtFromGulfcoast said:

Personally, I think it'd be the other way around. Paramount would and should keep the CW and just buy out WBD. Clearly, they don't want to be in the broadcast business. 

 

Whereas Paramount isn't leaving anytime soon.

 

[lugnuts6 89]

My view would be Nexstar gets 51%  Paramount Global can buy WBD's 24.5% of the minority stake remaining...

[NowBergen 485]

3 hours ago, The Frog said:

Sook is confident that they'll own a broadcast network.

His timeline is 10 years according to the article.  Short term his focus is on owning local stations.  The reality is, unless someone is part of any negotiations, no one knows what will happen to the CW.  Until then its speculation coming from cookie crumb tidbits like that Sook article.

[ABC 7 Denver 1552]

7 hours ago, NowBergen said:

His timeline is 10 years according to the article.  Short term his focus is on owning local stations.  The reality is, unless someone is part of any negotiations, no one knows what will happen to the CW.  Until then its speculation coming from cookie crumb tidbits like that Sook article.

 

You can see how well that's going with all the money they're dumping into NewsNation.

[Kenneth Kissel 280]

1 hour ago, ABC 7 Denver said:

 

You can see how well that's going with all the money they're dumping into NewsNation.

With all of the money  Nexstar is dumping into NewsNation, they could have made it a broadcast entity where it was OTA on all of their owned stations instead of replacing WGN America and making it Cable Only. At least Scripps (Newsy) and Sinclair (The National Desk) can prove putting National News programming OTA does work and can bring in viewers. But Nexstar has to be greedy. 

[DirtyHarry 718]

Watching [NEWSNATION] for the first time ever tonight. Dan Abrams and Ashleigh Banfield.

 

Banfield does a good job giving it a professional feel. It's watchable.

[The Frog 392]

Potentially related.

 

Quote

“But look, there are plenty of assets inside of Warner Bros. Discovery that could be of interest to us. And there potentially could be a tax-efficient way to move some of those assets around in exchange for our stake in the Food Network. It’s just that I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon because they’ve got more than they can say grace over right now,” Carter said.

 

[BluesNews 183]

On 6/11/2022 at 2:24 AM, Kenneth Kissel said:

With all of the money  Nexstar is dumping into NewsNation, they could have made it a broadcast entity where it was OTA on all of their owned stations instead of replacing WGN America and making it Cable Only. At least Scripps (Newsy) and Sinclair (The National Desk) can prove putting National News programming OTA does work and can bring in viewers. But Nexstar has to be greedy. 

What I don't understand is, with people cutting the cord on cable, why put all of your chips into the cable basket? Doesn't that make about as much sense as selling ski parkas in Florida?

[Kenneth Kissel 280]

3 hours ago, ActionTV27 said:

What I don't understand is, with people cutting the cord on cable, why put all of your chips into the cable basket? Doesn't that make about as much sense as selling ski parkas in Florida?

Exactly, If Nexstar was smart (I don't think Perry Sook is BTW). They would do 2 things after buying The CW. 

 

1. Move all of NewsNation's entertainment programs to The CW and Turn The CW into a rebirth of WGN America. 

 

2. Make NewsNation a full time NEWS Network on subchannels carried by its own Stations/ CW Affiliate subchannel Stations. 

 

If Nexstar does this then you could have both the entertainment aspect of The CW and your Full time news network with NewsNation (and NN would get much better ratings because it would be on a broadcast subchannel). 

 

[ABC 7 Denver 1552]

18 minutes ago, Kenneth Kissel said:

Exactly, If Nexstar was smart (I don't think Perry Sook is BTW). They would do 2 things after buying The CW. 

 

1. Move all of NewsNation's entertainment programs to The CW and Turn The CW into a rebirth of WGN America. 

 

2. Make NewsNation a full time NEWS Network on subchannels carried by its own Stations/ CW Affiliate subchannel Stations. 

 

If Nexstar does this then you could have both the entertainment aspect of The CW and your Full time news network with NewsNation (and NN would get much better ratings because it would be on a broadcast subchannel). 

 

 

I see Perry keeping whatever programs are contractually obligated by DWB and Paramount as part of the sale (for however many years per sale contract) and the rest being local news and NewsNation programming, eventually converting the network in-whole to NewsNation Local and the cable-channel into NN+. Once again, Perry is not a smart man.

[GoldenShine9 1509]

On 6/10/2022 at 5:09 PM, NowBergen said:

His timeline is 10 years according to the article.  Short term his focus is on owning local stations.  The reality is, unless someone is part of any negotiations, no one knows what will happen to the CW.  Until then its speculation coming from cookie crumb tidbits like that Sook article.

 

They are also capped out of buying more stations unless they sell some they have now (in big markets), shell off and get FCC wrath, or hope the cap is eliminated.

[carolinanews4 316]

2 hours ago, Kenneth Kissel said:

1. Move all of NewsNation's entertainment programs to The CW and Turn The CW into a rebirth of WGN America. 

 

2. Make NewsNation a full time NEWS Network on subchannels carried by its own Stations/ CW Affiliate subchannel Stations. 

 

If Nexstar does this then you could have both the entertainment aspect of The CW and your Full time news network with NewsNation (and NN would get much better ratings because it would be on a broadcast subchannel). 

 

 

You can't just move cable programming onto a broadcast channel. The contract to air BlueBloods, for example, is for a cable channel. Could you renegotiate? Sure. But it isn't as simple - or as cheap - as just moving them from NewsNation to the CW.

Next, while I appreciate the nostalgia for the WGN America brand, changing the name of The CW to WGN America is not a wise idea. What do affiliates call themselves? "WGN America 7",  "Charlotte's WGN America WCCB", you get the idea. There's also a cost associated with rebranding that each affiliate would bear. 

I also don't think you can assume NewsNation would "get much better ratings" being on a broadcast subchannel. Most subchannels aren't heavily viewed. Plus given that one of the few channel's to get substantial viewership is Nexstar's Antenna TV - I highly doubt they would bump that off the dot2 position. 

[Kenneth Kissel 280]

1 hour ago, carolinanews4 said:

 

You can't just move cable programming onto a broadcast channel. The contract to air BlueBloods, for example, is for a cable channel. Could you renegotiate? Sure. But it isn't as simple - or as cheap - as just moving them from NewsNation to the CW.

Next, while I appreciate the nostalgia for the WGN America brand, changing the name of The CW to WGN America is not a wise idea. What do affiliates call themselves? "WGN America 7",  "Charlotte's WGN America WCCB", you get the idea. There's also a cost associated with rebranding that each affiliate would bear. 

I also don't think you can assume NewsNation would "get much better ratings" being on a broadcast subchannel. Most subchannels aren't heavily viewed. Plus given that one of the few channel's to get substantial viewership is Nexstar's Antenna TV - I highly doubt they would bump that off the dot2 position. 

1. Renegotiation is a necessity (no matter what the cost) if Nexstar actually cares about NewsNation being a 24/7 news channel . Maybe make a deal to move Blue Bloods and other shows on NewsNation to The CW/Antenna TV or whatever the "New" CW name will be. This actually should have been done before NewsNation launched BTW.

 

2. I never suggested to rename The CW to WGN America (I agree on the nightmare it would cause the affiliates if that happened) . Actually, I suggested that Nexstar use the plan Tribune had with WGN America for The CW.  There will have to be a new name regardless for The CW if Nexstar owns it fully without Warner or Paramount.

 

3. NewsNation would do a lot better as a Broadcast News Channel like Newsy, The National Desk, or NewsNet then a Cable Channel. You could keep NewsNation as a cable channel as well and you will be able to double dip and get more ratings that way.

 

This proposal wouldn't affect Antenna TV in any way.

 

[Nelson R. 560]

9 minutes ago, Kenneth Kissel said:

 There will have to be a new name regardless for The CW if Nexstar owns it fully without Warner or Paramount 

Bring back WB if it’s Warner or UPN if it’s Paramount.

Edited June 17, 2022 by Nelson R.