Nexstar buying The CW?

[Nelson R. 462]

29 minutes ago, tylerSC said:

So in Charlotte would Nexstar move CW to WMYT-55.1 and let WCCB pick up MyTV?

It could happen. WAXN could also be a possibility for the MyNet affiliation if the CW moved to WMYT but I think WCCB would be more likely to put it back in primetime, since WAXN has Family Feud in primetime. Of course WCCB could opt to expand its news into primetime. 

Edited May 16, 2022 by Nelson R.

[froyo49 199]

I don’t even understand the point of MyNet anymore. Two stale NBC shows a night that any station can get from the syndication market? If it were an all day schedule, like ion, then it would make more sense to me. 

 

As for the CW, I don’t know anybody who watches their shows on the actual channel. My friends in their target audience just watch them on Netflix (meaning their previous Netflix funnel strategy worked). They have to adjust their target audience to survive. It’ll be interesting to see how Nexstar would attempt doing that. 

[Nelson R. 462]

10 minutes ago, froyo49 said:

Two stale NBC shows a night

Yeah it is basically NBC+. And to your point about syndication, the Detroit station that gave up the MyNet affiliation decided to put two of the MyNet shows that are also in syndication in primetime so the casual viewer probably didn’t even know the difference.

Edited May 16, 2022 by Nelson R.

[CLETVFan 362]

What about Cleveland and what would happen with WJW (currently with Fox) and WUAB (the current CW affiliate)?

[Nelson R. 462]

13 hours ago, CLETVFan said:

What about Cleveland and what would happen with WJW (currently with Fox) and WUAB (the current CW affiliate)?

CW would probably go to 8.2. Not sure WJW would give up the NFL on Fox. Just like in Greensboro with WGHP.

Edited May 17, 2022 by Nelson R.

[IndyNewsOpens 82]

re: the WISH-TV/WTTV situation.

 

That will be an absolute shitshow if that happens. DuJuan McCoy is still battling it out with DirecTV and Dish three years later, but I could also see CBS being a factor in forcing DirecTV/Dish to negotiate to his terms. WISH-TV has become very odd in the last few years, being a hybrid of a minority-focused station and a general news station. It also still has the news partnership with WIBC, a right-wing talk station, on the other hand.

[ABC 7 Denver 1462]

I see CBS shedding all of their CW owned stations in the process of this sale.

[mre29 1088]

On 5/16/2022 at 7:05 PM, froyo49 said:

I don’t even understand the point of MyNet anymore. Two stale NBC shows a night that any station can get from the syndication market? If it were an all day schedule, like ion, then it would make more sense to me.

 

The original point was to provide an option for the WB and UPN affiliates who weren't going to be CW affiliates and who were deathly afraid of becoming independent again. Never mind that their programming was an untested experiment -- 65-episode serials running nightly for 13 weeks -- that was eventually abandoned. Never mind that viewers were increasingly moving away from broadcast television even back then in 2006. Stations needed to make money, and apparently they were utterly convinced they couldn't do that as independents.

 

On 5/16/2022 at 7:05 PM, froyo49 said:

As for the CW, I don’t know anybody who watches their shows on the actual channel. My friends in their target audience just watch them on Netflix (meaning their previous Netflix funnel strategy worked). They have to adjust their target audience to survive. It’ll be interesting to see how Nexstar would attempt doing that. 

 

Actually, I imagine a lot of the CW's viewers who keep up with the shows watch them on the network's streaming app(s). As for their presence on Netflix...well, the shows are slowly moving to HBO Max and Paramount+. You may want to read this article about the CW's recent show cancellations.

 

 

1 hour ago, ABC 7 Denver said:

I see CBS shedding all of their CW owned stations in the process of this sale.

 

Well, maybe just KSTW, WTOG, and WUPA -- the stations that aren't part of duopolies.

 

[ABC 7 Denver 1462]

3 hours ago, mre29 said:

 

The original point was to provide an option for the WB and UPN affiliates who weren't going to be CW affiliates and who were deathly afraid of becoming independent again. Never mind that their programming was an untested experiment -- 65-episode serials running nightly for 13 weeks -- that was eventually abandoned. Never mind that viewers were increasingly moving away from broadcast television even back then in 2006. Stations needed to make money, and apparently they were utterly convinced they couldn't do that as independents.

 

 

Actually, I imagine a lot of the CW's viewers who keep up with the shows watch them on the network's streaming app(s). As for their presence on Netflix...well, the shows are slowly moving to HBO Max and Paramount+. You may want to read this article about the CW's recent show cancellations.

 

 

 

Well, maybe just KSTW, WTOG, and WUPA -- the stations that aren't part of duopolies.

 

 

As I was told by a former CBS GM, Doups aren't core to their mission.

[Kenneth Kissel 279]

59 minutes ago, ABC 7 Denver said:

 

As I was told by a former CBS GM, Doups aren't core to their mission.

If that is true, I could see  KDKA-TV/WPCW along with the solo CW O&Os (KSTW, WTOG [They could sell WTTA to FOX as a MYNetwork O&O] , and WUPA) included in the sale of the CW to Nexstar.  Pittsburgh is one of the biggest markets where Nexstar doesn't own a station. They would have sister stations all around the area as well (WTRF, WKBN, WYTV, WTAJ, and WJET/WFXP).

 

 

Edited May 18, 2022 by Kenneth Kissel

[tjt24 279]

7 hours ago, Kenneth Kissel said:

If that is true, I could see  KDKA-TV/WPCW along with the solo CW O&Os (KSTW, WTOG [They could sell WTTA to FOX as a MYNetwork O&O] , and WUPA) included in the sale of the CW to Nexstar.  Pittsburgh is one of the biggest markets where Nexstar doesn't own a station. They would have sister stations all around the area as well (WTRF, WKBN, WYTV, WTAJ, and WJET/WFXP).

CBS is not giving up KDKA. Ever. Under any circumstances. I can never see that happening. That is one of their crown jewel stations and they value it. They aren't going to sell it. 

 

Now WPCW on the other hand? That is possibly a different story. If duops aren't CBS' thing and should they want to unload the CW O&Os (which would be a very tricky process), then it's not out of the realm of possibility that they sell WPCW to Nexstar. I don't think or know if it's all that likely, but the possibilty is there. 

 

And to your point, @Kenneth Kissel, Nexstar does own a bunch of stations surrounding the Pittsburgh market, so them having a presence here would only make sense. 

[nycnewsjunkie 880]

16 minutes ago, tjt24 said:

CBS is not giving up KDKA. Ever. Under any circumstances. I can never see that happening. That is one of their crown jewel stations and they value it. They aren't going to sell it. 

 

Now WPCW on the other hand? That is possibly a different story. If duops aren't CBS' thing and should they want to unload the CW O&Os (which would be a very tricky process), then it's not out of the realm of possibility that they sell WPCW to Nexstar. I don't think or know if it's all that likely, but the possibilty is there. 

 

And to your point, @Kenneth Kissel, Nexstar does own a bunch of stations surrounding the Pittsburgh market, so them having a presence here would only make sense. 

CBS has every reason not to sell KDKA. Even though their stations are obviously not always their #1 priority, KDKA’s position in an AFC market means strong ratings and revenue that they’d be foolish to get rid of. They’re also arguably the best station of the bunch, so even if CBS decides to sell some stations, I doubt KDKA is going anywhere.

[Kenneth Kissel 279]

25 minutes ago, tjt24 said:

CBS is not giving up KDKA. Ever. Under any circumstances. I can never see that happening. That is one of their crown jewel stations and they value it. They aren't going to sell it. 

 

Now WPCW on the other hand? That is possibly a different story. If duops aren't CBS' thing and should they want to unload the CW O&Os (which would be a very tricky process), then it's not out of the realm of possibility that they sell WPCW to Nexstar. I don't think or know if it's all that likely, but the possibilty is there. 

 

And to your point, @Kenneth Kissel, Nexstar does own a bunch of stations surrounding the Pittsburgh market, so them having a presence here would only make sense. 

I agree that KDKA is a crown jewel station for CBS and they wouldn't want to give it up. 

 

However, it would be a tough sell to get rid of WPCW without KDKA attached to it. Unless Nexstar wants to pair WPCW with either WPNT or WPGH from Sinclair. 

Edited May 18, 2022 by Kenneth Kissel

[tjt24 279]

1 hour ago, nycnewsjunkie said:

CBS has every reason not to sell KDKA. Even though their stations are obviously not always their #1 priority, KDKA’s position in an AFC market means strong ratings and revenue that they’d be foolish to get rid of. They’re also arguably the best station of the bunch, so even if CBS decides to sell some stations, I doubt KDKA is going anywhere.

Yes exactly. Plus in a market with only 3 news departments, their ratings are definitely better than some of their sister stations in bigger markets with more news departments, so that also has to play a factor in CBS keeping KDKA. 

1 hour ago, Kenneth Kissel said:

I agree that KDKA is a crown jewel station for CBS and they wouldn't want to give it up. 

 

However, it would be a tough sell to get rid of WPCW without KDKA attached to it. Unless Nexstar wants to pair WPCW with either WPNT or WPGH from Sinclair. 

It might not be necessarily. If Nexstar does what WPXI does with WPGH and keeps KDKA's newscasts on WPCW, then it wouldn't really be that hard to sell the station. 

 

If it can happen across the state in Philly (WPVI/WPHL), then why can't it happen in Pittsburgh? 

[tyrannical bastard 2931]

MNTV is basically a turnkey brand for an independent station, that just happens to have a primetime schedule.   Stations like these rarely exist on their own anymore, and are basically a duopoly partner with another broadcaster in a market to extend newscasts and to air syndicated programming geared towards a different audience or day part from the primary station.   Many places have even cast aside the primetime repeats for something more useful like a primetime newscast (like what WXIA does with WATL).

 

Unless there is some serious decay in the other "Big 4" networks, I don't see Nexstar (or any other owner) casting aside a major affiliation any time soon for the CW, (that is, if this rumored deal happens)...

 

[Nelson R. 462]

2 minutes ago, tyrannical bastard said:

 

MNTV is basically a turnkey brand for an independent station, that just happens to have a primetime schedule. 

 

That is actually delayed 3 hours for Modern Family and Big Bang Theory reruns here on WMYT. 

[Kenneth Kissel 279]

43 minutes ago, tyrannical bastard said:

MNTV is basically a turnkey brand for an independent station, that just happens to have a primetime schedule.   Stations like these rarely exist on their own anymore, and are basically a duopoly partner with another broadcaster in a market to extend newscasts and to air syndicated programming geared towards a different audience or day part from the primary station.   Many places have even cast aside the primetime repeats for something more useful like a primetime newscast (like what WXIA does with WATL).

 

Unless there is some serious decay in the other "Big 4" networks, I don't see Nexstar (or any other owner) casting aside a major affiliation any time soon for the CW, (that is, if this rumored deal happens)...

 

But I could see some if the MNTV stations that Nexstar owns try to switch to the CW and Nexstar acquiring the CBS Owned CW O&Os in addition to selling stations that aren't needed to make that happen. It is the same thing Chris-Craft and Paramount did in the 90s with UPN.

Edited May 18, 2022 by Kenneth Kissel

[Nelson R. 462]

1 hour ago, Kenneth Kissel said:

1 hour ago, tyrannical bastard said:

But I could see some if the MNTV stations that Nexstar owns try to switch to the CW

Like WMYT

[Kenneth Kissel 279]

41 minutes ago, Nelson R. said:

Like WMYT

The Problem with WMYT is that Bahakel has a stand alone news department for Flagship station WCCB (which is rare for a CW affiliate [Only other 2 on the east coast are WISH and WPIX]). Bahakel would sue Nexstar if they tried to take the CW away from them. It would be similar to WHDH/Sunbeam and NBC.  Nexstar may have to wait for Bahakel's CW contract to run out.

 

[Gavin M. 95]

On 5/16/2022 at 12:12 PM, Nelson R. said:

With WLFL I guess they would get the MyNet from WRDC and CW would go to WNCN 11.2. But a MyNet/independent duopoly would not really be ideal.

WLFL probably gonna try to get FOX back of Sinclair leave the market in hoping for the latter good riddance. 

[Kenneth Kissel 279]

12 minutes ago, Gavin M. said:

WLFL probably gonna try to get FOX back of Sinclair leave the market in hoping for the latter good riddance. 

WLFL isn't getting FOX back. WRAZ is too strong of a FOX affiliate for that to take place.  I couldn't see WTVD's Newscasts on a FOX Affiliate. It makes more sense for WLFL to be sold to Nexstar. 

[Nelson R. 462]

5 hours ago, Kenneth Kissel said:

Bahakel would sue Nexstar if they tried to take the CW away from them.

Fair enough, if they want the affiliation bad enough. They have already lost ABC and Fox in the past so I could see them fighting to keep CW as long as they can. 

[Gavin M. 95]

13 hours ago, Kenneth Kissel said:

WLFL isn't getting FOX back. WRAZ is too strong of a FOX affiliate for that to take place.  I couldn't see WTVD's Newscasts on a FOX Affiliate. It makes more sense for WLFL to be sold to Nexstar. 

That could be true what about WRDC? I guess Univision could but that up. And yes I think Rupert Murdoch and is jealous of WRAL that’s why they may want to keep FOX50 WRAZ.

Edited May 19, 2022 by Gavin M.

[Adam MadMan 172]

The CW just announced its fall schedule. Scripted originals have been reduced to four three and a half nights (import Professionals follows a Supernatural spin-off on Tuesday). The low-rated Friday and Saturday slots are being handed to cheap unscripted fare, while Sunday is all imports.

 

In other CW news, Mark Pedowitz has shown interest in original sitcoms returning to the network

[The Frog 338]

24 minutes ago, Adam MadMan said:

In other CW news, Mark Pedowitz has shown interest in original sitcoms returning to the network

Assuming he's still there. What are the chances of Nexstar putting one of their execs at the helm?