Nexstar to Acquire Majority Stake in The CW

Nexstar Media Group has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a 75 percent ownership interest in The CW Network, with Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global each retaining a 12.5 percent stake.

Mark Pedowitz will continue to serve as The CW’s chairman and CEO, with responsibility for day-to-day operations.

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter.

Perry Sook, Nexstar’s chairman and CEO, commented, “Our acquisition of The CW is strategically and operationally compelling, as it will enable us to leverage our operational experience to improve the Network’s performance through our management of this powerful national platform. We plan to apply the same strict financial standards to operating The CW as we apply to our other businesses.”

“The CW has delivered signature programming to its broadcast and digital audiences for 16 years,” said George Cheeks, president and CEO of CBS. “Together, with our partners at Warner Bros. and The CW, we have created a welcome home for content that has resonated with viewers on the network and on platforms around the world. This new ownership structure enables us to partner with Nexstar and Warner Bros. Discovery on the next chapter of The CW while re-deploying capital to other content platforms at Paramount.”

Channing Dungey, chairman of Warner Bros. Television Group, commented, “For 16 seasons, The CW has been home to some of the most groundbreaking and generation-defining programming in television, from the iconic DC Super Heroes of Greg Berlanti’s Arrowverse series to The Vampire Diaries, and everything in between, including the All American franchise, the original Gossip Girl, Kung Fu, Nikita, Riverdale, Smallville and many, many more. The network was also the home of Supernatural, the longest-running live-action fantasy series in U.S. TV history, for 14 of its 15 seasons. We’re excited that the Supernatural story will continue with The Winchesters premiering this fall. We look forward to continuing to collaborate on our shared series and future projects to come under Nexstar’s leadership. We are forever grateful to our partners at The CW, especially Mark Pedowitz, who has been a great friend to the studio for so many years and to me personally. We know that the network will continue to thrive under his leadership.”