Deadline: The CW To Shed Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount Content In 2023-24 Season; Former Owners “Not Precluded From Selling Us Programming” If It’s “A Deal We Like,” Says Nexstar CEO

Story from Deadline:

Nexstar CEO Perry Sook and execs of the nation’s biggest broadcaster said its imprimatur will be evident on The CW schedule for the 2023-2024 season with lower cost, broader appeal, and more unscripted fare and minimal content from former co-owners Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global.

There may some contractual holdovers. And going forward, “Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount are not precluded from selling us programming. It’s just going to have to be a financial deal that we like. And there may be a couple of shows that distinguish themselves this year that we want to hold over to next year,” Sook told investors on a call following third quarter earnings. Nexstar, the biggest owner of The CW affiliates, closed its purchase of the network on Sept. 30, the last day of the quarter.

Sook praised the network’s new entertainment chief Brad Schwartz as “a very gifted programming executive,” “a creative mind” and a “very creative dealmaker” with “a sharp eye for talent.” The former head of Pop TV, “on a much smaller budget that we have given him at The CW, was able to find and develop a show called Schitt’s Creek. We told him, ‘Your job is easy. Just go find a couple more of those and we’ll be in fine shape at The CW,’” he said, referring to the Emmy juggernaut.

“I like the direction we are headed” with The CW, Sook added.

The goal is to cut cost and ultimately turn a profit. CFO Lee Ann Gliha reiterated plans for the network to pull into the black by 2025. She said Nexstar anticipates The CW will generate just under $70 million of revenue in the current fourth quarter. And, “We are executing on our synergies and getting the right people in place,” she added, predicting incremental costs of a “low eight-figure amount” for restructuring charges in the quarter, apparently for severance. There have been dozens of layoffs at the network.