“During 2025, we will reset affiliation agreements representing more than two-thirds of The CW’s subscriber base,” Biard said during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call (via Deadline). “Consistent with our prior guidance, we anticipate the impact of these resets on our advertising trajectory will enable the CW to achieve profitability during 2026.”
Following the end of Riverdale and the Arrowverse, The CW made some programming changes, pivoting away from teen drama and genre fare. Nexstar said back in 2022 that the network’s new direction would skew older, since that was the audience that actually watched the CW, according to its data. New scripted shows include co-productions with international TV networks, including light procedurals befitting USA in its heyday. (There’s some pretty fun shows on there, too.) But the network is also moving towards unscripted programming and sports, the latter of which was never part of the CW’s rotation. Nexstar has managed to license college football and basketball, NASCAR’s Xfinity Series, and WWE NXT; sports and “sports-adjacent” content will account for about 40% of the network’s total programming, according to Deadline.
Nexstar owns a 75% stake in the CW, while Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery (responsible for the “C”—as in CBS—and “W”—as in WB) still own 12.5% each. As a company overall, Nexstar Media Group reported record earnings in the fourth quarter. So although it might have missed the initial 2025 projection, things are moving in the right direction for the CW. As Baird said on the earnings call, “In 2025, we are seeing our new programming investments start to pay dividends.”
