Mark Pedowitz’s reign at The CW has come to an finish after eleven-plus years, as Nexstar Media Group formally takes over the netlet.
Pedowitz was named president of The CW in May 2011, succeeding Dawn Ostroff. He added the titles of CEO and Chairman in January 2020.
Dennis Miller, a TV executive-turned-venture capitalist who in recent times has served on Nexstar’s board of administrators, will take over as CW president efficient instantly.
Reacting to the switcheroo, prolific producer Greg Berlanti — who over time has shepherded a present or 20 for The CW — informed Deadline, ”I’m positively somewhat shocked, and I’m positively unhappy. But Mark and I’ve labored collectively for 20 years at ABC and [at The CW], and I’m positive we’ll proceed to search out different methods to work collectively.”
Pedowitz’s accomplishments at The CW embody however will not be restricted to the enlargement to Sunday after which Saturday programming; the rollout of summertime originals; and naturally the decade-ago launch of what would quickly blossom into the Arrowverse, a multi-series slate of crossover-happy superhero fare.
(Personal apart, Mark can be one of many very nicest and most real guys within the enterprise. I can not recall a time he didn’t make a degree to say whats up at an business occasion.)
Local-TV big Nexstar Media Group introduced in August that it will purchase a 75 p.c possession stake within the broadcast community. The CW’s present co-owners, Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global, will every retain a 12.5 p.c minority stake, permitting each corporations to proceed producing unique scripted content material for The CW.
At the time, it was indicated that Pedowitz would keep put in his management position. But it was additionally revealed by Nexstar president and CEO Tom Carter that the plan to make The CW worthwhile revolved round content material that appealed to an viewers older than the outlet had beforehand focused.
“The CW is currently the lowest-rated broadcast network, which we believe largely reflects the fact that its programming is targeted for an 18-to-34 audience demographic, while the average age of the CW broadcast viewer is 58 years,” Carter mentioned in August. “Over time, we’ll be taking a different approach to our CW programming strategy.” That strategy additionally entails including less expensive unscripted and “high-quality syndicated programming” to its lineup, which Carter famous was “a departure from the prior predominant focus on expensive, original scripted content.”
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