Brad Schwartz, who joined
The CW as its entertainment president six months ago, hasn’t won over many diehard fans of the network after he canceled nearly all of its beloved scripted shows as part of a push by its new ownership, station group Nexstar, to make it profitable by 2025.
But what Schwartz has done, in a relatively short time, has been to position The CW in a place where the network can age up its audience, reduce overhead and secure the key rights needed to make it profitable for the first time
ever.
To be clear, The CW was never designed to make money as a network. It was launched as a joint venture between CBS Studios and Warner Bros. TV in a bid to generate revenue for both studios through selling its programs internationally and to streamers. And with shows like
The Flash, Riverdale, Nancy Drew and
Dynasty, The CW delivered millions in profits to its ownership while creating a loyal audience of adults 18-34.