# 2023–24 CW affiliation realignment

On September 1, 2023, a series of network affiliation changes took place in nine television markets throughout the United States involving The CW Television Network. These changes were initiated after Nexstar Media Group, which owned multiple key affiliates in the network, acquired a 75 percent stake in the network on October 3, 2022.

## Background

Under Nexstar, The CW agreed to a three-year broadcast deal in January 2023 with LIV Golf, a professional golf tour financed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, marking the first-ever national sports broadcasting contract for both the network and the tour. On February 14, 2023, the network said their LIV Golf coverage would be available in 100 percent of media markets in the United States, but encountered numerous affiliates that declined carriage of the tour, including all owned by Paramount Global's CBS News and Stations subsidiary. Consequently, LIV coverage in those affected markets aired on Nexstar-owned stations or subchannels, or on other stations via secondary affiliation agreements.
As part of the sale, Paramount Global was granted the right to withdraw their eight affiliates from the network—in Atlanta, Detroit, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Sacramento, San Francisco, Seattle and the Tampa Bay area—which was exercised on May 5, 2023, effective September 1. In the Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Tampa Bay markets, Nexstar-owned MyNetworkTV stations (WPHL-TV, KRON-TV and WTTA, respectively) were announced as replacements for WPSG, KBCW and WTOG. Adell Broadcasting-owned WADL, Detroit's existing MyNetworkTV affiliate, replaced WKBD-TV; Mission Broadcasting, a closely related company to Nexstar, also filed to buy WADL, with Nexstar to provide services. Adell terminated the affiliation on October 30, with the affiliation moving to WMYD by November 13; the acquisition of WADL by Mission remained pending as of February 2024.
The remainder of the affected markets were addressed through new affiliation agreements with group owners Hearst Television, Gray Television and Sinclair Broadcast Group, each of which already owned multiple CW affiliates. Hearst's renewal included KQCA as the new CW Sacramento affiliate in place of KMAX-TV, while the Gray Television renewal included WPCH-TV in Atlanta, replacing WUPA. Sinclair included WPNT in Pittsburgh and a subchannel of Seattle's ABC affiliate KOMO-TV as replacements for WPCW and KSTW, respectively. As part of the Sinclair agreement, The CW moved from Sinclair's KOCB to Nexstar's KAUT-TV in Oklahoma City. Additionally, Nexstar took back the CW affiliation in Billings, Montana, when the statewide Montana Television Network ceased airing The CW on a subchannel of its stations.
On November 13, 2023, The Seattle Times reported that Sinclair Broadcast Group would move The CW's Seattle affiliation to KUNS-TV on January 1, 2024, replacing Univision.
On November 20, 2023, KASW became an independent station known as Arizona 61, airing the Coyotes and using local news and entertainment programming as well as content from Scripps News, while programming from The CW would move to a subchannel of Phoenix's ABC affiliate KNXV-TV.
On December 18, 2023, Nexstar announced that WOTV, KELO-TV and WMBB would become CW affiliates via their digital subchannels on January 1, 2024.
On January 8, 2024, locally-owned independent KAZT-TV out of Prescott, announced it would take up the CW affiliation in the Phoenix market effective February 1, as part of a time brokerage deal with Nexstar.
On February 1, 2024, it was announced that the Fox affiliation in the Columbus–Tupelo market would move from WLOV-TV to WCBI-DT2 the next day. WLOV-TV would assume WCBI-DT3's CW Plus affiliation.
On April 19, 2024, Nexstar and the E. W. Scripps Company confirmed the latter will not renew its CW Network affiliation with seven Scripps-owned stations. In two markets—Norfolk, Virginia; and Lafayette, Louisiana—the network will move to Nexstar-owned stations effective September 1.
On May 1, 2024, Nexstar announced that WGN-TV would become a CW affiliate once again as well as WVBT and KLFY-TV adding the network to their digital subchannels.

## Stations

| Market | New affiliate | Old affiliation | Prior affiliate | New affiliation | Date of switchover |
| Atlanta, GA | WPCH-TV | Independent | WUPA | Independent | September 1, 2023 |
| Battle Creek–Kalamazoo–Grand Rapids, MI | WOTV-DT2 | Dabl | WWMT-DT2 | Independent | January 1, 2024 |
| Billings–Hardin, MT | KSVI-DT2 | Ion Mystery | KTVQ-DT2 | Independent | September 1, 2023 |
| Butte–Bozeman, MT | — | — | KXLF-DT2 | Independent | September 1, 2023 |
| Butte–Bozeman, MT | K23LW-D2 | Ion Mystery | KBZK-DT2 | Independent | September 1, 2023 |
| Chicago, IL | WGN-TV | Independent | WCIU-TV | Independent | September 1, 2024 |
| Detroit, MI | WADL | MyNetworkTV | WKBD-TV | Independent | September 1, 2023 |
| Detroit, MI | WMYD | Independent | WADL | MyNetworkTV | November 13, 2023 |
| Great Falls, MT | — | — | KRTV-DT2 | Independent | September 1, 2023 |
| Helena, MT | — | — | KTVH-DT2 | Independent | September 1, 2023 |
| Lafayette, LA | KLFY-DT2 | Dabl | KATC-DT2 | Independent | September 1, 2024 |
| Missoula, MT | — | — | KPAX-DT2 | Independent | September 1, 2023 |
| Norfolk, VA | WVBT-DT2 | Cozi TV | WGNT | Independent | September 1, 2024 |
| Oklahoma City, OK | KAUT-TV | Independent | KOCB | Independent | September 1, 2023 |
| Panama City, FL | WMBB-DT2 | Antenna TV | WJHG-DT2 | MeTV | January 1, 2024 |
| Philadelphia, PA | WPHL-TV | MyNetworkTV | WPSG | Independent | September 1, 2023 |
| Phoenix, AZ | KNXV-DT2 | Antenna TV | KASW | Independent | November 20, 2023 |
| Phoenix, AZ | KAZT-TV | Independent | KNXV-DT2 | Antenna TV | February 1, 2024 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | WPNT | MyNetworkTV | WPKD-TV | Independent | September 1, 2023 |
| Sacramento–Stockton–Modesto, CA | KQCA | MyNetworkTV | KMAX-TV | Independent | September 1, 2023 |
| San Francisco–Oakland–San Jose, CA | KRON-TV | MyNetworkTV | KPYX | Independent | September 1, 2023 |
| Seattle–Tacoma, WA | KOMO-DT2 | Comet | KSTW | Independent | September 1, 2023 |
| Seattle–Tacoma, WA | KUNS-TV | Univision | KOMO-DT2 | Comet | January 1, 2024 |
| Sioux Falls, SD | KELO-DT4 | Ion Mystery | KSFY-DT2 | Outlaw | January 1, 2024 |
| Tampa–St. Petersburg, FL | WTTA | MyNetworkTV | WTOG | Independent | September 1, 2023 |
| Tupelo–Columbus–West Point, MS | WLOV-TV | Fox | WCBI-DT3 | MyNetworkTV | February 2, 2024 |
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 These stations are network owned-and-operated, owned by Nexstar.
* 1 2 3 4 5 These stations carry The CW Plus, a syndication service feed controlled by the network, independent of individual affiliates outside of its main primetime hours.
* ↑ WADL terminated its affiliation on October 30, 2023 over a payment dispute with Nexstar; replaced by WMYD on November 13, 2023.
* 1 2 3 Retained as a primary affiliation.
* 1 2 3 4 5 Retained as a secondary affiliation.
* ↑ KAZT-TV replaced KNXV-DT2 on February 1, 2024, as part of a time brokerage deal with Nexstar.
* ↑ Affiliation moved again to KUNS-TV on January 1, 2024.
* ↑ Univision affiliation moved to KVOS-TV following KUNS-TV's switchover to The CW.
* ↑ Also carried on sister station WSNN-LD, based out of Sarasota.
* ↑ Fox affiliation moved to WCBI-DT2 following WLOV-TV's switchover to The CW.