THE XM

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**The XM** is an Pakistan's Series broadcast television network that is operated by **The XM Network, LLC**,

The XM Television Network started on 19 December of 2022, after launched by merge of OPM and THE MB, respectively ceased. The XM's launching specials marked first two days, with the two-hour Series premiere of *Pakistan's Future Top Model*. Originally, the network's programming lineup was intended to appeal mainly to women between the ages of 18 and 35, although starting in 2022 the network increased in programming that appeals audience is 50% male and 50% female. The network runs programming seven days a week: airing nightly in prime time, along with a Saturday morning live-action educational programming block produced by Hearst Media Production Group called *One Magnificent Morning*.

The network is also available in southern Canada on pay television providers through stations owned-and-operated by Paramount Global and on affiliates that are located within proximity to the Canada–United States border (whose broadcasts of CW shows are subject to simultaneous substitution laws imposed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, if a Canadian network holds the broadcast rights); it is also available through two affiliates that are classified in the United States as superstations – New York City affiliate WPIX and Los Angeles affiliate KTLA.

Additionally, The CW is available in northern Mexico through affiliates located near the Mexico–U.S. border (such as KFMB-DT2—San Diego/Tijuana, KECY-DT3 in El Centro, California, KVIA-DT2 in El Paso, and KCWT-CD with simulcasters KMBH-LD2 and KNVO-DT4 in McAllen/Brownsville, Texas) on pay television providers. In both Canada and Mexico, some free-to-air CW affiliate signals originating from the U.S. are receivable over-the-air in border areas depending on the station's signal coverage.

## History

### 2006–2011: Launch and early struggles

The CW targets its programming towards younger audiences. CBS and Time Warner hoped that combining their networks' schedules and affiliate lineups would strengthen The CW into a fifth "major" broadcast network. One week before the network's official launch, on September 11, 2006, a new, full version of the network website was launched; the website began to feature more in-depth information about The CW's shows.

The CW launched with a premiere special / launch party from the CBS Paramount-produced *Entertainment Tonight* at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California on September 18, 2006, after a repeat of the tenth-season finale of *7th Heaven*; the same schedule was repeated on September 19, with the sixth-season finale of *Gilmore Girls*. The network continued to air season finales from the previous season through the remainder of the first week, except for *America's Next Top Model* and *WWE SmackDown!*, which respectively began their new seasons on September 20 and 22, with two-hour premieres. When *Top Model* made its network premiere on September 20, 2006, The CW scored a 3.4 rating/5 share (with hourly ratings of 3.1/5 and 3.6/6; The CW placed fifth overall) in the Nielsen household ratings. It scored a 2.6 rating among adults 18–49, finishing fourth in that age demographic and beating the 2.2 rating earned by Fox on that night. The network's second week consisted of season and series premieres for all of its other series from September 25 to October 1, with the exception of *Veronica Mars*, which debuted its third season on October 3.

Despite having several of the most popular programs carried over from UPN and The WB as part of its schedule, The CW – even though it experienced some success with newer programs that launched in subsequent seasons which became modest hits – largely struggled to gain an audience foothold throughout its first five years on the air.Template:Citation needed Because of declining viewership for the network during the 2007–08 season and effects from the Writers Guild of America strike, the network announced on March 4, 2008, that it would eliminate its comedy department (dismissing executive vice president of comedy Kim Fleary and senior vice president of comedy Steve Veisel), while also combining its drama and current programming departments into a single scripted programming unit. The corporate restructuring resulted in the layoffs of approximately 25 to 30 employees. It also included the elimination of certain positions, other newly opened positions being left unfilled, layoffs from the Kids' WB unit (as the block was set to be replaced by The CW4Kids on May 24), and the elimination and transfer of marketing positions at The CW Plus to the network's marketing department.

On May 9, 2008, The CW announced that it would lease its Sunday lineup (then running from 5:00 to 10:00Template:Nbspp.m. Eastern and Pacific Time) to production company Media Rights Capital (MRC). As Sundays have historically been a low-rated night for the network during its first two seasons on the air (due to stiff competition from CBS, ABC and Fox's strong Sunday lineups, and complicated further by NBC's acquisition of *Sunday Night Football* in September 2006, shortly before The CW debuted), the move allowed The CW to concentrate on its Monday through Friday prime time schedule, while giving MRC the right to develop and schedule programs of its own choosing and reap advertising revenue generated by the lineup. The Sunday series that were scheduled – two reality series (*4Real* and *In Harm's Way*) and two scripted series (romantic dramedy *Valentine* and drama *Easy Money*) – performed poorly in the ratings (averaging only 1.04 million viewers), prompting The CW to scrap its agreement with MRC and program Sunday nights on its own starting on November 30, 2008. With no first-run programming available to run on Sundays as a backup, the network added reruns of *The Drew Carey Show* and *Jericho*, and movies to replace the MRC-produced programs.

One of the shows carried over to the network from UPN, *WWE SmackDown*, ended its run on The CW after the September 26, 2008 episode due to negotiations ending between the WWE and The CW on renewing the program. Representatives for The CW later confirmed that it had chosen not to continue carrying *SmackDown* because the network had redefined its target audience as exclusively females 18 to 34 years old, whereas *SmackDown* targeted a predominantly male audience. Following *SmackDown*Template:'s move to MyNetworkTV that same season, the Fox-owned network (which launched the same month as The CW's debut, albeit two weeks earlier, on September 5, 2006) began beating The CW in the Friday ratings every week from that program's debut on the network, though The CW continued to beat MyNetworkTV overall.

The CW generally struggled in the Nielsen ratings from its inception, primarily placing fifth in all statistics tabulated by Nielsen (total audience viewership and demographic ratings). On several occasions, The CW was even outrated by the Spanish language network Univision. This led to speculation within the industry (including a May 16, 2008 article in *The Wall Street Journal*) that CBS, Time Warner or both companies might abandon the venture if ratings did not improve. However, The CW's fortunes were buoyed in the 2008–09 and 2009–10 television seasons thanks to increased ratings among females in the 18–34 demographic and the buzz that some of its newer series (such as *Gossip Girl*, *90210* and *The Vampire Diaries*) had generated with audiences. Executives with CBS Corporation and Time Warner also emphasized their commitment to the network.

On May 5, 2009, The CW announced that it would give the five hours of network time on Sundays back to its affiliated stations that fall, effectively becoming a weeknight-only network in prime time, in addition to The CW Daytime and The CW4Kids blocks (the latter block, airing on Saturday mornings, would remain the only weekend programming supplied by the network). This change meant the Sunday late afternoon repeat block that The CW inherited from The WB (formerly branded by that network as "EasyView") was discontinued. Subsequently, in mid-May, 65% of The CW's affiliates, including those carrying The CW Plus, signed agreements to continue to air the replacement *MGM Showcase* movie package on Sundays, which was offered as a traditional syndicated film package meant for The CW's former prime time slot on that night.

### 2011–2016: New leadership and content shift

On April 28, 2011, Mark Pedowitz was appointed by the network to succeed original president of entertainment Dawn Ostroff; Pedowitz was made the network's first president and assumed broader responsibilities in The CW's business operations than Ostroff had. As president of entertainment, Ostroff oversaw entertainment operations while John Maatta, the network's chief operating officer, handled business affairs; both reported to a board composed of CBS and Warner Bros. executives. Maatta began reporting to Pedowitz as a result of the latter's appointment as network president. Pedowitz revealed that the core target demographic of the network would not change, though The CW would attempt to lure new viewers. Pedowitz began looking to bring comedies back to The CW after Ostroff had publicly declared that the difficulty of developing comedies for its target demographic was the reason for their removal from the network following the 2008–09 season (with *Everybody Hates Chris*, and *The Game* – a spin-off of *Girlfriends* – becoming the last comedies to be cancelled). The network also ordered more episodes of its original series and ran them consecutively starting on September 12 through the first week of December without repeats. In July 2012, Pedowitz no longer referred to the target demographic of The CW as women 18–34, but rather that it would now be an "18–34 adult network".

Although the network was still not profitable, CBS and Warner were very successful in selling their CW shows overseas. In 2011, a $1 billion deal with streaming service Netflix became another way to sell CW shows.Template:R The introduction of action-superhero series *Arrow,* based on DC Comics' Green Arrow, received favorable reviews from critics and became a hit with audiences when it premiered. As evidence of the network's refocusing toward a broader audience, *Arrow* not only premiered to some of the highest viewership totals in the network's history (the third-highest overall Template:As of, behind the series premieres of *The Vampire Diaries* and *The Flash*), but it also gave the network its strongest performance in the demographic of males 18–34 since *Smallville* ended its run in May 2011. The network also found success with its summer programming in 2013 with the revival of the U.S. version of the improv comedy series *Whose Line Is It Anyway?*, which later became a year-round staple on the network's schedule. *Arrow* continued to perform strongly, leading to a spin-off with *The Flash*, which surpassed *The Vampire Diaries* as the highest-rated premiere in the network's history and became the most-watched show on the network. *Jane the Virgin* earned some of the highest critical praise of any series during the 2014–15 television season, and became the first CW series ever to be nominated for, and win, a Golden Globe Award, with lead actress Gina Rodriguez winning the Golden Globe for "Best Actress in a Comedy or Variety Series".

Overall, the network ended the 2014–15 season posting its highest average total viewership in a single television season since 2007–08 with 2.15 million viewers, a 12% increase in total viewership year-to-year; The CW also posted its highest seasonal demographic ratings among males ages 18–49 with a 0.8 share.

Expanding on the success of the network's Arrowverse franchise, *DC's Legends of Tomorrow* premiered to high ratings for the network and became the most-watched show on the network's Thursday night block in two years. The 2015–16 season also saw *Crazy Ex-Girlfriend* become one of the most critically acclaimed shows of the season and the second show on the network to be nominated for, and win, a Golden Globe Award, with actress Rachel Bloom winning a Golden Globe Award for "Best Actress in a Comedy or Variety Series".

### 2016–2019: Programming with studio properties

The network's Arrowverse expanded again with *Supergirl* being moved to the network from CBS for its second season. The debut of Archie Comics-based *Riverdale* signaled the network's foray into mining their parent studio's library of IP to create new television series based on recognizable properties. This led to another new DC Comics series, *Black Lightning*, and a rebooted *Dynasty*. While it met with poor ratings, *Dynasty* proved lucrative thanks to the Netflix output deal and international syndication which earned CBS Studios millions of dollars per episode.Template:R

Selling CW series like *Dynasty* to Netflix and overseas markets was so profitable for Warner and CBS that the network almost stopped cancelling shows, and expanded its broadcast schedule.Template:R On February 14, 2018, The CW announced that it would add a 2-hour primetime block on Sunday nights beginning in the fourth quarter of 2018, returning the network to Sundays for the first time since the lease to Media Rights Capital ended in 2009, as well as expanding The CW's primetime slate from 10 hours a week to 12. Discussions with CBS and Warner Bros. about the expansion began as early as July 2017; both gave their approval to the move that December, with the network reaching clearance deals with key affiliate partners in early 2018.

On June 12, 2018, AT&T received antitrust approval to acquire Warner Bros. parent Time Warner, with the acquisition closing two days later. Time Warner was renamed WarnerMedia (now Warner Bros. Discovery) and AT&T became a co-owner of The CW with CBS.

The CW debuted reboots of *Charmed*, *Roswell*, and *Originals* spin-off *Legacies* during the 2018–19 season. Despite modest ratings, their renewals – along with the renewal of the entire 2018–19 lineup (absent those series already previously announced as ending) – reflected their value to network co-owners CBS and Warner Bros., which received the windfall of selling them to Netflix and international buyers. This strategy continued with the 2019–20 season debuts of the new Arrowverse series *Batwoman*, *Riverdale* spin-off *Katy Keene*, and *Nancy Drew*.

On August 13, 2019, CBS and Viacom officially announced their intention to re-merge, with the combined company to be named ViacomCBS. The merger was completed on December 4, 2019, making them officially with AT&T's WarnerMedia co-owners of the CW Network.

### 2019–2022: Streaming era deals

Warner and CBS did not renew CW's Netflix deal in 2019, intending to use their shows on the network for their own streaming services.Template:R International sales also mostly ended, because both companies wanted to retain rights to their own shows to compete with Netflix outside the United States.Template:R WarnerMedia's HBO Max streaming service subsequently acquired exclusive streaming rights to Warner Bros.-produced CW shows. This began with the 2019–20 season, with the Warner Bros.-produced *Batwoman* and *Katy Keene* debuting on HBO Max after their current seasons finished airing on The CW. The CBS Studios-produced *Nancy Drew* was originally announced to be heading to corporate-sibling owned CBS All Access, but appeared on HBO Max instead. The reason for this was amid the rebranding of CBS All Access to Paramount+ and the changes surrounding the ViacomCBS merger, CBS and Warner Bros. made the collective decision to have all CW shows have a singular streaming home on HBO Max.

Beyond being the streaming home of CW programming, HBO Max shares a co-ownership connection with the network which allows for programming partnerships. This began with DC Comics series *Stargirl*, which The CW shared with DC Universe. DC Universe and The CW co-financed the series, with episodes premiering on DC Universe and airing the next day on The CW. After DC Universe was folded into HBO Max, *Stargirl* was renewed with a new co-finance deal in which The CW receives first-run airings followed by its launch on HBO Max. Going forward, The CW and HBO Max will continue to collaborate on potentially co-financing new projects, with the model of premiering first on HBO Max and a second run on The CW. "They creatively have to want the show too and believe that the show should go on their platform first for them to work," CW CEO Pedowitz said. "For us its a great model because it's a way to get excellent summer scripted programming and maximize programming across platforms."

On May 13, 2021, The CW announced that it would begin programming Saturday nights on a regular basis beginning in the 2021–22 television season, following approval of the expansion by the network's key affiliate groups. (Since the Sunday expansion in 2018, the network had been offering occasional special encore blocks of newly premiered, high-profile CW series to its affiliates—which had previously aired the blocks in either of the available weekend evening slots at their discretion—to air in Saturday prime time.) As part of the deal, The CW ceased programming The CW Daytime block and returned the time to its stations. With the addition of Saturday nights, The CW has programming on every night of the week for the first time in the network's history, becoming only the sixth American English-language commercial broadcast network ever (alongside the modern “Big Four” networks and the long-defunct DuMont) and the first since Fox (which has programmed Saturdays since July 1987, and started offering a full weekly schedule with the addition of programming on Tuesday and Wednesday nights in January 1993) to have offered prime time content on a nightly basis. (CW predecessors The WB and UPN, the latter of which never offered programming on Sunday nights—other than a two-hour replay block usually aired in late fringe slots from 2000 to 2006, never programmed Saturday prime time during their existences.)

### 2022–present: Acquisition by Nexstar

On January 5, 2022, *The Wall Street Journal* reported that WarnerMedia and ViacomCBS were exploring a possible sale of either a majority stake or all of The CW, and that Nexstar Media Group (which became The CW's largest affiliate group when it acquired former WB co-owner Tribune Broadcasting in 2019) was considered a leading bidder. Network president/CEO Mark Pedowitz confirmed talks of a potential sale in a memo to CW staffers after the news surfaced, but added that "It's too early to speculate what might happen" and that the network "must continue to do what we do best". Nexstar CEO Perry Sook played coy on his company's part, hinting only in Spring 2022 that "I wouldn’t be surprised if we owned a broadcast network" and other cable networks that could "layer on top of our local content foundation" (Nexstar's network properties include the NewsNation cable network and broadcast diginets Antenna TV and Rewind TV).

The earlier reports of a sale of The CW led to speculation that new ownership could steer the network's programming away from a younger audience. The first hint of this occurred in May 2022 (three months before Nexstar made their purchase official), when The CW unveiled a fall schedule in which, for the first time, the number of shows renewed were outnumbered by those receiving cancellations: Ten shows (three times the average number per year that The CW had canceled over the previous decade) were axed, including one-season shows *4400* and *Naomi*, and longtime fixtures *Batwoman*, *Charmed*, *Dynasty*, *In the Dark*, *Legends of Tomorrow*, *Roswell, New Mexico*, and *Legacies*. The latter show's creator/producer, Julie Plec, compared the cancellations to the graphic Red Wedding scene in the *Song of Ice and Fire* literary series.

While the May 2022 cancellations were significant (as were subsequent announcements that two other CW mainstays, *Riverdale* and *The Flash*, would have their final seasons in 2023), The CW's Fall 2022 schedule suggested a sign of things to come under new ownership. Familiar scripted shows such as *All American*, *Stargirl* and *Walker*, and new shows *Walker: Independence* and *The Winchesters*, will appear alongside broad-appealing unscripted shows (the returning *Penn & Teller: Fool Us*, the new *Magic with the Stars*) and programs originating from outside the United States (new addition *Family Law* and returnee *Coroner* were respectively commissioned by Canadian networks Global and CBC).

In late June 2022, *The Wall Street Journal* indicated a purchase of The CW by Nexstar was close, and on August 15 Nexstar confirmed it had "entered into a definitive agreement" to acquire a 75% majority share in the network; the remaining 25% would be shared equally by Paramount Global (the former ViacomCBS) and Warner Bros. Discovery (the company resulting from Discovery Communications' acquisition of WarnerMedia). Additionally, Nexstar indicated that Mark Pedowitz would remain the network's chairman and CEO and have "responsibility for day-to-day operations." Though no monetary terms were announced, Nexstar reportedly would not pay any cash or stock up front, and would absorb approximately $100 million of network debt. As the sale does not entail the transfer of any FCC broadcast licenses (unlike the "Big Four" networks, The CW does not directly own any of its affiliates), no regulatory approvals are required, only customary financial closing conditions expected to be cleared in Nexstar's fiscal third quarter, i.e. by the end of September 2022; as such, Nexstar immediately took operational control of the network on August 15.

Nexstar, in a conference call that took place the day its purchase was announced, indicated a desire to run The CW cost-consciously. Citing research that indicated the network spends “almost twice” the amount other broadcast networks spend on programming, (a partial reason for the May 2022 cancellations), Nexstar plans to seek shows with smaller production budgets and/or a reasonably-priced acquisition fee, including unscripted fare, "syndicated" content (a possible allusion to shows from non-U.S. markets), and other content that can create profits through broadcast airings. (To cite one example, the cancelled *Dynasty* gained small broadcast raitings, but revenues it reaped through Netflix streaming deals and international sales allowed it to stay in production and on the air.) Earlier speculation hinted that national news programming could be added to the network's schedule, either through the operations of NewsNation or from the political news site *The Hill*, which Nexstar acquired in 2021 (Nexstar has not made any indications that such moves would be in the offing). Nexstar's aim is for The CW to turn a profit by 2025, a feat the network has never achieved in its history.

In that same August 2022 conference call, Nexstar signaled plans to convert The CW into a network with broad appeal. Nexstar executives cited data indicating that the young audience to which The CW has long catered tends to watch the network's shows through streaming platforms instead of live-to-air, and that the average audience of a broadcast CW affiliate is approximately 58 years old. Though it led to online comments of disbelief (considering CW shows' youth appeal), the age claim was later independently confirmed in a *Variety* review of Nielsen ratings data from September 2021 to August 2022; the data showed that the median age of Fox's broadcast audience, for both primetime and full-day, was younger than that of The CW (both were in the late 50s; the Big Three networks attracted median ages in the 60s). To that end, Nexstar indicated a long-range aim to have The CW "[prioritize] programing for the network’s [older] broadcast audience," not just a younger demographic that would watch its shows later on streaming platforms. In particular, Nexstar was reported to have been seeking older-skewing dramas, police procedurals, and sitcoms.

Though Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery will see their ownership shares of The CW diminish, the two companies will still produce content for the network, though Nexstar pointed out that the arrangement would be "primarily" for the 2022–23 broadcast season. Nexstar indicates it "will have the option to extend the partnership" with Paramount and WBD beyond that season, though that is not assured. Nexstar confirmed in September 2022 that it would seek to bolster The CW's content by acquiring projects from studios beyond solely Paramount and WBD (Nexstar president Tom Carter billed the effort "an open casting call"). Any CW content not licensed to other streaming services will continue to appear on its own streaming platform, CW Seed.

## Programming

### Network programming and scheduling

Main article: List of programs broadcast by The XM
The CW airs its prime time programming for only two hours every night, compared to the three hours on Monday through Saturdays and four hours on Sunday nights programmed by the three longest-established networks, ABC, CBS, and NBC. This "common prime" scheduling (which was originated by Fox when it launched its primetime schedule in April 1987, and later adopted by CW predecessors The WB and UPN when they launched in January 1995) allows the option for affiliates to air either a local newscast, syndicated programming or both during the 10:00–11:00 p.m. (Eastern and Pacific Time) time period. As with The WB and UPN, The CW formerly did not run network programming on Saturday nights – even though it maintains a syndicated children's program block on Saturday mornings – allowing affiliates to run syndicated programs, sports, movies or network programs that were preempted from earlier in the week because of special programming carried by the station, in the 8:00–10:00 p.m. (Eastern and Pacific) time period (MyNetworkTV also does not carry any weekend prime time programming, having turned network time on Saturday evenings over to its affiliates in March 2007).

The CW, unlike the "Big Four" broadcast networks, does not air any national newscasts, network-supplied sports, or late-night programming.

Because of these factors, The CW's affiliates handle the responsibility of programming non-network time periods, with the majority of its stations filling those slots mainly with syndicated programming. However, some of the network's affiliates broadcast their own local news and/or sports programs (either produced by the station itself or through outsourcing agreements with an affiliate of another network). Many affiliates also carry telecasts of basketball, football and in some cases, other collegiate sporting events (such as baseball or hockey) that are produced by syndicators such as American Sports Network and Raycom Sports, while a few carry games from local teams of major professional sports leagues such as Major League Baseball and the NBA.

The CW provides 17 hours of regularly scheduled network programming each week, over the course of seven days. The network provides fourteen hours of prime time programming to its owned-and-operated and affiliated stations on Nightly from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time (nearly as much programming as Fox which airs 15 hours of primetime programming). Outside of prime time, a three-hour educational programming block called "One Magnificent Morning" (which airs as part of the CW schedule through a time-lease agreement with Litton Entertainment) airs on Saturday mornings from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. in all time zones.

The Litton-produced Saturday morning block (the latter of which is subject to scheduling variances similar to the weekday hour in some markets, such as in Atlanta and San Diego) are designed to be tape delayed and are therefore recommended to air in the same time slot in all time zones, though both are broadcast one hour earlier on affiliates of The CW Plus in the Central, Mountain and Alaska Time Zones. In Guam, CW Plus affiliate KTKB-LD in Hagåtña airs the CW schedule day and date on a one-day tape delay from its initial broadcast because of the time difference between Guam and the continental United States as the island is on the west side of the International Date Line. *Supernatural* (which originally aired on The WB) was the final CW series carried over from either of the network's respective predecessors that continued to be broadcast on the network, airing its final episode in November 2020.

The CW formerly aired short segments during commercial breaks within certain episodes of its programs known as "Content Wraps" – a play on the network's name – in order to advertise one company's product during part or the entirety of a commercial break, a concept since classified under the term of native advertising. The entertainment magazine series *CW Now* was inspired in part by the success of the Content Wraps as it was intended to be a series with product placement; the program was cancelled in 2008, after a single 23-episode season. For the 2006–07 season, The CW reached an agreement with American Eagle Outfitters to incorporate tie-ins with the company's aerie clothing line as part of the Content Wrap concept within the network's Tuesday night schedule, which included subjects in the commercials commenting on plot points in each of the shows. The agreement was cut down to regular advertising in February 2007, after a fan backlash by viewers of both shows and general criticism of the campaign.

On May 12, 2021, executives with the CW Network announced it would start offering prime-time programming seven days a week for the first time since the broadcast network launched in 2006. As part of the deal, the CW Network said it returned its 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. weekday programming block to its affiliates.

### News programming

Template:Too detailed
The CW does not produce any national news content, and most of its affiliates do not have their own autonomous news operations. The network has four affiliates that produce their own local news programming, which were all carry-overs from previous affiliations: WPIX in New York City and KTLA in Los Angeles started their news departments as independent stations and/or during early affiliations with other networks including DuMont; WCCB in Charlotte, North Carolina started its news operation as a Fox affiliate; and WISH-TV in Indianapolis has been airing local news since 1956. KTLA has the largest number of weekly hours devoted to local news programming of any CW affiliate with 89¾ hours of scheduled news each week.

Eight other CW-affiliated stations maintained in-house news operations, but have since disaffiliated from the network or discontinued in-house production:

* WGN-TV in Chicago has maintained a news department since it launched as a CBS affiliate in 1948; the station – which, along with sister stations KTLA and WPIX, transitioned into a news-intensive outlet during its tenures with The WB and The CW – retains a news-heavy format after disaffiliating from the network in September 2016;
* Under Tribune Broadcasting ownership, WLVI in Boston produced an in-house 10:00 p.m. newscast, which was replaced in December 2006 with one produced by then-NBC affiliate (now independent) WHDH, after Tribune sold WLVI to that station's longtime owner Sunbeam Television;
* XETV-TDT in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico (serving the San Diego market) retained the news department it launched in 1999 as a Fox affiliate when it joined The CW in August 2008; XETV's news department shut down on March 31, 2017, following the earlier announcement that the CW affiliation in San Diego would move to a subchannel of CBS affiliate KFMB-TV.
* In April 2012, KCWI-TV in Des Moines, Iowa broadcast a morning news and talk program, which transitioned from an in-house production to a brand extension during *Good Morning America* of ABC affiliate WOI-DT's morning newscast on April 11, 2016, as a result of Nexstar Broadcasting's acquisition of KCWI.
* For several years, WDCW in Washington, D.C. used reporters from Tribune's local bureau and anchors based from the studios of then CBS station WTVR in Richmond, Virginia, while then Tribune-owned KDAF in Dallas, KIAH in Houston and WSFL-TV in Miami used non-traditional formats (in the form of a newsreel-style program known as *NewsFix*, along with the morning show *Morning Dose*; both KDAF and KIAH had previously produced more traditional newscasts, launched during their WB affiliations, earlier in their tenures with The CW). These programs were all canceled in September 2018, a result of budget cuts within Tribune, along with the termination of Tribune's attempted merger with Sinclair Broadcast Group. KIAH and KDAF have started producing their morning newscast since 2018: KIAH's entry is entitled *Morning Dose*, and KDAF began a partnership with Urban One to simulcast a portion of the morning radio show of KBFB. WDCW later began carrying the 10pm edition of DC News Now, a combined news operation with independent WDVM-TV, in 2022 (almost three years after Nexstar bought WDCW, but also divested WTVR to the E. W. Scripps Company, in 2019).

News programming on CW affiliates – if the station carries any – is often outsourced to another major network affiliate in the market, especially if they are operated as part of a duopoly or management agreement, such as Nexstar Media Group's respective CW-Fox duopolies of KWGN-TV/KDVR in Denver and KPLR-TV/KTVI in St. Louis (the Fox stations in both duopolies – KDVR and KTVI – were formerly owned by Local TV, with Tribune-owned KWGN and KPLR respectively consolidating with those stations through local marketing agreements formed as part of a wider partnership involving Local TV, which Tribune bought outright in 2013); Evansville, Indiana affiliate WTVW (which joined The CW in January 2013) and ABC affiliate WEHT (a virtual duopoly formed through Nexstar Broadcasting Group's 2011 purchase of WEHT and trade of WTVW to partner group Mission Broadcasting); and the CW-CBS O&O duopoly of KMAX-TV/KOVR in Sacramento (the former of which has produced a morning newscast, *Good Day Sacramento*, since it was a UPN owned-and-operated station, and – despite the two becoming a duopoly in 2005 – has remained separate from a more traditional morning show on KOVR pre-*CBS This Morning*, which produces KMAX's evening newscast). Another station that has newscast is KASW in Phoenix, Arizona during ABC's broadcast of Good Morning America.

The scheduling of news programming on The CW's affiliates often mirrors that of Fox stations, with morning newscasts (designed to compete with the national morning shows on ABC, CBS and NBC within the 7:00–9:00 a.m. timeslot; in duopolies, these are typically an extension of a sister station's morning newscast) and a prime time newscast within the 10:00–11:00 p.m. Eastern/Pacific (9:00–10:00 p.m. Central/Mountain) time slot. Rarely (but more common on the few major-market CW affiliates with in-house news departments), they may also include midday and/or early evening newscasts, including the network newscast slot of 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT.

### Children's programming

Main articles: Kids' WB, Toonzai, Vortexx, and One Magnificent Morning
On September 23, 2006, the *Kids' WB* children's programming block – which originated on The WB in September 1995 and continued to be produced by Warner Bros. Television – was carried over to The CW as part of its inaugural programming lineup; although the network on which it originated ceased operations the week before, the "Kids' WB" branding was retained for the block. On October 2, 2007, through a joint decision between corporate parents Warner Bros. Television and CBS Corporation, The CW announced that it would discontinue the *Kids' WB* block due to competition from cable channels aimed at the demographic such as Cartoon Network (which carried many series shared with the block and vice versa), Nickelodeon and Disney Channel, and would sell the programming rights to the network's Saturday morning block to 4Kids Entertainment (which at the time of the announcement, had produced a competing children's programming block, *4Kids TV*, for Fox). *Kids' WB* ended its run on May 17, 2008 (though some CW affiliates that delayed the block to Sundays, such as Atlanta O&O WUPA, aired the block for the last time on May 18).

The following week on May 24, 4Kids took over responsibility for The CW's Saturday morning children's lineup, with the debut of a new block called *The CW4Kids*. The block's lineup initially consisted mostly of programs carried over from *Kids' WB*, before eventually adding 4Kids-produced shows such as *Chaotic* as well as new seasons of *Yu-Gi-Oh!* and *Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles*. The block was rebranded into *Toonzai* on August 14, 2010 (though The CW4Kids name was retained as a sub-brand to fulfill branding obligations that the network had to comply with per 4Kids Entertainment's contract to lease The CW's Saturday morning timeslots); *Toonzai* ended its run on August 18, 2012.

On July 3, 2012, Saban Brands and Kidsco Media Ventures, affiliates of Saban Capital Group, entered into an agreement to program the five-hour Saturday morning time slot with a new action-adventure and comedy programming block for The CW. TheCW4Kids/Toonzai was replaced by *Vortexx* on August 25, 2012, featuring programs such as *Power Rangers Lost Galaxy* and *WWE Saturday Morning Slam*, the latter of which marked the return of WWE programming to the network since *WWE Smackdown* moved to MyNetworkTV in 2008.

On June 5, 2014, The CW announced an agreement with Litton Entertainment to program a block of live-action series designed to comply with the FCC's educational programming guidelines. Vortexx (which was the last remaining non-educational children's block on the major U.S. broadcast networks) was replaced by *One Magnificent Morning* on October 4, 2014. The block features a mix of wildlife and lifestyle-themed programs, similar in vein to those featured on the Litton-produced blocks aired by ABC and CW sister network CBS (one of its initial programs, *Expedition Wild*, was moved over to "One Magnificent Morning" from the ABC block; while one of the CW block's early entries, *Rock the Park*, moved to "Litton's Weekend Adventure" after one season) On January 7, 2016, The CW and Litton announced a five-year renewal for the block, extending it through the 2020–21 broadcast season. Starting with the 2017–18 broadcast season, the block's running time was reduced to three hours and began airing from 8:00am to 11:00am. The CW returned the two hours of reclaimed time to the affiliates.

## Related services

### Video-on-demand services

The CW provides video on demand access for delayed viewing of full episodes of the network's programming through various means, including via its website at CWTV.com and its mobile apps for iOS and Android devices (with programs streamable over WiFi and cellular networks), a traditional VOD service – called The CW on Demand – that is available on most traditional cable and IPTV providers, and through content deals with Hulu, iTunes and Netflix.

In January 2007, The CW began streaming full-length episodes of several of its programs on the CWTV.com website. The most recent episodes of the network's shows are usually made available on The CW app and The CW on Demand the day after their original broadcast. Due to restrictions imposed through its deal with the streaming service, streaming of the most recent episode of any CW program on Hulu is restricted until eight days after their initial broadcast, in order to encourage live or same-week (via both DVR and cable on-demand) viewing, with day-after-air streaming on either service limited to subscribers of Hulu's subscription service. The CW previously imposed a three-day delay after an episode's original airdate before making its programs available on its website and through the Hulu subscription service (then known as Hulu Plus). However, changes implemented by the network on March 15, 2012, to reduce copyright infringement of its programming content through illegal streaming and downloading internet platforms resulted in that delay being reduced to eight hours after a program's original airing through both services. Like the video-on-demand television services provided by the other U.S. broadcast networks, The CW on Demand disables fast forwarding for content provided through the service.

In October 2011, the network entered into digital distribution deals with streaming services Netflix and Hulu. The four-year Netflix agreement allowed its customers to instantly watch more than 700 hours of previous seasons of The CW's current scripted series, while Hulu inked a five-year deal, giving the streaming site access to next-day content from four of the five major networks (except for CW sister network CBS). The Netflix deal is estimated to be worth $1 billion, providing a much needed lifeline to the money-losing CW network and solidifying its future as a valuable asset for co-owners CBS and Warner Bros. The Netflix deal was renewed in 2016, updated to allow the streaming service to provide entire seasons of CW shows a week after their airing. The Hulu deal was discontinued at this time. In 2019, The CW and Netflix opted not to renew the deal. The respective studios of CW shows will instead sell to streaming services individually. Beginning in 2020, WarnerMedia streaming service HBO Max will be the exclusive streaming home for Warner Bros.-produced CW shows.

On October 24, 2012, The CW entered into its first video-on-demand distribution deal with a pay television provider through an agreement with Comcast that allows customers to watch the four most-recent episodes of the network's primetime shows on the cable provider's Xfinity On Demand service, along with next-day episode content. The CW On Demand, which is accessible to subscribers at no additional charge, debuted on Comcast Xfinity systems nationwide on October 25.

### High-definition feed

The CW's master feed is transmitted in 1080i high definition, with all transmission of the network's programming moving to the format in June 2012. All of the network's prime time programming has been presented in HD since March 2012 (when *America's Next Top Model* became the final CW program to convert to the format), with the exception of certain specials produced prior to that point (such as *Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer*, a holiday special carried over to the network from The WB) and select movie presentations. The network's Saturday morning E/I block, One Magnificent Morning, is also broadcast in HD, with the final SD program, the two-season daytime talk show *The Robert Irvine Show* converting to the format for its second to last season in September 2017 (and in turn ending American broadcast network television's standard definition age).

The network is available in HD on most of its full-power affiliates, while availability of high definition content on subchannel-only or cable-exclusive affiliates varies by market; in some of these cases, the over-the-air signal is available only in standard definition (a 16:9 widescreen feed transmitted in 480i SD is presented on some over-the-air affiliates to meet minimum requirements for presentation), with the station offering an exclusive high definition feed to pay television providers. Some affiliates transmit CW programming in 720p HD due to technical considerations if the network is carried on a digital terrestrial subchannel of a station affiliated with another major network or if a primary feed CW affiliate carries more than one subchannel. Since June 2012, The CW Plus feed is also transmitted in HD, and the network has asked those affiliates to carry it in high definition wherever possible. With CBS beginning to use 16:9 framing for all of their graphics on September 24, 2018, The CW was the last major network that continued to use 4:3 framing for all graphics, before switching to 16:9 framing for all of their graphics in August 2020.

All the HD programming are broadcast in 5.1 surround sound.

### CW Seed

**CW Seed** (originally called **CWD** or the **CW Digital Studio**) is a production arm that provided original content created exclusively for digital platforms focused in the areas of animation, game shows, comedy and digital personalities. Previously existing as a section on The CW's main website, CW Seed was spun-off to a separate domain in 2013 as a streaming platform. The free media app became available on several devices, including Roku and Amazon Fire TV.

Original web series produced by CW Seed includes *Stupid Hype*, *I Ship It*, *How to Be a Vampire*, *JoJoHead*, *Prom Queen*, *Husbands*, the Arrowverse series *Vixen* and *Freedom Fighters: The Ray*, and *Constantine: City of Demons*.Template:Citation needed In addition, CW Seed hosts various library programming from co-owners CBS and Warner Bros.Template:Citation needed On January 8, 2020, CW Seed acquired U.S. streaming rights to 14 series from BBC Studios. In September 2020, the platform added over 300 hours of programming with additional seasons for existing shows, and new series such as *90210*, *Lost Girl*, *Nikita*, and *XIII: The Conspiracy*.

## Footnotes

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## External links

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