Seven DMAs where The E.W. Scripps Co. presently offers The CW network as a local over-the-air offering via one of its broadcast signals will soon be parting ways with the Nexstar Media Group-owned offering, RBR+TVBR has confirmed.
In a statement provided by a Scripps spokesperson, the Cincinnati-headquartered company said that The CW Network affiliations for the following stations will cease on September 1:
- WMYD-20 in Detroit, a station that gained The CW on November 13, 2023, after Kevin Adell-owned WADL-38 dropped it over a payment dispute with Nexstar, linked to the long-pending sale of WADL to close Nexstar partner Mission Broadcasting.
- WSFL-39 in Miami, which was acquired by Scripps in September 2019 as a spin-off of Nexstar’s merger with Tribune Broadcasting.
- WGNT-27 in Norfolk, an original affiliate of the network and UPN affiliate from 1995. It is also a spin-off acquisition linked to the Nexstar-Tribune merger.
- KWBA-58 in Tucson, obtained in the Journal-Scripps merger that closed in April 2015.
- KRIS-6.2 in Corpus Christi, Tex., a station acquired from Cordillera Communications in May 2019.
- KSBY-6.2 in San Luis Obispo, Calif., which also serves Santa Barbara. It is also a former Cordillera station.
- KATC-3.2 in Lafayette, La., a former Cordillera station.
Commenting on the shift away from the network, which in the 2023-2024 season retooled its schedule by adding acclaimed ZDF science-fiction series “The Swarm” while investing heavily in sports, Scripps said in a statement, “This is an opportunity for us to bring Scripps’ excellent local and national programming– entertainment from our networks, news from local stations and Scripps News and, in some markets, local sports rights — to even more audiences across the country.”
That said, the Scripps spokesperson added, “We are still in the process of determining exactly what the new programming will look like in each affected market.”
Meanwhile, could Nexstar end up working with Adell on having The CW return to WADL, with Adell and Nexstar signing a shared service agreement? Mr. Adell did not immediately return RBR+TVBR‘s query seeking comment on Friday afternoon.
WADL became the home for The CW in Detroit after CBS News & Stations’ WKBD-50 dropped the network as part of a multi-market initiative to take the UHF stations carrying the network to a heavy local-news focus.
In other markets, Nexstar is expected to quickly establish new affiliate partners for The CW, Acknowledging that The CW does not intend to renew its affiliation agreement with the Scripps-owned television stations in the seven markets, a Nexstar spokesperson said, “We are excited that the CW affiliations in two of those markets—Norfolk and Lafayette, La. —will be moving to Nexstar-owned stations on September 1.”
The Nexstar representative added that the company has interest from other station groups in the five remaining markets and expects to make announcements about those affiliations soon. “We are prepared for this transition and confident that The CW will continue to reach 100% of U.S. television households without interruption,” the company spokesperson said.
