Nexstar Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

The CW systematically stripped away its superhero dramas and teen-centric soaps during the 2022-23 television season, taking the foundation of its primetime programming slate down to the studs. Now comes the reveal of a renovation that leans heavily on niche sports, noisy unscripted series, procedural dramas and broad-skewing comedies. The change comes a year after Texas-based Nexstar Media Group acquired a majority stake in The CW from its founders, CBS and Warner Bros.

Tom Carter, a longtime former Nexstar exec who is now a senior advisor to the CEO and board of directors, says the company could acquire Disney’s local ABC TV stations with “little friction” if they become available.

The CW and Sinclair Broadcast Group have reached an affiliate renewal deal spanning 35 markets, including the launch of the broadcast network on stations in Seattle and Pittsburgh.

To the relief of many in the embattled pay-TV business, which faces its most uncertain fall season in decades along with existential angst due to cord-cutting, a reliable viewer draw is about to return. College football season kicks off on Saturday, with a slate of seven televised games starting with Notre Dame’s opener against Navy.

UPDATED with additional strike comments. The CW had to delay four scripted shows produced by minority stakeholders Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount due to the writers and actors strikes, but it does not expect any further impact from the labor impasse.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Nexstar reported its second-quarter 2023 earnings Tuesday, revealing the TV stations group giant had turned a profit of $153 million in Q2, while its CW broadcast network posted a loss of $78 million for the April-June quarter. For the CW, which was formally acquired by Nexstar in October 2022 from Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery, a year-over-year comparison can’t be drawn based on the lack of financial results disclosed publicly by its former parent companies.

Dennis Miller, who took the helm of The CW after Nexstar Media Group bought majority control of it last fall, has been re-upped as president of the broadcast network through 2027.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Dennis Miller has extended his contract as president of the CW Network through 2027. Miller (pictured above left) joined the network as president in October 2022, following its acquisition by Nexstar Media Group from Paramount Global and Warner Bros.

Mike Biard, a 23-year veteran of Fox Corp., has been appointed president and chief operating officer of Nexstar, the No. 1 owner of local TV stations in the U.S. and the parent of The CW and NewsNation.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Longtime Fox exec Michael Biard has be named the new president and chief operating officer of TV station group giant Nexstar, the owner of NewsNation and the CW Network. Current Nexstar president and COO Thomas Carter is stepping down from his post and shifting to senior advisor.

A Fourth of July miracle appears extremely unlikely for the millions of DirecTV customers who lost access Sunday to programming from Nexstar-owned local stations or cable network NewsNation.

More than 10 million DirecTV customers are without Nexstar stations as of Sunday evening after the two companies failed to come to terms on a new deal.DirecTV removed Nexstar’s 159 TV stations from its satellite, cable and streaming systems as a result, which includes major broadcast networks CBS, Fox, ABC, NBC and The CW as well as NewsNation, the cable news channel. Subscribers in 113 markets, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Denver, are all affected.“Nexstar remains hopeful that a resolution can be reached quickly to return to viewers their favorite network programming, live sporting events, in-depth local news, and other local content relevant to their communities, as well as critical emergency updates for which DirecTV is charging its subscribers,” Nexstar said in a statement.“Nexstar has a long track record of forcing programming outages in an effort to unnecessarily raise prices for everyone at the expense of the communities they are licensed and entrusted to serve,” Rob Thun, DirecTV chief content officer, said in a statement to TheWrap.

A new carriage dispute has been initiated between Nexstar Media Group and DirecTV forcing more than 150 local TV stations to go dark.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor More than 150 local TV stations owned by Nexstar Media Group went dark on DirecTV’s platform as of 4 p.m. PT Sunday after the sides failed to come to terms on a new retransmission consent agreement. The blackout includes Nexstar stations in New York (WPIX), Los Angeles (KTLA) and Chicago (WGN) and also Nexstar’s NewsNation channel. In total, 159 station serving 113 markets went dark after a last push of negotiations in late June. DirecTV serves about 12.7 million subscribers across the U.S. Nexstar said it offered to extend the current deal to Oct. 31 to allow contract talks to continue. Nexstar indicated that the blackout affects at least 10 million subscribers across DirecTV’s footprint.

It has been a tumultuous few days at Nexstar Media Group-owned NBC affiliate WOOD-TV8 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The CW veteran Kevin Levy is stepping down from his role as EVP, Program Planning, Scheduling and Acquisitions on August 1.

Selome Hailu Kevin Levy is leaving his post as the CW’s executive vice president of program planning, scheduling and acquisitions. The news was announced to CW staffers in a memo sent by Brad Schwartz, president of entertainment, on Tuesday, which also noted that Levy’s last day at the network will be on Aug. 1. Levy began his career at UPN, and was part of the team that transitioned into and launched the CW after UPN shut down. He remained at the CW for the entirety of his television career, starting as director of program planning and scheduling before rising the ranks and landing as executive vice president in 2018.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor In NewsNation, New York City isn’t the de facto location for a morning-news program. On Monday, the Nexstar Media-backed cable-news outlet expands its Chicago-based “Morning in America” to four hours and adds Markie Martin, formerly the network’s Dallas correspondent, as a co-anchor alongside Adrienne Bankert. There is some precedent for such a format. Robin Meade succeeded at it for 20 years by holding forth from Atlanta on behalf of HLN. Her program, “Morning Express,” was canceled earlier this year by Warner Bros. Discovery in a cost-cutting maneuver. “I grew up in small-town Oklahoma, and often felt that national news networks catered more toward big-city lives,” says Martin in a recent interview. “I think our content lines up with what every American cares about on a daily basis.” Martin arrived in the Windy City for her new assignment just about a week ago, and was in need of furniture for her new apartment.

Heather Olander knew she would be taking on a challenge when she joined The CW as its first Head of Unscripted Programming.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor The most traditional purveyor of golf and the upstart that hoped to take away its business have agreed to merge, In a stunning development. the PGA Tour agreed to combine its commercial and business rights with the golf-related operations of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which includes the upstart league LIV Golf as well as Europe’s DP World Tour. The two sides had been locked in litigation for months. “After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love,” said Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour Commissioner. “Going forward, fans can be confident that we will, collectively, deliver on the promise we’ve always made — to promote competition of the best in professional golf and that we are committed to securing and driving the game’s future.”

Fox First Run is set to launch Person, Place or Thing game show, hosted by Melissa Peterman, this fall on Fox Television Stations following a successful four-week test run last summer. The half-hour weekday show has been sold across 89% of the U.S. in 161 markets from various station group, including Sinclair, Nexstar, Scripps and Tegna, according to Fox First Run.

Ending years of rancor and legal disputes, the PGA Tour has agreed to merge with Saudi-backed LIV Golf.

The CW that audiences see when they tune in this fall won’t look like the CW of years past – but it also won’t look like the CW that new owner Nexstar actually intends to offer consumers moving forward.In a move similar to its broadcast competition, the CW released a fall schedule meant to be practically immune to the effects of the ongoing writers strike. It’s an acquisition-heavy lineup that’s a mix of comedies (Canadian sitcoms including “Children Ruin Everything” and “Run the Burbs”), dramas (former AMC series “61st Street”) and unscripted fare (the salvaged HBO Max hit “FBoy Island”). The only potential hiccup would be a strike-related production delay for “All American,” one of two CW shows that new network president Dennis Miller and entertainment president Brad Schwartz have decided to keep moving forward.As much as Schwartz doesn’t like the perception that there is anything wrong with an acquisition, he and Miller told Variety that isn’t the center of their scheduling strategy, but rather a path they had to take this first year because of production uncertainties.Here, Variety speaks with Schwartz and Miller about the network’s plans for adult dramas, programming to Black audiences following the success of “All American,” going hard on unscripted with “FBoy Island,” and the path to making the former Paramount/Warner Bros. Discovery-owned channel profitable for Nexstar.

The CW held its first upfront week meeting with the press since the Nexstar acquisition closed last year, presenting a schedule heavy on foreign acquisitions and unscripted fare. Brad Schwartz, president of entertainment for The CW, took questions after the presentation alongside network president Dennis Miller. They laid out their plans for the network going into its new era, how the acquisitions play into their overall strategy, and the future of scripted development at the network. Read on for Variety‘s takeaways from the event. Superheroes Flying Off into the Sunset?

The CW programming chief Brad Schwartz took a gentle swipe at the network’s previous business model as he revealed its fall schedule.

The CW has put together a fall schedule full of international series and unscripted formats alongside scripted returner All American, while Walker is moving to midseason.

The CW’s fall primetime schedule, we’re getting a true look at what the Nexstar era of The CW entails. The network’s new schedule only includes two returning scripted originals — Season 6 of “All American” and Season 4 of “Walker.” The network’s typical youth-focused programming has been replaced by seven new and more adult-oriented originals. Say goodbye to DC superheroes and cute fashion dramas and hello to half-hour comedies about raising kids.

Perry Sook, CEO of The CW parent Nexstar, said the network’s deal this year to broadcast the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit has led to talks with “everyone” in the vibrant sports rights marketplace.

BreAnna Bell “The Winchesters” has been canceled after one season at The CW, with the network also canceling the reboot of “Kung Fu” after three seasons. “As we reimagine the new CW, we had to make some tough programming decisions,” The CW said in a statement. “We thank our partners at Warner Bros. and the casts and creative teams of ‘Kung Fu’ and ‘The Winchesters’ for all their hard work, creativity and dedication.” The “Supernatural” prequel series “The Winchesters” followed demon hunters Sam and Dean’s parents, John (Drake Rodger) and Mary (Meg Donnelly), telling the story of how the couple met as teens and how they ultimately came together to save the entire world. The story is told from Dean’s (Jensen Ackles) perspective, marking the first return of Ackles’ character since the series finale in November of 2020.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “Walker: Independence” has been canceled at The CW after just one season, Variety has learned. The series served as a prequel to fellow CW show “Walker,” which was just renewed for Season 4 at the network. The show was set in the late 1800s. Per the official description, it followed “Abby Walker (Katherine McNamara), an affluent and tough-minded Bostonian whose husband is murdered before her eyes while on their journey out West. After crossing paths with Calian (Justin Johnson Cortez), a curious Apache tracker, Abby arrives in the town of Independence, Texas, where she encounters diverse and eclectic residents running from their pasts, chasing their dreams, and keeping their own secrets.”