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.
A key driver of the agreement is the kickoff of ACC college football telecasts on The CW, the first of which is a Pittsburgh-Cincinnati matchup in prime time on September 9. Under its new majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, The CW is making a push into live sports, with LIV Golf, auto racing and college sports joining the lineup in the initial month’s of Nexstar’s control of the network. (Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, former 50-50 partners in The CW, each retain 12.5% stakes.)
KOMO in Seattle and WPNT in Pittsburgh, both of which currently carry LIV events, will expand to offer the full CW slate.
Today’s news follows word from CBS on Wednesday about programming plans for the eight stations set to drop their CW affiliations on Friday. That roster includes stations in Philadelphia, Atlanta, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa-St. Petersburg, Detroit, Sacramento and Pittsburgh, some of which will switch call letters as part of the revamp first announced last May.
Also Wednesday, Nexstar said it had extended CW affiliate agreements for 55 stations owned by Gray Television, including WPCH in Atlanta, formerly “super station” WTBS.
Financial terms were not disclosed for the affiliate arrangements.
“We appreciate that Sinclair values their partnership with The CW as we remake the network with our significant investment in sports, combined with a smart entertainment programming strategy that will further expand viewership on a local and national level,” CW President Dennis Miller said.
“We are pleased to be continuing our long relationship with The CW Network and look forward to bringing our stations in Seattle and Pittsburgh into the CW family,” said Rob Weisbord, Sinclair’s COO and President of Local Media. “We thank our distribution team for securing the renewal of our affiliate agreement, which includes rights that allow us to negotiate with virtual MVPDs for CW-affiliated stations.”