Get ready for a less expensive and older distorted CW

Get ready for a less expensive and older distorted CW, says new owner Nexstar Media Group

Riverdale's Camila Mendes, KJ Apa, Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse

Riverdale’s Camila Mendes, KJ Apa, Lili Reinhart and Cole SprousePhoto: Kevin Winter (Getty Images)

Even back when The CW went by a different name and was run by a top-hatted frog mascot, it was a popular spot for youth television. With shows like Riverdale, The Vampire Diaries, and Gossip Girl (remember those scandalous reviews from parents who used Gossip Girl on their posters?), the cable network has focused its brand on giving teens what they want. However, this era seems to be coming to an end. According to Deadline, The CW’s new owners, Nexstar Media Group, have plans to cut the network’s losses while creating new content for its surprisingly older average viewer.

In a 15-minute conference call (which had no Q&A section in Deadline Notes), Nexstar unveiled its new goals for the network since confirming its new 75 percent stake on Monday. Alongside Nexstar CEO Perry Sook, who confirmed the company would take on the network’s debt, the main goal of the deal is to make The CW a stronger cash cow by 2025 than it currently is.

“It’s no secret that The CW isn’t profitable,” CFO Lee Ann Gliha said on the earnings call, adding, “but that’s not typical of fully distributed broadcast or cable networks. In fact, according to SNL Kagan, no other broadcast network is operating with sustained losses.”

While all of this might not sound terribly surprising for a network that’s been relaying the craze that is Riverdale season after season, the real kicker is who’s enjoying all this teen-marketed television. According to their stats, the median age of The CW watchers is 58 — nowhere near the teen-to-30 demographic that everyone assumed they were getting. Rather than continuing to offer these older viewers content they already seem to be watching and enjoying, Nexstar President and COO Tom Carter says they are “reducing non-scripted costs” and adding more syndicated shows to their programming.

While there’s no age limit for enjoying the epic ups and downs of high school adventures, it does raise the question of whether this data is the most accurate representation of its general audience. Could these stats only have been taken from those who watch The CW on cable boxes, giving them an older viewer bias? If so, it seems pretty risky not to account for streaming views, which amass a much younger audience for binge-watching and “Next Day” episodes.

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We’ll have to wait and see how this new programming strategy plays out over the next few years, but for now, with the many Supernatural spin-offs and The Flash’s final season, we can all settle down to keep our parents company.