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October 3, 2022 9:30 am  #1


Can You Get Buffalo's Channel 23? Say Goodbye To The CW As You Knew It

If you have an antenna and can get Channel 23 from Buffalo or subscribe to WPIX on cable, you've probably seen the CW TV network. Many of its shows air in Canada on cable stations like Showcase and others. For a while, it was known jokingly as the CD Superhero station, with shows like The Flash, Batwoman, DC's Legends of Tomorrow, Arrow and more. Riverdale is one of its few remaining comic book origin series and this is its final season. 

But the CW you're going to see in the near future won't look anything like the old one. Nexstar, the largest single TV station owner in the U.S., has officially taken over the fifth network, and plans a huge overhaul. It looks like most of the scripted programming that had been the hallmark of the schedule is going to disappear replaced with a new mantra - "if it costs us less, we'll air it."

Which sounds like a move towards non-stop reality programs, a particular pet peeve of mine. 

From Deadline:

"Nexstar plans to inject less expensive unscripted fare, as well as news and sports, though the company has not fully articulated its plans but signaled to Wall Street that it intends to overhaul the network top to bottom and take out significant costs. "

I can't think of a time when "cost cutting" equaled programming worth watching.

Perhaps the only good news for those of us in the GTA who watched the network via antenna is that the transmitter in Colden, N.Y. did not put in a very reliable signal into Toronto, so when it the picture disappears thanks to bad weather or poor propagation, no one will notice it.

So bye CW, It was fun while it lasted. 

New Day Dawns For Broadcast TV As Nexstar Closes Deal For Control Of The CW

 

October 3, 2022 4:55 pm  #2


Re: Can You Get Buffalo's Channel 23? Say Goodbye To The CW As You Knew It

The ustvgo.tv site offers the NY and Philadelphia CW affilliates.

 

October 3, 2022 5:46 pm  #3


Re: Can You Get Buffalo's Channel 23? Say Goodbye To The CW As You Knew It

It's not the station - it's what's going to be on the network it carries. It doesn't sound like there will be much on the CW worth watching. 

     Thread Starter
 

October 3, 2022 6:29 pm  #4


Re: Can You Get Buffalo's Channel 23? Say Goodbye To The CW As You Knew It

RadioActive wrote:

It's not the station - it's what's going to be on the network it carries. It doesn't sound like there will be much on the CW worth watching. 

CW affiliates act more or less as independent stations, with a network lineup in prime time from 8-10pm. I’m not very familiar with CW23 Buffalo, but the one I’m familiar with, CW11 Seattle (KSTW), is owned by CBS and has the following schedule for today:

3:00pm Family Feud
3:30pm Family Feud
4:00pm Young Sheldon
4:30pm Young Sheldon
5:00pm American Housewife
5:30pm American Housewife
6:00pm The Neighborhood
6:30pm The Neighborhood
7:00pm Family Feud
7:30pm Family Feud
8:00pm CW network programming
10:00pm Seattle Now News at 10
11:00pm Seinfeld
11:30pm Seinfeld

I would not expect KSTW to change at all outside the 8-10pm period.

 

October 5, 2022 12:45 pm  #5


Re: Can You Get Buffalo's Channel 23? Say Goodbye To The CW As You Knew It

Whatever the new owners of CW do can likely only help the struggling network.  Their numbers have been dreadful with evening ratings regularly under 200 thousand for  some of their expensive scripted shows.  When you have smaller affiliates that may have less than 800 live viewers in prime time for some shows, it is time to make some big changes. 

On Sunday evenings CW has two Canadian imports in prime time with Family Law and Coroner and both of these performed well.  Coroner which has been on CW for years had 420,000 viewers for the first show of the season.  This made it  the networks second highest rated prime time show last week.  Global's Family Law had 300,000 viewers.  Both shows however performed poorly in the 18-49 demo, as do most CW programs. 

I use to receive two CW affiliates with Bell Fibe.  The local stations weren't bad but as per the schedule above from MJ Vancouver they didn't have anything on during the daytime that already wasn't available on other channels.  And after the novelty of watching the local news a few times, there really wasn't much reason to tune them in.   

 

October 5, 2022 7:22 pm  #6


Re: Can You Get Buffalo's Channel 23? Say Goodbye To The CW As You Knew It

I have never heard of a situation where cutting millions of dollars from a programming budget results in higher or better ratings. Not going to happen this time. So you have to wonder - why did Nexstar want this white elephant?

     Thread Starter
 

October 5, 2022 7:27 pm  #7


Re: Can You Get Buffalo's Channel 23? Say Goodbye To The CW As You Knew It

I suspect their goal isn't higher ratings. That's probably impossible.

Maybe they'll cut costs 50% and ratings drop 30%. That's a net gain. Or maybe the reality programming will all be ads in disguise and sold on potential viewers rather than ratings - much like syndicated radio programming.

 

October 5, 2022 8:45 pm  #8


Re: Can You Get Buffalo's Channel 23? Say Goodbye To The CW As You Knew It

Well, the acquisition cost them next to nothing relatively speaking. They simply agreed to take on the CW's debt, so they didn't really buy the network so much as take it off the hands of other companies that were getting tired of losses. 

     Thread Starter
 

October 6, 2022 9:40 am  #9


Re: Can You Get Buffalo's Channel 23? Say Goodbye To The CW As You Knew It

This article explains what to expect from the CW's new owners - and why it will be totally different from what came before. According to some experts, the idea isn't to make the CW popular, it's to increase the ratings for owner Nexstar's 10 PM local newscasts in multiple markets with a promotable lead-in. So good luck if your show is on at 8 PM.

What a weird way to run a national network.

Report Part 1   

To read the second half of this report, click the link below. 

https://clearthis.page/?u=https://www.thewrap.com/nexstar-cw-acquisition-changes-programming/

     Thread Starter
 

January 19, 2023 10:50 am  #10


Re: Can You Get Buffalo's Channel 23? Say Goodbye To The CW As You Knew It

Now that they're agreed to air this event, giving tons of money to an odious regime for the privilege, I have absolutely no hope for whatever the new "CW" will be. I'm sure it will attract viewers, which is the point, but talk about selling your soul to do it.

The CW to Add Golf (?!) as New Prez Attempts to 'Reengineer the Network'

     Thread Starter
 

January 19, 2023 11:31 am  #11


Re: Can You Get Buffalo's Channel 23? Say Goodbye To The CW As You Knew It

RadioActive wrote:

Now that they're agreed to air this event, giving tons of money to an odious regime for the privilege, I have absolutely no hope for whatever the new "CW" will be. I'm sure it will attract viewers, which is the point, but talk about selling your soul to do it.

The CW to Add Golf (?!) as New Prez Attempts to 'Reengineer the Network'

CHCH Channel 11 showed LIV Golf events this past season.
 

 

January 19, 2023 12:06 pm  #12


Re: Can You Get Buffalo's Channel 23? Say Goodbye To The CW As You Knew It

g121 wrote:

RadioActive wrote:

Now that they're agreed to air this event, giving tons of money to an odious regime for the privilege, I have absolutely no hope for whatever the new "CW" will be. I'm sure it will attract viewers, which is the point, but talk about selling your soul to do it.

The CW to Add Golf (?!) as New Prez Attempts to 'Reengineer the Network'

CHCH Channel 11 showed LIV Golf events this past season.

And many criticized them for doing it.

     Thread Starter
 

January 20, 2023 11:13 am  #13


Re: Can You Get Buffalo's Channel 23? Say Goodbye To The CW As You Knew It

     Thread Starter