Layoffs are underway at the CW. According to sources, as many as 35 people have been let go, with scripted PR particularly hard hit.
While SVP Beth Feldman and VP Rob Moynihan are said to be staying, the entire team under them has been laid off, I hear. Also believed to be impacted are scripted and unscripted programming and marketing.
The latest round of cuts comes on the heels of a change at the helm of the CW, with Dennis Miller stepping down as President after two years. The network’s President of Entertainment Brad Schwartz, who succeed him, is expected to address today’s layoffs.
The CW previously underwent multiple rounds of staff cuts following the closing of Nexstar Media’s deal to take 75% ownership of the network.
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The layoffs are part of Nexstar’s plan to make the network profitable by 2025, in large part by ditching the high-end scripted dramas favored by previous joint venture partners Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery (each of which still has 12.5% of the network).
Today’s cuts are said to reflect that programming shift away from high-end scripted toward sports and unscripted/game shows.
In the most recent Q3 earnings report released last week, Nexstar reported a 22% ad sales increase tied to the election. The company reported that operating losses at the CW have been reduced by $119 million year-to-date and that programming costs for the network have been reduced by nearly 52% from when Nexstar acquired the CW in 2022.
Lynette Rice and Dade Hayes contributed to this report.