The CW is changing its colors but its name will remain the same

If you’ve been tuning into The CW for its near 20 years as a network, you’ve seen more than one evolution for the channel that’s brought you Riverdale, the Arrowverse, Supernatural, All American and more. Some of you might have even been glued to the TV when One Tree Hill was king of the castle at the network and America’s Next Top Model was appointment television. However, the latest changes made to The CW have left longtime viewers wondering what to expect as it progresses through the infancy of its Nexstar-era.

The media company took over majority ownership of the network in October of last year with CW’s parent companies, Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery, retaining a 12.5% stake each. But, even before the change in regime, The CW was already changing dramatically. 13 original series were canceled in 2022. As for 2023, six shows were canceled and The Flash, Riverdale, and Nancy Drew were scheduled to come to an end (the latter two air their series finales on Aug. 23).

This has left only All American, All American: Homecoming, Walker, and Superman & Lois as the last standing CW scripted originals on the roster. All four series will debut new seasons in 2024 though renewals came with decreased episode counts and, for Homecoming and Superman & Lois, budget cuts and series regular cast reductions.

Taking the place of the network’s usual staples and tentpoles have been a slew of acquisitions and sports content as the new owners work to figure out what The CW looks like with them at the helm. It’s been no secret that in the process, they’ve managed to alienate viewers who have been loyal fans of CW’s former roster of series. As such, there’s been inquiries into whether the network will undergo a name change since they’re working to broaden their audience. Here’s what we know.

The CW isn’t changing its name

Brad Schwartz, CW’s Entertainment President, sat down with the hosts of The Hollywood Reporter’s TV’s Top 5 podcast–Lesley Goldberg and Daniel Fienberg–to discuss The CW in its new era and this included the possibility of a name change. Schwartz had the following to say:

"There have been no conversations about changing the name. We’ve had conversations about how can we make The CW more elastic? We’re going to have 300 hours of sports on the air this year and we had zero hours of sports last year. In 2025, we’re going to have 450 hours of sports, with live sports 48 weekends a year. That is a drastic change in a very small amount of time. And you need to put a CW logo on that stuff that makes it feel like we’re a home for sports.Whether it’s comedies or dramas, or the young adult stuff that we still have, or sports, we need to make The CW feel like a brand that can handle all those different flavors of content. Maybe we redesign the network a little bit, maybe we make the logo, the fonts and the colors feel like it can wrap up this exciting new evolution of the brand. But there’s been no conversation at all about changing the name.I’ve gone through six rebrands in my career, so know the recipe for it. They’re difficult unless you have a ton of money and a ton of patience to completely shun an audience that was there and try and start again with a new name and a whole new thing. Evolutions are a difficult as well, but a little easier to pull off. So, we’re not going to change the name. We’re just going to make the name feel like something different. And we’re going through that process right now."

What does The CW stand for?

If you’ve ever wondered what the acronym stands for, it’s really quite simple. The C represents CBS Corporation and the W is for Warner Bros., the names of the parent companies at the time of the network’s creation. The majority of the original content on The CW in its pre-Nexstar era exclusively came from the joint partnership established by these companies.

Despite Nexstar being the majority owner of the network now, a name change would be the wrong move because The CW has a recognizable presence in the entertainment sphere. The new regime is banking on the legacy that came with their newly acquired venture even as they shift its brand into something that operates in a similar vein as the Big 4 with lower price points and more cost-effective programming.

In the interview, Schwartz mentioned, “You don’t want to shun an audience you’ve spent 20 years cultivating. Hence why you renew Superman & Lois, All American and Homecoming and Walker,” but with only four original dramas left from what came before, that ship likely has sailed. There’s a new CW in town even if its name is the same.

Time will tell if longtime viewers will continue tuning in once those four dramas take their final bows. This network may have to subsist on an untested audience who may not stick around for more especially if shows keep getting pulled like Barons, Down to Earth with Zac Efron, and Fantastic Friends have so far.

Stay tuned to Hidden Remote for more The CW news and coverage!