Exclusive: The CW is undergoing another round of staff cuts, sources tell Deadline. We’ve heard over 15 people have been affected, with the marketing/merchandising team affected, along with financing.
The laid-off employees are said to include mid- and senior-level executives, including some in senior vice president positions. A representative for The CW parent Nexstar Media declined to comment.
Today’s headcount cuts come a month and a half after Chris Spadaccini joined The CW as Chief Marketing Officer. It also comes amid uncertainty about the direction of the network’s programming, which is expected to move away from the high-quality scripted series that have been dominating its schedule. So far, only the main drama All Americans It has been renewed for the next season.
The first major wave of layoffs hit last November 1, less than a month after Nexstar struck a deal to acquire 75% ownership of The CW, when about 30 to 40 employees left in multiple territories. These cuts followed the October 3 exit of The CW President and CEO Mark Pedowitz, President of Broadcasting and Branding Officer Rick Haskins; and Chief Financial Officer Mitch Needick.
There has been a steady stream of executive departures since then, most recently the departure of Kyle Zizou, who oversaw alternative programming, earlier this week, as Deadline reported exclusively.
Nexstar has promised investors that it will make The CW profitable by 2025. The company is significantly revamping the network’s programming slate, moving away from the newly written dramas that have long been its signature. Instead, the schedule will increasingly favor unscripted shows, with news and sports also entering the mix. Earlier this year, the network signed a deal to carry the LIV Golf Tournaments on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, the CW’s first regularly scheduled broadcast outside of primetime. Nexstar executives said they would continue to evaluate additional sports rights and also noted that they could tap cable news network NewsNation for programming in the future.
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