A pair of Paramount Global-owned independent stations will become CW Network affiliates under a new multi-year deal reached between the company and Nexstar Media Group.
The move is part of a multi-year agreement reached between Paramount and Nexstar that includes the renewal of an affiliation agreement that will keep CBS programming on more than 40 Nexstar-owned or controlled broadcast stations throughout the country.
The deal also includes an agreement that Paramount will offer CW Network programming on its independent stations in Miami and Detroit; the move comes more than a year after the station in Detroit and seven others owned by Paramount converted to full-time independents.
The two stations that will offer CW Network programming from September 1 are WKBD (Channel 50) in Detroit and WBFS (Channel 33) in Miami.
Nexstar has been looking for a new home for the CW Network in Miami and Detroit after the E. W. Scripps Company said it would drop the CW affiliations from seven of its owned or operated stations, including one in both markets.
WADL (Channel 38), an independent station owned by Adell Broadcasting, was pursued by a Nexstar affiliated business called Mission Broadcasting for more than a year with the hopes of moving the CW Network to that station. The matter was held up at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) after pay TV organizations protested the move, arguing it would give Nexstar too much concentration of power in seeking retransmission consent agreements with cable and satellite platforms.
The FCC gave a condition approval for Mission to purchase WADL earlier this year. The conditions were too onerous for Mission and Nexstar, which withdrew their interest in acquiring WADL in May.
In text messages with The Desk last week, Adell Broadcasting owner Kevin Adell said he was still engaged in discussions with Nexstar CEO Perry Sook to operate WADL through a local marketing agreement, an arrangement that would allow him to retain ownership on paper while otherwise giving Nexstar control of the station.
In prior conversations, Adell had threatened to bring the matter to court if the sale of WADL did not go through. Last year, he claimed he would sue Scripps for tortious interference after the broadcaster obtained the right to transmit CW Network programming for about a year; Adell said the arrangement had the potential to impact his deal with Mission, which was still pending at the time.
Adell later suggested he would take Mission to court after the broadcaster asked for the refund of a deposit held in escrow. Adell affirmed last week that the money was returned to Mission as discussions between his company and Nexstar progressed. (Nexstar declined to comment on the discussions.)
Reached for comment early Tuesday morning, Adell said he had seen the news of Nexstar’s deal with Paramount in the Detroit market. When asked if he would move forward with his tortiuos interference lawsuit, he replied, “no.”
—
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story said the Paramount stations in Miami and Detroit were reverting to CW Network affiliates. Only the Paramount station in Detroit offered CW programming in the past; the Miami station will become a CW affiliate for the first time.
