Sports programming has The CW moving towards profitability

The CW has transformed from a network airing reruns of procedurals and teen dramas to a full-fledged broadcast network.

The Nexstar Media Group-owned channel has bolstered its programming lineup with live sports, and is now on the track towards profitability. Thursday, the company held its fourth-quarter earnings call and outlined that The CW should be out of the red and into the black by 2026, largely thanks to the addition of live sports.

According to a report by Dade Hayes of Deadline, Nexstar president Mike Biard attributes the network’s shift to sports and “sports-adjacent” programming as the driving factor for The CW’s newfound success. Sports content now accounts for about 40% of The CW’s total programming time, about 400 hours per year.

The network has scooped up a number of low-wattage sports properties on the cheap to build out its portfolio. Particularly, NASCAR’s Xfinity Series and WWE’s WWE NXT franchise have been viewership hits. Advertisers are taking notice too, with the more in-demand programming boosting ad revenue for the network.

In addition to NASCAR and WWE, The CW recently added a professional track and field circuit, airs Inside the NFL, a package of ACC football and basketball games, and last year aired home games for the “Pac-2” schools, Oregon State and Washington State.

The CW isn’t the only broadcast “netlet” employing a sports-forward strategy. Scripps’ ION has also gotten into live sports with purchases of WNBA and NWSL packages.

For small and growing leagues, the reach offered by these kinds of networks can often beat out little-watched cable channels like CBS Sports Network or truTV, for instance. And given they’re freely accessible to anyone with an antenna, they offer a perfect platform for attracting new viewers.

Given The CW’s financial turnaround, these partnerships seem mutually beneficial.