EW: Netflix seals deal with CW

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CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. Television Group have signed a four-year deal with Netflix that will allow its customers to instantly watch more than 700 hours of previous seasons of scripted series that currently air on The CW, including episodes of Ringer, Hart of Dixie, The Secret Circle, The Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl, 90210, Supernatural, Nikita, and One Tree Hill.

“This is a forward-thinking agreement … that opens a new door for The CW programming to expand its audience reach through the terrific Netflix service, and creates a brand-new window for CBS and Warner Bros. to be paid for the content we supply the network,” said Leslie Moonves, president and CEO of the CBS Corporation, in a statement.

“We have long admired the CW’s ability to connect so passionately and directly with a very important and difficult to reach demographic,” added Ted Sarandos, chief content officer at Netflix. “This is programming for the on-demand generation and we hope this agreement deepens the relationships viewers already have with these powerful entertainment brands.”

Previous seasons of The Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, and Nikita will be available to watch instantly on Oct. 15, with previous seasons of Supernatural and 90210 beginning in January 2012. Episodes of all scripted series airing on The CW this broadcast season will premiere for Netflix members next fall.

Via : Netflix seals deal with CW | Inside TV | EW.com.

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EW: The CW gets a new president: Dawn Ostroff to be replaced by Mark Pedowitz

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It’s official: The CW’s entertainment president since its inception, Dawn Ostroff, will step down next month and will be replaced by former ABC Studios chief Mark Pedowitz, who helped develop hits like Lost, Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, Ugly Betty, Scrubs, Army Wives, Ghost Whisperer and Criminal Minds.

The CW launched five years ago after The WB and UPN merged and has struggled to gain ratings traction at a time when broadcast in general has slipped. Though shows like Gossip Girl and The Vampire Diaries have broken through, most of the network’s top draws are aging hits that The CW inherited — like Smallville, One Tree Hill and America’s Next Top Model. Meanwhile, cable rivals going after the network’s young female viewers, like MTV and ABC Family, have proven formidable competitors, with shows like Secret Life of the American Teenager, Jersey Shore, and Teen Mom pulling serious numbers.

The network has seemed to have a tough time figuring itself out — is it the female soap network? The supernatural genre network? And then there’s Top Model, its only reality hit. Its target demo clearly loves reality shows — just look at MTV — but the network has never found another show that it was able to successfully pair with Top Model on Wednesday nights.

Next fall’s crop of CW pilots are already being shot, so turning around The CW might take awhile, even if Pedowitz hits the ground running…

Via : The CW gets a new president: Dawn Ostroff to be replaced by Mark Pedowitz | Inside TV | EW.com.

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