CW Network faces unhousing in Detroit after end of WMYD agreement

The CW Network will no longer be housed on WMYD-TV (Channel 20) come Sept. 1, after seven E.W. Scripps-owned stations nationwide decided to not renew their agreements to carry the network.

That leaves the CW's fate in the market unclear, and marks the third time in eight months the network faces finding a new home on Detroit airwaves.

The other markets where the CW is leaving Scripps stations are Miami; Tucson, Arizona; Corpus Christi, Texas; San Luis Obispo, California; Norfolk, Virginia; and Lafayette, Louisiana. In a statement, CW corporate parent Nexstar Media Group said there's "interest from other station groups" about carrying the network in all affected markets, and says announcements about those affiliates are expected soon.

"We are prepared for this transition and confident that The CW will continue to reach 100% of US television households without interruption," the statement read.

Representatives for Nexstar and WYMD-TV didn't elaborate beyond the provided statement.

Locally, the CW hopped to WMYD in November, after leaving WADL-TV (Channel 38), its home for just two months. That was after the end of the network's 17-year affiliation with WKBD-TV (Channel 50) in August 2023.

The CW only has a few choices for a new home in the Detroit market, says Matthew Keys, media reporter and publisher of The Desk: It can return to WADL or it can move to a digital subchannel of WDIV-TV (Channel 4) or WJBK-TV (Channel 2).

"The CW will go somewhere in Detroit; where it goes is really up in the air," says Keys, who says he thinks it will end up back at WADL.

WADL owner Kevin Adell, who pulled the station's agreement with the CW in October, says if the CW wants back on his airwaves, "They're gonna have to pay me." WADL is under pending sale to Texas-based Mission Broadcasting, which is managed by Nexstar, a $75 million deal that has been held up as it awaits FCC approval. The proposal expires June 29.

The CW, long known for its scripted programming, has beefed up its sports offerings in the last year, and is home to LIV Golf, the IndyCar docuseries "100 Days to Indy" and "Inside the NFL." World Wrestling Entertainment's NXT, its developmental brand, moves from the USA Network to the CW in October.

Adell is also the owner of WFDF-AM (910), which switched from community broadcasting to conservative talk in September 2023.

agraham@detroitnews.com