TCA 2013: The CW - The Importance of Netflix, Taking a Risk with "Reign" - Ed Martin

Beverly Hills CA During his session Monday at the Summer 2013 Television Critics Association tour a reporter asked CBS Corp President and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves quotHow is it possible that the lights are still on at The CWquotThe reporter asked the question because of the relatively low Nielsen ratings earned by most CW shows Moonves was unfazed and as always refreshingly candid quotThe CW as an entity may lose some moneyquot he admitted quotHowever The CW is owned by two companies that produce the shows on its schedule The shows bring us more revenue than losses So it39s still valuable and there39s still a marketplace for it How39s thatquotWith Moonves39 answer in mind another reporter yesterday during a session with The CW President Mark Pedowitz wondered if the network could survive without the very lucrative deal that coparents Warner Bros and CBS have in place with Netflix which gives Netflix exclusive online subscription rerun rights to all past and present CW shows or if its model would have to somehow change in the wake of such a huge loss Pedowitz replied quotIf Netflix decides and I hope they don39t that they do not want to be associated with Warner Bros and CBS and The CW shows hopefully there will be some other service out there that would like that I think that model now particularly with serialized programming is a necessity because that39s where it actually thrives Serialized programming never quite thrived in domestic broadcast syndicationquotAs for those pesky ratings Pedowitz said quotWe39ve always viewed ourselves beyond our linear ratings with our VOD and our online Our online is approximately a little bit over 20 percent not 25 percent and that continues to grow Our on air ratings continued to grow this year particularly in total viewers and householdsquotThe CW39s decision in the fall to try and further raise its ratings with a lush historical drama albeit one with multiple factual liberties taken amp8211 was very much on the minds of critics yesterday during the session with PedowitzThe addition to the network39s schedule of quotReignquot about the tumultuous early years of Mary Stuart also known as the doomed Mary Queen of Scots looks to be one of the most outofcharacter moves and highprofile risks by any broadcast network in the new season given The CW39s unarguable success with series about supernatural beings and superheroes It is definitely the network39s most buzzed about new fall series Seems it is all part of the network39s effort to try to renew its appeal to young womenquotWe39ve said very much since I39ve been here that we39re looking to expand and broaden the adult 1834 demographic which would be more inclusive to men and womenquot Pedowitz said quotWhen 39Smallville39 went off the air a couple of years ago we had lost a lot of men And then with 39Arrow39 and 39Supernatural39 being paired up men came backquot But in the meantime quot39Gossip Girl39 got older and 399021039 kind of aged out We knew we needed shows for women To my development team39s great strength and to CBS Studios39 faith in the show we took a shot at 39Reign39 It39s high concept very different historical fiction We felt that going with 39Reign39 we would attract women of all ages We also felt that by pairing 39Reign39 with 39The Vampire Diaries39 we39d give 39Reign39 the best shot to have the most women 1834 going into that showquotThe other mostaskedabout show during Pedowitz39 session was one that doesn39t even exist yet A series built around the DC Comics character The Flash which will be a spinoff from quotArrowquot once the character is introduced on that show later in its second season A Flash series would be more in line with the current environment at The CW which is rather dense with fantasy and genre programs including those parked on its midseason bench Apparently it is almost a sure thing even though The CW coparent Warner Bros is reportedly planning to make a movie about the same character Warner Bros has a rich tradition of keeping movies and television projects about characters from its DC Comics division as separate as possible This is the exact opposite of the approach taken at Disney Its upcoming ABC series 39Marvel39s Agents of SHIELD39 exists in the same world as 39The Avengers39 and other movie franchises based on Marvel superheroesSignificantly a series based on The Flash would mark the third spinoff from a current program on The CW in a year The other two are quotThe Originalsquot a spinoff from quotThe Vampire Diariesquot set to debut in October and a muchtalkedabout potential spinoff from the longrunning quotSupernaturalquot which was announced two weeks ago at ComicCon and would center on a character that will be introduced in the upcoming ninth season of that seriesIf you are receiving this report you are a registered member to Jack Myers Media Business Network or are receiving it as part of a registered corporate membership As a member Jack responds 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TCA 2013: The CW - The Importance of Netflix, Taking a Risk with "Reign" - Ed Martin

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Ed Martin

Empowering Women in Media: Insights from Industry Leaders (Video) - By E.B. Moss

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