CW and Tribune renew affiliation agreement (with one exception)

TV NEWS 

  After much wondering and probably some wrangling  Tribune Media, one the larger owners of CW affiliates has renewed their deal with the network this means KTLA 5 Los Angeles,  KWGN 2 Denver,KDAF 33 Dallas, WPIX 11 New York, KIAH 39 Houston, WCCT 20 Hartford, WDCW 50 Washington DC , WSFL 39 South Florida, WNOL 38 New Orelans , WGNT 27 Hampton Roads, KPLR 11 Saint  Louis, KRCW 32 Portland,OR,  will remain with the CW.  Tribune's former deal was made at the launch of the CW in 2006.  The one change is WGN-TV in Chicago which will be leaving the network on September 1st.  It is moving to Fox  owned WPWR -50 , which is currently a My Network TV station (My Network TV is also owned by FOX).

     WGN-TV says they will focus on their sports commitments  which includes rights to games from Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox , Chicago Bulls, and Chicago Blackhawks.   Due to CW  agreements they couldn't air as much Cran's Chicago Business Reports.   This could also be a boost to the low rated Chicago Station, WPWR-TV, to air the CW programs as a way to gain viewers. The MyNetwork TV programming will most likely be moved to another time slot.

   This will be the first time since 1995, WGN-TV will not be affiliated with a network , WPWR was affiliated with  UPN from 1995 to 2006 , when CBS (owners of the UPN) and Time Warner (owners of The WB along with Tribune) decided to merge their operations and create the CW.

press releases after the Jump



Tribune Press release :

May 23, 2016
BURBANK, Calif. and CHICAGO, May 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The CW Network and Tribune Media Company (NYSE: TRCO) have reached new long-term affiliation agreements for 12 of Tribune's currently affiliated CW stations across the country. The markets renewed cover 25 percent of the U.S. and serve more than 28 million households.
The stations extending their affiliation agreements with The CW include WPIX-TV in New York, KTLA in Los Angeles, KDAF inDallas, WDCW in Washington, DC, KIAH in Houston, WSFL-TV in Miami, KWGN-TV in Denver, KPLR-TV in St. Louis, KRCW-TV inPortland, WCCT-TV in Hartford, WGNT in Norfolk and WNOL-TV in New Orleans. Separately, The CW and Tribune Broadcasting announced that the local Chicago CW affiliation will move from Tribune Broadcasting to Fox Entertainment Group and WGN-TV/Chicago will become an independent station, featuring local news, live sports and syndicated programming during primetime, beginning September 2016.
"As The CW continues to build on its current ratings momentum and full schedule of high-quality programming, we are thrilled to continue our successful partnership with Tribune and their affiliated stations for many years to come," said Mark Pedowitz, President, The CW Network.
"We are extremely pleased to continue our strong relationship with The CW Network," said Peter Liguori, Tribune Media's President and Chief Executive Officer. "The primetime entertainment programming offered by The CW drives a passionate and loyal audience to our stations and we are looking forward to a lot of success."
About The CW:  THE CW TELEVISION NETWORK, a joint venture between Warner Bros. Entertainment and CBS Corporation, made its debut onSeptember 20, 2006 as America's fifth broadcast network and is the only network specifically targeting viewers ages 18-34, a demographic highly sought after by advertisers. The CW offers a five-night, 10-hour primetime lineup that runs Monday through Friday. In daytime, The CW broadcasts a Monday through Friday afternoon block, and a five-hour Saturday morning kids block. For more information, visit www.cwtv.com.
About Tribune Media Company:  Tribune Media Company (NYSE: TRCO) is home to a diverse portfolio of television and digital properties driven by quality news, entertainment and sports programming. Tribune Media is comprised of Tribune Broadcasting's 42 owned or operated local television stations reaching approximately 50 million households, national entertainment network WGN America, whose reach is approaching 80 million households, Tribune Studios, and Gracenote, one of the world's leading sources of TV and music metadata powering electronic program guides in televisions, automobiles and mobile devices. Tribune Media also includes Chicago's WGN-AM and the national multicast networks Antenna TV and THIS TV. Additionally, the Company owns and manages a significant number of real estate properties across the U.S. and holds other strategic investments in media. For more information please visit www.tribunemedia.com.


SOURCE Tribune Media Company

And Tribune press release on WGN-TV

May 23, 2016
CHICAGO, May 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Tribune Broadcasting today announced that WGN-TV in Chicago will become an independent station in order to feature its strong local news, unique live sports inventory, and high-quality syndicated programming during primetime.  The change is effective September 1.  WGN-TV has been the Chicago affiliate for The CW Network, which will be moving to WPWR-TV.
"As an independent television station, we'll have the opportunity to bring more primetime baseball, basketball and hockey games to Chicago sports fans on weeknights, add some popular syndicated programming, expand our weekend morning news, and take control of all of WGN-TV's primetime advertising inventory," said Larry Wert, President of Broadcast Media for Tribune Broadcasting.  "Importantly, we'll also avoid having to move any games off of WGN-TV to accommodate network programming."
Known as "Chicago's Very Own," WGN-TV is the broadcast home of the Chicago Cubs, White Sox, Bulls and Hawks, and has the rights to carry more than 150 live games of the city's local sports teams annually.  The station produces and airs more professional sports games than any other local station in the country.  Due to network programming commitments, however, the station has had to move more than 30 games to other Chicago stations in years past.  
"WGN is the heartbeat of local news and sports in Chicago," said Greg Easterly, the station's Vice President and General Manager.  "We're very excited about the opportunities that lie ahead and the freedom of being an independent station in the nation's third-largest market." 
WGN currently delivers more than 60 hours per week of local news, sports, and weather.  In the last 18 months, WGN launched weekday newscasts at 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. and a weekend newscast at 5 p.m.  The station's morning news show ranks #1 in the Chicago market.
Tribune Media Company (NYSE: TRCO) is home to a diverse portfolio of television and digital properties driven by quality news, entertainment and sports programming. Tribune Media is comprised of Tribune Broadcasting's 42 owned or operated local television stations reaching more than 50 million households, national entertainment network WGN America, whose reach is approaching 80 million households, Tribune Studios, and Gracenote, one of the world's leading sources of video, music and sports metadata, powering electronic program guides in televisions, automobiles and mobile devices. TribuneMedia also includes Chicago's WGN-AM and the national multicast networks Antenna TV and THIS TV. Additionally, the Company owns and manages a significant number of real estate properties across the U.S. and holds other strategic investments in media. For more information please visit www.tribunemedia.com.

SOURCE Tribune Media Company