The CW is being sold - end of an era?

[Anarchist]

So, with the CW being sold, what do you think will change?

I first wanted to make this thread solely about the Arrowverse, but since the CW is bigger than that, I made a general thread instead.

But speaking about the Arrowverse in particular, do you think that this will mark the end of that shared Superhero Universe?

(And please, keep the gleeful comments to a minimum, yeah I know it had issues, but it still has fans, myself included, and nobody is forcing anybody to watch it, there's plenty of alternatives)

[Captain Craig]

I think it will mean an overhaul for sure. New management will mean an examination of all revenue streams and shows viewership.
Low hanging fruit that can't be sustained via the Netflix deal will likely go. So, bye Batwoman. That shows viewership is so low...even for CW it boggles most that it wasn't cancelled after S2 anyway.
Not sure where Legends ranks but last I knew Flash, Superman & Lois and Stargirl all had solid enough numbers. Naomi is unknown but the sale hasn't happened yet either.

[Kirby101]

I think they will not continue to spend the money for Arrowverse type shows. We might see WB and HBOMax use these characters in a different way.

[Castle]

it is for the best, no more crappy dc comic book shows. sell CW, Give DC to HBO MAX.

[Godzilla2099]

A good first step.

The DC shows they produced ranged from Meh to Cringe.

[Noodle]

it is for the best, no more crappy dc comic book shows. sell CW, Give DC to HBO MAX.

1 year from now: "No more crappy HBO MAX shows. Sell it to someone else!"

It's amazing how short sighted some people are.

[choptop]

I like the CW DC shows hopefully they continue on HBO MAX

[LoganAlpha30X33]

I think it will mean an overhaul for sure. New management will mean an examination of all revenue streams and shows viewership.
Low hanging fruit that can't be sustained via the Netflix deal will likely go. So, bye Batwoman. That shows viewership is so low...even for CW it boggles most that it wasn't cancelled after S2 anyway.
Not sure where Legends ranks but last I knew Flash, Superman & Lois and Stargirl all had solid enough numbers. Naomi is unknown but the sale hasn't happened yet either.

It's because the show has a female lead who is a lesbian, and now for season two they added a woman of color to that...not really much whether the show is actually any good or not...

[Anarchist]

1 year from now: "No more crappy HBO MAX shows. Sell it to someone else!"

It's amazing how short sighted some people are.

Yeah, remember how fast Titans went from beloved to absolute cringe?

[wleakr]

Arrowverse is gradually coming to an end anyway. Arrow, Supergirl and Black Lightning already gone. Stargirl and Superman are pretty much in their own contained space with little to no reference to anything else (the Diggle stuff being the exception). And Flash can't possibly have more than the current season and maybe one more after this - no shock if this is the last season. Legends is also in its own space and wouldn't be shocked if this is their last season, too.

[Jackalope89]

Yeah, remember how fast Titans went from beloved to absolute cringe?

Yeah. I don't know about "beloved", as even from the beginning it was kind of divisive. Some episodes stood out as really good, then others would drop the ball.

[AnakinFlair]

Yeah, remember how fast Titans went from beloved to absolute cringe?

Titan's was beloved? I seem to recall it being derided from the moment the first trailer literally said 'Fuck Batman'.

While I think there will be pruning, I think ultimately how much will depend entirely on who buys it. I would expect Batwoman to get the axe due to it's numbers; I think even Flash may be in danger depending on the contracts of the leads. A new studio, if faced with renegotiating a contract of an actor who has been on the show for a long time, may decide to cut the show altogether rather than be forced to pay more. Naomi's fate will depend on when the sale actually occurs- if it happens most of the way through the first season, I'd think the new owners would let it finish out the season before making any decisions. Outside of that, I think ratings will start to matter. If it tanks, it'll be gone.

[AnakinFlair]

Legends is also in its own space and wouldn't be shocked if this is their last season, too.

Dare to dream.

[Immortal Weapon]

Yeah, remember how fast Titans went from beloved to absolute cringe?

Titans was divisive from the start. Fans introduced to the team from the cartoons hated the dark take, the look of Starfire and dropping the ball in finale.

[mburns]

I don't understand why anyone would want to buy it. From what I understand the CW as a network loses money. But the producers of the content, Warner Bros mainly right now is able to make money on the shows by selling it to Netlfix that's why the CW stayed around, so the shows could get to 88 episodes for streaming and syndication purposes no matter how poorly they did in the ratings. I assume the new owners of the CW will not be participating in these back end deals so they will need the CW to actually start making money as a network which is highly unlikely as more and more people just go to streaming and Warner Bros is likely at some point to pull all their DC projects to place on their own streaming service HBO Max and Paramount will also keep all their best programming for their streaming service Paramount+.

Seems like Warner/Paramount are looking to dump a loser network on some suckers.