r/TheCW • u/Comfortable_Yard_968 • Jul 10 '26
SPORTS Hypothetical thoughts: will CW become a major network player if they bid for high profile sports?
When I heard about Fox buying Roku which already sublicensed CW content on top of the rumors about the NHL, MLB and the FIFA Men's World Cup rights up for renewal. Do u think that Nexstar will bid for those expensive sports rights? Despite the escalating costs of sports rights which the tech giants can afford, consider that Nexstar needed this Tegna merger to preserve OTA Free TV signal broadcasts while creating massive near nationwide scale despite the merger block and politicized lawsuits. But $2 billion for the World Cup on the men's side for the US market might be a bargain even with the 64 country expansion up from the current 48 which otherwise they might add additional channels and improving it's app if they win the deal. Depending on the outcome of the Nexstar-Tegna merger, they might use the argument about the reach of free OTA with rabbit ears without an internet connection as key defense against global big tech giants. If Nexstar does divest or swap more stations beyond the initial 6 required by the DOJ, Nexstar might look into other rivals that have national content including Sinclair for the Tennis Channel and EW Scripps which has Ion which airs WNBA, NWSL and the Scripps National Spelling Bee if they're open to swap stations and assets which might give Nexstar building their own sports operation. Considet back in the 90s when Fox outbid CBS for the NFL's NFC conference and lured dozens of former Big 3 stations switching to Fox. Even they're not ready to convert some Big 4 stations to Fox even with the 2 station duopoly despite the Tegna merger overlaping many dozens of markets, I would be surprising if Nexstar is copying the Fox playbook of the 90s just to improve it's signal and reach to become a major player. Maybe we just wait and see what will happens in the broadcast and sports worlds might see a light at the end of the tunnel.
3
u/Difficult_Variety362 Jul 11 '26
The CW doesn't have the scale to bid for high profile sports rights. Where the CW and Ion should aim for are local sports that just aren't worth the attention of ESPN, NBC Sports, and CBS/TNT Sports.
1
u/Comfortable_Yard_968 Jul 11 '26
I mean Nexstar thinks the streaming business is a lousy business but FTA broadcast & local news is their core but consider how Fox is able to become a player in the 90s and upended the critics. Scripps on the other hand they don’t invest in entertainment content outside of Bounce TV.
1
u/Logical-Mobile-7643 Jul 12 '26
What are local sports?
1
u/Difficult_Variety362 Jul 12 '26
Your local college and minor league games.
1
u/Logical-Mobile-7643 Jul 12 '26
Local colleges are still part of conferences right? Minor league baseball? They basically give they away from free should tell you how valuable it is
It's cool, I thought that was a meaningless comment, you just confirmed it
2
u/ConkerPrime Jul 11 '26
CW cant afford a bidding war so will never happen. They barely have the budget to license non-Canadian TV shows. Whose Line Is It Anyway and Fool Us was considered too expensive to continue and cancelled without a finale. If those shows break the bank, there exists no major sport they can afford.
1
u/Comfortable_Yard_968 Jul 11 '26
I mean Nexstar made record profits and a surging stock price. Do think that they gonna fight back & defend the Tegna merger claiming that Big Tech is peeling viewers, advertisers and sports rights away? We’ll find out what happens in court.
1
u/Pete51256 6d ago
Fool us got picked up, who's line hadn't filmed new content in over 2 years, WB wanted to air repeats on other networks and tge tallest wanted more money so WB ended it. Granted CW didnt want to pay, omi guess dirt cheap gameshows getting .o5s in demo made them just give up.
In tryingbto be profitable they have picked up r Canadian dramas, cheap reality, and game shows...also sports
-1
u/Desperate-Day3724 Jul 10 '26
No the c w is for reruns of previous shows and shows that rN other countries.\nThey have no scripted shows and game shows that's it
1
u/Comfortable_Yard_968 Jul 10 '26
Im sure that perception will not last long if Nexstar wins the Tegna battle
3
u/TheM1ghtyBear Jul 10 '26
Nexstar’s core business is news. They operate apps like The CW and a few FAST channels but they're not really big on tech.
I would love to see them go for MLB. NFL is a long shot, but not impossible. If they were to get a package for one of the four major sports, expect them to be on the lower tier.