Mark Pedowitz Sends Rousing Letter To Colleagues At The CW, Celebrates Network’s Wokeness As He Steps Down As Chairman And CEO
JB Augustine
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Now that it has found a buyer, Chairman and CEO Mark Pedowitz is out as the head of The CW after eleven years with the network and two years in his post.
Source: Batwoman, The CW
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Deadline announced that Pedowitz has left following the takeover by the growing entity of Nexstar Broadcasting. His exit will be “effective immediately,” says the report, and marks the end of the Arrowverse and “The CW as we know it.”
He also wrote a goodbye memo to both friends and colleagues, writing, “All journeys have a beginning and end. My wonderful journey of 11 plus years at The CW is now concluding.”
“From the beginning of my time here at The CW all of you welcomed me with open arms. The camaraderie, teamwork, collaboration and creativity made this a truly special place to work.”
He continued, “Together, we have accomplished so much. This upstart network with its unique blend of programming brought The CW into the forefront of pop culture and social media. We made water cooler TV in a multi-platform world. We embraced what the audience wanted and gave it to them.”
Source: Supergirl Season 4 Episode 19 (2019), DC Entertainment
“Many attempted to emulate The CW, but few succeeded,” Pedowitz added. “Collectively, we Dared to Defy the conventional norms, converted weaknesses into strengths and forged new paths that no one had done before in the industry.”
“The CW has become a recognized leader on-screen and behind the scenes with our efforts to showcase and embrace the diverse world we inhabit,” he wrote further. “We created an environment for people to express themselves without fear and created stability in an unstable business. We found ways to share our differences of opinion and arrive at a unified consensus.”
In closing, Pedowitz revealed his next move. “As I end my CW journey, I will commence a new one. I have activated my production/consulting company Pinestreet Entertainment. I look forward to bringing some of my projects to The CW.”
Source: Supergirl Season 5 Episode 9 “Crisis on Infinite Earths Part One” (2019), The CW
He concluded, “May the network’s journey continue to be one of unparalleled success and may all of you continue to Dare to Defy the naysayers.”
Pedowitz, a fan of Supernatural, rebuilt the brand around the popular horror drama and then greenlit many of the network’s DC and Arrowverse offerings once he rose through the ranks. Many were hit or miss especially in the last few years when they pushed the flops Batwoman and Naomi, which he didn’t bother mentioning.
Once Pedowitz is succeeded, Deadline notes, there is a chance Nexstar will turn CW into something more akin to basic cable and localized outfits PAX/ION Television and MyNetworkTV that have much less original programming than they did at one time — not that they had a lot, to begin with.
Source: Naomi (2021), The CW
More layoffs are also expected as the merging, churning, and downsizing of media conglomerates affiliated with Warner Bros. in some way rolls on like a train in the night.
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