Nexstar laid off between 30-40 staffers at the CW network Tuesday, marking the first sweeping staffing overhaul at the broadcaster since it changed ownership, according to a source familiar with the situation.
Among those cuts were Paul Hewitt, the longtime CW comms chief, who has been replaced by Beth Feldman. Additionally, multiple execs in distribution, strategy and affiliate relations were let go, with Google vet Rebekah Dopp taking over those departments.
Nexstar is wasting little time revamping the CW, a plan that began with the replacement of longtime CW president Mark Pedowitz being ousted upon the close of Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery’s sale of the network to Nexstar earlier this month. Also cut in the wake of the deal were streaming and branding exec Rick Haskins and ad sales head Mitch Nedick.
TV station giant Nexstar has been expected to start orienting CW’s operations toward the demands of its primary business — ownership of local stations. For years, CW thrived on a rich vein of revenue gained from the sale of streaming rights to Netflix, but Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount are more concerned these days with deriving their own revenue from streaming subscriptions and advertising sold alongside broadband-distributed programming.
More to come…
#Layoffs #Hit #PostNexstar #Sale #EXCLUSIVE
