The CW

The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as the CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the first letters of the names of its two founding co-owners CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. Nexstar acquired a 75% controlling stake in the network on October 3, 2022, with Paramount Skydance Corporation and Warner Bros. Discovery (CBS Corporation and Warner Bros.'s respective successor companies) each retaining a 12.5% ownership stake.

The CW debuted on September 18, 2006 as the successor to UPN and the WB, which had both shut down that month. Its first two nights of programming—on September 18, 2006 and September 19, 2006—consisted of reruns and launch-related specials. The CW marked its formal launch date on September 20, 2006, with the two-hour premiere of the seventh cycle of America's Next Top Model. The network's programming lineup is intended to appeal mainly to viewers between the ages of 18 and 34, although from 2008 to 2011 the network shifted its programming to appeal to women in that demographic. As of August 2017, the network's audience was evenly split between men and women.

The CW runs programming seven days a week: airing nightly in prime time along with a Saturday morning live-action educational programming block produced by Hearst Media Production Group called One Magnificent Morning.

The CW is also available in Canada on pay television providers through stations owned-and-operated by Nexstar and on affiliates owned by others that are located within proximity to the Canada–United States border (whose broadcasts of CW shows are subject to simultaneous substitution laws imposed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, if a Canadian network holds the broadcast rights); it’s also available through two Nexstar-controlled stations that are classified in the United States as superstations—New York City–based de facto flagship WPIX and Los Angeles–based de jure flagship KTLA.

Additionally, the network is available in northern Mexico through affiliates located near the Mexico–U.S. border (such as KFMB-DT2—San Diego/Tijuana, KECY-DT3 in El Centro, California, KVIA-DT2 in El Paso, and KCWT-CD with simulcast network KMBH-LD2 in McAllen/Brownsville, Texas) on pay television providers. In both Canada and Mexico, some free-to-air CW affiliate signals originating from the U.S. are receivable over-the-air in border areas depending on the station's signal coverage.

In Central America, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and the Caribbean, many subscription providers carry either select U.S.-based CW-affiliated stations or the main network feed from the CW O&Os WPIX in New York City, WDCW in Washington, D.C., WPHL-TV in Philadelphia, KTLA in Los Angeles, KRON-TV in San Francisco, KIAH in Houston, KDAF in Dallas, KPLR-TV in St. Louis, KWGN-TV in Denver, WBNX-TV in Cleveland or WGN-TV in Chicago.

In April 1993, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ended the fin-syn rules that prohibited television networks from owning the rerun rights to programs they broadcast. Fearing that the networks would stop buying programs from independent studios, Warner Bros. Television and Paramount Television each decided to start their own networks.

The WB and UPN both launched within one week of each other in January 1995, just as the Fox Broadcasting Company had started to secure a foothold with American television audiences. The two networks launched to limited fanfare and generally mediocre to poor results. However, over the subsequent 11+1⁄2 seasons, both were able to air several series that became quite popular (such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Star Trek: Voyager, The Sentinel, 7th Heaven, Dawson's Creek, Charmed, Smallville, Everwood, Gilmore Girls, Reba, The Steve Harvey Show, and America's Next Top Model).