Short and sweet, CW reveals three new fall shows and keeps its attention on the young
Mike Pedowitz, president of CW, told upfront attendees Thursday that the network is all about keeping momentum, which is a play on last year’s successful transformative strategy on expanding the schedule and providing the audience with a fully converged experience.
CW surprised the upfront audience with two musical acts – The Dolls and Icona Pop – which were both entertaining and energizing. It was the jolt we all needed after a long week of presentations.
The other big surprise was that the presentation took less than an hour. An upfront first!
Pedowitz announced two big initiatives for the cable network:
• A partnership with Clear Channel to be the exclusive media outlet for IHeartRadio
• Transforming CW Digital Studio to CW Seed, giving it a more interactive and robust experience
Both initiatives speak to CW’s evolving commitment to being the number-one destination for 18- to 34-year olds.
Like last year, most of CW’s news was about juggling its schedule. It added three new fall programs; The Originals, The Tomorrow People and Reign. Two mid-season shows were added – Star Crossed and The 100. Part of its strategy is to keep the ratings stable and capture more of that youth-focused audience.
To that end, the network is evolving its digital platform to stay connected with their viewers and deliver on its promise to bring more original programming on air – digitally and socially.
Keeping this socially engaged group connected is no small feat. Twenty per cent of CW’s audience comes though digital channels. CW reminded us that, three years ago, they were the first network to fully converge digitally. Today they are extending their digitally converged footprint to include tablet and mobile.
Overall, the CW presentation reinforced the notion that it is the subject matter expert for this savvy 18-34 demo. They are not resting on their laurels, they know that they have to keep the momentum going by refreshing its schedule, building out its digital brand and keeping its audience’s engaged socially and digitally.
Robert DaSilva is the managing director, trading, at Mindshare Canada
