The prospect of a competing online service could also serve as leverage for the CW to get paid more under new arrangements with local station owners like Tribune or online partners. As such, according to Bloomberg, CBS is considering launching a CW streaming site once its current deals with Netflix (which airs past seasons) and Hulu (which airs current episodes) expires, which would affect The Flash, Arrow, The 100, and naturally the network’s entire catalogue of shows.
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Similar to the CBS service, the CW could offer a live feed along with a library of on-demand content. Sources said such a direct-to-consumer play is inevitable for the network and prices discussed are around $2-$4/month. Bloomberg says the plan involving the separate streaming service will pay CW affiliates for making a web-based version of the network programming available in their market.
Pedowitz did not specify the names of the companies that CBS and Time Warner might consider for a new deal, but he expects to find a solution to the issue in the coming six to nine months.
CW viewership is reportedly down 13% overall in the current TV season, the audience of which tends to skew younger than the other networks, thereby less likely to watch live or through traditional means (See: 20% of 2015’s most pirated series). The network on Sunday won its second Golden Globe Award in as many years, as Rachel Bloom was awarded best actress in a TV comedy for her performance in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. There’s also a chance that they run the numbers and ultimately decide against it. $2 to $4 isn’t a whole lot of cash per month, but it adds up, and it’s only the one network.
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CW is averaging 1.92 million viewers in prime time this season through early January, a drop from 2.2 million viewers in the 2014-15 season, according to Nielsen. The last agreement between the two was signed in 2006, when CBS and Warner Bros. started the network.
