Comms chief Paul Hewitt out as Nexstar Media cuts dozens of jobs at The CW

Nancy Drew will end after its fourth season

Nexstar Media Group has made a round of layoffs at US broadcast network The CW, including longtime communications head Paul Hewitt.

Texas-based Nexstar, which closed its 75% acquisition of the network in October, did not confirm how many roles had been affected, but reports put the total at more than 30.

Hewitt, who was with the network for 22 years, has been replaced by PR veteran Beth Feldman. She will oversee internal and external communication and programme publicity in the role of senior VP of network communication.

Paul Hewitt

Executives across distribution, strategy and affiliate relations were also laid off on Tuesday. Nexstar appointed Rebekah Dopp to oversee those departments as executive VP of distribution, strategy and affiliate relations, responsible for negotiating and managing the network’s distribution and overseeing affiliate relations with its station group partners.

Dopp reports to Dana Zimmer, president and chief distribution and strategy officer for Nexstar Media Group, and Dennis Miller, president of The CW.

Since closing its acquisition of The CW on October 3, Nexstar has moved swiftly to take cost-cutting measures.

The first major change saw the departure of long-serving CEO and chairman Mark Pedowitz. Rick Haskins, president of streaming and chief branding officer, also left following the closure of the deal.

A number of scripted originals have been axed in recent months, including Dynasty, Charmed, Legacies, Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman. Earlier this week, it was confirmed that DC Comics series Stargirl would end with its third season.

On Tuesday, the network confirmed that Nancy Drew’s fourth season would be its last.

Nexstar previously outlined plans to reduce costs by shifting spending away from scripted originals and towards unscripted and syndicated content.

Under its previous 50-50 owners, Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) and Paramount Global, The CW was not profitable as a broadcast network. Rather, it served as a shop window and allowed WBD and Paramount to secure lucrative streaming deals for CW originals in post-broadcast windows.

Nexstar has previously said it plans to bring the broadcast network to profitability by 2025 and expects to invest a “low nine-figure amount [in US dollars]” in order to achieve this goal.

“Our approach will be unlike other broadcast network owners and The CW’s predecessor owners, as we will strive to grow the broadcast audience without a dual agenda of greenlighting programming capable of crossing over to an SVoD service,” said Nexstar president and chief operating officer Tom Carter in August.

“We will make decisions for the broadcast network based on what’s best for the broadcast audience, which we believe will strengthen ratings, drive increased advertising revenue and affiliation fees and create new revenue opportunities.”

Details of the strategy are expected next week as Nexstar reports its third-quarter earnings.