Mark Pedowitz steps down as CEO, chairman of The CW after Nexstar deal

The CW’s CEO and chairman Mark Pedowitz is leaving the US network and Dennis Miller is being upped to president, following its acquisition by Nexstar Media Group.

Mark Pedowitz

Local TV giant Nexstar on Monday said that Pedowitz was departing the role to revive his production company.

Miller has been named president of the network, with Pedowitz providing temporary support in a “streamlined transition.”

Miller has been a member of Nexstar’s board of directors since 2014 and has stepped down from the board in order to assume the role of president.

He has previously held senior executive positions at Sony Pictures Entertainment, Lionsgate Television and Turner Network Television. He most recently served as chairman of Industrial Media before it was sold to Sony Pictures Television earlier this year.

The announcement of Pedowitz’s departure was made at the same time as Nexstar confirmed it had closed its acquisition of The CW, which was previously jointly owned by Paramount Global and Warner Bros Discovery.

Perry Sook, Nexstar’s chairman and CEO, said: “Dennis Miller brings a unique skill set of proven television, media and technology industry expertise, as well as venture capital experience to the role of President at The CW.

Dennis Miller

“His understanding and ability to unlock value from media assets by delivering high-quality, profitable entertainment will serve the network, its viewers, its partners and CW affiliates around the country extremely well. We are confident his background, experience and relationships will allow Nexstar to deliver on the value of this transaction for our shareholders.

“I look forward to working with Dennis and Sean Compton, Nexstar’s president of networks, to build on the foundation that Mark Pedowitz and his team have established at both the CW network and the CW app. We sincerely thank Mark for his many years of service to The CW and wish him the very best in his future endeavours.”

Pedowitz added: “It’s been an honour to serve as the chairman and CEO of The CW for the last 11 years and I am very proud of what our exceptional teams have accomplished together over that time.

“It was the right moment for me to hand over the leadership baton and I am excited to move on to the next chapter of my professional career where I can pursue a different set of interests. I am confident Perry, Sean, Dennis and the Nexstar team’s ability to usher in the next phase of growth and success for the CW Network and look forward to supporting them during the transition period.”