''CW Now'' is a news program/news magazine series which premiered on

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 firs ...

on September 23, 2007. It was a

brand extension Brand extension or brand stretching is a marketing strategy in which a firm marketing a product with a well-developed image uses the same brand name in a different product category. The new product is called a spin-off. Organizations use this ...

of the syndicated

Telepictures Telepictures (also known as Telepictures Productions; formerly known as Telepictures Distribution and Telepictures Corporation) is an American television show and filmmaking company, currently operating as a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Entertainmen ...

news magazine '' Extra'', and featured anchors and correspondents from that show, including co-hosts

Mario Lopez Mario Lopez (born October 10, 1973) is an American actor and television host. He has appeared on several television series, in films, and on Broadway theatre, Broadway. He is known for his portrayal of A.C. Slater on ''Saved by the Bell'', ''S ...

and Tanika Ray. The program was devoted to topics of interest to young adults (ages 18–29, the audience targeted by the network), including entertainment news and technology topics, sometimes drawn from ''Extra'' itself, setting up the latter to inexplicably compete with its own weekend edition.

Show description and advertising concept

During The CW's first upfront presentation, network executive Dawn Ostroff announced to advertisers that they would pursue a then-new advertising strategy for the series (resembling the current day concept of

native advertising Native advertising, also called sponsored content, partner content, and branded journalism, is a type of paid advertising that appears in the style and format of the content near the advertisement's placement. It manifests as a post, image, vide ...

combined with an

advertorial An advertorial is an advertisement in the form of editorial content. The term "advertorial" is a blend word, blend (see portmanteau) of the words "advertisement" and "editorial". Merriam-Webster dates the origin of the word to 1946. In printed pub ...

), which the network called "CWickies" (pronounced quickies). Under the concept, an advertiser's content would be blended into the program rather than the show taking traditional commercial breaks, allowing the show to make the incorrect claim that it would be "commercial-free" in the traditional sense. Only

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

would truly take advantage of the format with their products blended into every episode of ''CW Now'', and comedian

Lewis Black Lewis Niles Black (born August 30, 1948) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy routines often escalate into angry rants about history, politics, religion and cultural trends. He hosted the Comedy Central series ''Lewis Black's ...

mocked the concept in a "Back in Black" monologue on ''

The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night talk and news satire television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central in the United States, with extended episodes released shortly after on Paramount+ ...

''s September 26, 2007 episode. The "CWickies" concept would also be tried for the commercial breaks between '' Gilmore Girls'' and ''

Veronica Mars ''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen neo-noir Mystery fiction, mystery Drama (film and television), drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas (writer), Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional city, fictional town of Ne ...

'' on Tuesday evenings in a more traditional ad format (this time tying in with American Eagle Outfitters's aerie underwear brand), where it also failed to attract interest due to the target audience of each series finding the conversations between actors in "CWickies" ads about aerie and the plot points in those two series unnatural and stilted. The show was produced by

and Warner Horizon Television.

Reception

On the January 20, 2008 episode, ''CW Now'' received a 0.2/0 in the 18–49 demo, earning what was then a rare broadcast network "scratch"

Nielsen rating Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the #Nielsen TV ...

where too few ratings participants were watching to allow any tabulation, with the following repeat of '' Aliens in America'' attaining the lowest-possible 0.1/0. Against Super Bowl XLII on Fox on February 3, 2008, the show indeed hit that same number with a 0.1/0 in the 18–49 demo, a 0.3/0 in the households, and only 349,000 viewers.

Cancellation

On February 8, 2008,

announced that ''CW Now'' would be going on hiatus, though only five days later, it was announced that the February 24, 2008 episode would be the series finale. The show was replaced with encores of ''

America's Next Top Model ''America's Next Top Model'' (abbreviated ''ANTM'' and ''Top Model'') is an American reality television series and interactive competition in which a number of aspiring models compete for the title of "America's Next Top Model" and a chance to b ...

''.Breaking News - The CW Adds "Top Model" Encore, Benches "Now"
''The Futon Critic'', February 8, 2008

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cw Now 2007 American television series debuts 2008 American television series endings 2000s American television news shows American English-language television shows Television series by Warner Horizon Television The CW original programming