WUPA-TV, which has been known as CW69 for 17 years, is dropping its CW affiliation come this fall.
The station, owned by CBS, will become independent, along with seven other CBS-owned stations that have been CW affiliates in places like Philadelphia and San Francisco.
“We look forward to reimagining these stations as independents while leveraging the considerable value of their prime-time real estate in each of the markets,” said Wendy McMahon, president and co-head of CBS News and Stations, in a press release. “It’s an exciting time to look at new opportunities to add local programming, including live sports, and shows from across the Paramount Global brands.”
Nexstar Media Group, which owns 200 broadcast stations, purchased a majority stake in the CW last year and has since cut much of its scripted programming targeting younger viewers, including several shows shot in Atlanta such as “Legacies,” “Naomi” and “Stargirl.” It is focusing more on unscripted fare targeting an older audience. For instance, it recently picked up “FBoy Island,” a dating show canceled by HBO Max.
It’s unclear who in Atlanta will pick up the CW affiliation. Peachtree TV, owned by Atlanta-based Gray Television, is an independent broadcast station that is now focused on local programming in prime time including local news from CBS affiliate America News First. MyNetworkTV (WATL-TV), owned by Tegna, runs local news during weekday prime time from its local NBC affiliate.
Nexstar in a statement said it’s confident it will find another affiliate in Atlanta.
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