Media and Broadcasting

The CW Network Names Brad Schwartz as President, Entertainment

The CW Network Names Brad
The CW Network, LLC (“The CW” “The CW Network”)  announced that television executive Brad Schwartz has been named President, CW Entertainment, responsible for programming strategy, creative and brand development, and day-to-day operations of The CW Network, America’s fifth national television network. Schwartz will begin his new duties on November 7, 2022, and report to Dennis Miller, President, The CW Network.Schwartz spearheaded the highly-successful award-winning re-brand of the TV Guide Network to Pop TV. As President of the network, Schwartz oversaw both creative and business operations and by instilling nimble, entrepreneurial and opportunistic programming and marketing strategies, the Pop TV team grew audience and revenue for six consecutive years.

Schwartz was responsible for landing Pop TV’s flagship original series, “Schitt’s Creek,” which received four Emmy nominations in 2019, making Pop TV only the second basic cable network in history with a Best Comedy Series Emmy nomination. In 2020, “Schitt’s Creek” won more Emmys than any comedy series in history and between “Schitt’s Creek” and “One Day at a Time,” Pop TV won the third-highest total of Emmys in the industry. In 2020, Pop TV was the fastest growing non-news network in all of television. Most recently, he consulted at The CW on long-term strategy and programming.

I have had the pleasure of working closely with Brad and I have seen his entrepreneurial approach to reinvigorating brands,” said Miller. “He knows how to develop and acquire hits with limited resources, nurture talent, and broaden the appeal of diverse media assets.

Schwartz brings 20 years of experience in media leadership and transformation, having overseen the launch or turnaround of seven different media brands. Prior to Pop TV, he was Senior Vice President of Programming and Operations at Fuse, where he oversaw an award-winning re-brand, delivered the highest ratings in the network’s history and discovered critically acclaimed talent and programming, including the Emmy-nominated “Billy On The Street” with Billy Eichner, Prentice Penny’s Image-Award winning  The Hustle, GLAAD-winning Best Reality Series “Big Freedia: Queen of Bounce,” and developed the Emmy and Peabody-winning “Hip Hop Evolution” for Netflix.

I have respected and admired The CW for a long, long time and, quite frankly, I have always dreamed of working there, said Schwartz. I am thrilled to get back together with Dennis and build upon its great foundation. It is an exciting challenge, backed by a fantastic team at Nexstar, and we’re going to have a ton of fun.

Prior to Fuse, Schwartz served as General Manager of a portfolio of eight music and pop culture networks in Canada, including MTV Canada and MuchMusic, where his team produced the Gemini-winning MTV Live, the North American-wide hit “The Hills After Show” (hosted by a young Dan Levy), the highest rated non-sports cable program on television “The MuchMusic Video Awards,” Emmy-nominated and Peabody-winning “Degrassi,” and produced Martin Gero’s first TV show “The L.A. Complex” (which was licensed to The CW). Schwartz also launched and led VEVO in Canada.

Schwartz has been recognized among Broadcasting & Cable’s “Next Wave of Leaders,” The Hollywood Reporter’s “Next Generation,” CableFax’s “Top 100 Power Players,” and Marketing Magazine’s “Thought Leaders.” He was named one of “Canada’s Top 40 Under 40” executives and is a member of the CableFax Hall of Fame.

Schwartz is a graduate of The University of Pennsylvania and began his career working for Lorne Michaels at “Saturday Night Live.”

About The CW Network
The CW Network, LLC is America’s fifth major broadcast network, offering 14 hours of primetime programming, Monday through Sunday. The CW is 75%-owned by Nexstar Media Group, Inc. For more information about the network and its programming, visit www.cwtv.com.

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TelevisaUnivision and Charter Communications Announce Strategic Renewal, Expanding Distribution of Linear Networks

Charter Communications | January 25, 2024

TelevisaUnivision and Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR) today announced a multi-year agreement to extend and expand their partnership. This agreement provides Spectrum customers with continued access to the most-watched Spanish-language news, sports and entertainment programming in the country. The modern deal framework is designed to enhance Spectrum's ability to serve the massive U.S. Hispanic audience with expanded access to an unprecedented amount of Spanish-language content. As part of the arrangement, TelevisaUnivision will create a new ad-supported premium subscription version of ViX, set to launch later this year. It will be available at no additional cost to Spectrum customers who receive TelevisaUnivision channels as part of their Spectrum TV Select or Mi Plan Latino packages. ViX's "Premium with Ads" offering will give viewers access to the entire ViX Premium content offering, including exclusive original series, novelas, comedies, movies, thousands of live exclusive soccer matches and tens of thousands of hours of library content with a moderate advertising load. The combination of ViX's premium streaming programming with TelevisaUnivision's market leading linear channels will create an unmatched Spanish-language content offering available to Spectrum customers at no incremental cost. In addition to giving Spectrum customers access to the forthcoming ad-supported premium version of ViX, the agreement enhances Charter's flexibility to offer its video customers high-value linear and over-the-top TV packages. TelevisaUnivision's U.S. channels will be included as an integral launch partner in a new, innovative, low-cost Spanish-language internet-delivered video package that Spectrum will launch in the coming months. "We're pleased to enter into an innovative deal with Charter that underscores a shared commitment to the growing Hispanic market and prioritizes their needs and interests, ensuring TelevisaUnivision's leading content remains available to viewers for years to come," said Mike Angus, Executive Vice President, Global Distribution and Streaming Partnerships at TelevisaUnivision. "This deal demonstrates the value we can deliver to our partners and consumers by continuing to invest in both the linear and streaming platforms to create a complementary Spanish-language content ecosystem." "We appreciate TelevisaUnivision's willingness to fully support our new distribution framework, which is good for customers and a significant step forward for the video ecosystem," said Tom Montemagno, Executive Vice President, Programming Acquisition for Charter. "With this agreement, our customers will continue to enjoy access to TelevisaUnivision's extensive Spanish-language programming, including entertainment and live sports, across multiple platforms. This furthers our goal of providing value to customers by including streaming apps with Spectrum services." Spectrum provides customers with access to TelevisaUnivision's networks, including Univision, UniMás, Galavisión, TL Novelas, TUDN, FOROtv, Bandamax, De Película, De Película Clasico, Telehit and Telehit Música. About TelevisaUnivision TelevisaUnivision is the world's leading Spanish-language media company. Powered by the largest library of owned Spanish-language content and a prolific production capability, TelevisaUnivision is the top producer of original content in Spanish across news, sports and entertainment verticals. This original content powers all of TelevisaUnivision's platforms, which include market-leading broadcast networks Univision, Las Estrellas, Canal 5 and UniMás, and a portfolio of 38 cable networks, which include TUDN, Galavisión, Distrito Comedia and TL Novelas. The company also operates the leading Mexican movie studio, Videocine, and owns and operates the largest Spanish-language audio platform in the U.S. across 35 terrestrial stations and the Uforia digital platform. TelevisaUnivision is also the owner of ViX, the largest Spanish-language streaming platform in the world. For more information, please visit televisaunivision.com. About Charter Communications Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) is a leading broadband connectivity company and cable operator serving more than 32 million customers in 41 states through its Spectrum brand. Over an advanced communications network, the Company offers a full range of state-of-the-art residential and business services including Spectrum Internet®, TV, Mobile and Voice. For small and medium-sized companies, Spectrum Business® delivers the same suite of broadband products and services coupled with special features and applications to enhance productivity, while for larger businesses and government entities, Spectrum Enterprise provides highly customized, fiber-based solutions. Spectrum Reach® delivers tailored advertising and production for the modern media landscape. The Company also distributes award-winning news coverage and sports programming to its customers through Spectrum Networks.

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