The CW finally becomes a seven-night network this fall, adding Saturday night shows on Oct. 2.
The agreement with affiliates to air CW shows 8-10 p.m. Sunday through Saturday says the network will stop programming 3-4 p.m. weekdays. The CW airs the Jerry Springer Show, which ceased production in 2018, in the afternoon time slot which was previously used to air the Bill Cunningham Show nationally until Cunningham quit the show in 2016.
Saturday programming will be launched on Channel 12.2, Dayton's Channel 26 and all other CW stations with the annual iHeartRadio Music Festival telecast on Oct. 2, followed by the festival's second night on Sunday, Oct. 3. In past years, CW has aired the iHeartRadio event Sunday-Monday.
The CW debuted in 2006.
"Becoming a seven-night-a-week network has been a long-standing goal for everyone here at the CW, and in an extremely tight broadcast environment, the ability to expand our primetime by two more hours each week is a dynamic shift that will be gladly welcomed by our clients and the agencies,” said Rob Tuck, CW executive vice president for national sales.
The CW fall lineup – including regularly scheduled Saturday programming – has not been announced.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the CW has renewed nearly its entire stable of shows:All American, Batwoman, Charmed, Dynasty, The Flash, In the Dark, Kung Fu, Legacies, Legends of Tomorrow, Nancy Drew, Riverdale, Roswell New Mexico, Stargirl, Superman & Lois, Walker, and Supergirl, which will end after its sixth season.
Springer started his daytime show 30 years ago on WLWT-TV in fall 1991. After NBCUniversal canceled Jerry Springer in 2018 after 27 seasons, the CW bought rights to the show "for multiple years," Broadcasting & Cable reported at the time.
Springer, 77, now stars in a court show as Judge Jerry (5 and 5:30 p.m. on Channel 64; 3 and 3:30 p.m. on Dayton's Channel 45). It premiered in fall 2019.
