Deadline is reporting that The CW’s output deal with Netflix, which was first established in 2011 before being reupped in 2016, is not being renewed.
This doesn’t mean that future CW shows won’t end up on the SVOD service. It only means that Netflix won’t be getting every CW show automatically and that both Warner Bros. and CBS Studios can take their shows out on the streaming marketplace. It also doesn’t necessarily mean that CW shows will be taken off of Netflix, as it’s reported that past seasons of shows that debuted through 2018-19 will stream on Netflix during the broadcast life of the series and beyond.
As such, all three CW newbies for next season will have their streaming afterlife handled by their respective studios. Batwoman is said to be earmarked for WarnerMedia’s upcoming service, while Katy Keene seems likely to be headed to Netflix where it’d join mothership Riverdale and fellow Riverdale spinoff Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Nancy Drew, meanwhile, is thought to be too young adult-skewing for CBS’s All Access streaming service.
It remains to be seen whether The CW can withstand the loss of the $1 billion streaming deal it’s had with Netflix, which has helped the network retain profitability. It will also be interesting to see how this impacts their development, since WB and CBS co-produce every show that’s not based on a piece of IP. The loss of the Netflix deal could mean that we see more reboots, revivals, and spinoffs in the coming seasons from The CW.
