Exclusive: The CW digital chief on “big swings” in unscripted & broadened scripted slate

FBoy Island

The CW in the US is taking “big swings” as it pushes into more unscripted programming and looks to broaden its scripted output, the network’s chief digital officer, Ashley Hovey, told TBI here at MIPCOM in Cannes.

An overhaul at the US network, following its acquisition by Nexstar 12 months ago, has put unscripted content high on the agenda, with many of its scripted shows, including former tentpoles such as Riverdale and The Flash, since cancelled.

Hovey, the former Roku exec who was hired as The CW’s first chief digital officer earlier this year, told TBI that The CW is looking to broaden its offering, with her remit covering strategy for the network’s OTT platforms, including AVOD service the CW App.

“We’ve definitely added unscripted. We’ve gone from a channel that was focused predominantly on kind of YA and fantasy. Now we have procedurals, we have comedy; we’re getting more of this kind of four quadrant broadcasting,” said Hovey, adding that The CW is also adding thriller and horror shows as it looks to “drive depth.”

Ashley Hovey

“We were in the scripted game very seriously and now we want to be a really strong broadcast channel and that requires more variety,” said the exec, revealing that more than 40 projects are currently in development across scripted and unscripted.

Scripted titles such as Superman & Lois and All American: Homecoming are remaining on the service, joined by new shows such as light-hearted procedural The Spencer Sisters and comedy Son Of A Critch.

In unscripted, Hovey highlighted FBoy Island – the former HBO Max show that The CW saved from cancellation – and the upcoming spin-off, FGirl Island, as “the types of big swings we’re doing on the unscripted side.”

Meanwhile, sport has also “been doing really well driving audiences,” with The CW Sports acquiring rights to NFL and NASCAR, and LIV Golf.

The CW App carries all the network’s content next day, “But we also then licence and do deals for volume of content – streaming has a very different capacity for holding shows than a broadcast service,” says Hovey.

Among its most recent deals, announced at MIPCOM, is with FilmRise for 1,500 hours of content, including comedy-drama The Greatest American Hero and Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen on the unscripted side.

“We’re doing a lot of different creative deals – I’m talking to literally hundreds of partners this week [at MIPCOM] – and trying to not only drive depth in the categories that are on broadcast, but then also still to harness this young adult and fantasy [audience].”