CW Now

CW Now
Logo of CW Now
Starring	Mario Lopez Tanika Ray
Country of origin	United States
No.of seasons	1
No.of episodes	23
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	Telepictures Productions Warner Horizon Television
Original release
Network	The CW
Release	September 23, 2007(2007-09-23)– February 24, 2008(2008-02-24)

CW Nowis a news program/news magazine series which premiered onThe CWon September 23, 2007. It was abrand extensionof thesyndicatedTelepicturesnews magazineExtra,and featured anchors and correspondents from that show, including co-hostsMario LopezandTanika Ray.The program was devoted to topics of interest to young adults (ages 18–29, the audience targeted by the network), including entertainment news and technology topics, sometimes drawn fromExtraitself, setting up the latter to inexplicably compete with its own weekend edition.

Show description and advertising concept

During The CW's firstupfront presentation,network executiveDawn Ostroffannounced to advertisers that they would pursue a then-new advertising strategy for the series (resembling the current day concept ofnative advertisingcombined with anadvertorial), which the network called "CWickies" (pronounced quickies). Under the concept, an advertiser's content would be blended into the program rather than the show taking traditional commercial breaks, allowing the show to make the incorrect claim that it would be "commercial-free" in the traditional sense.

OnlyWalmartwould truly take advantage of the format with their products blended into every episode ofCW Now,and comedianLewis Blackmocked the concept in a "Back in Black" monologue onThe Daily Show's September 26, 2007 episode. The "CWickies" concept would also be tried for the commercial breaks betweenGilmore GirlsandVeronica Marson Tuesday evenings in a more traditional ad format (this time tying in withAmerican Eagle Outfitters'saerieunderwear brand), where it also failed to attract interest due to the target audience of each series finding the conversations between actors in "CWickies" ads about aerie and the plot points in those two series unnatural and stilted.

The show was produced byTelepicturesand Warner Horizon Television.

Reception

On the January 20, 2008 episode,CW Nowreceived a 0.2/0 in the 18–49 demo, earning what was then a rare broadcast network "scratch"Nielsen ratingwhere too few ratings participants were watching to allow any tabulation, with the following repeat ofAliens in Americaattaining the lowest-possible 0.1/0. AgainstSuper Bowl XLIIonFoxon February 3, 2008, the show indeed hit that same number with a 0.1/0 in the 18–49 demo, a 0.3/0 in the households, and only 349,000 viewers.

Cancellation

On February 8, 2008,The CWannounced thatCW Nowwould be going on hiatus, though only five days later, it was announced that the February 24, 2008 episode would be the series finale.The show was replaced with encores ofAmerica's Next Top Model.

External links

• CW NowatIMDb