CW Network yanked from Detroit airwaves over business spat

CW programming such as "FBoy Island," "The Spencer Sisters" and "Children Ruin Everything" will no longer be seen locally, as WADL-TV (Channel 38) has thrown the CW Network off the air in the Detroit market.

"They didn't pay, that's really what it comes down to," WADL owner Kevin Adell said Monday. "It's always about the Benjamins, don't ever forget it. Everything is always about the Benjamins."

The Benjamins in question have to do with CW Network operator Nexstar Media Group Inc., the largest TV station operator in the U.S., which runs about 200 stations nationwide and took 75% ownership interest in the CW in Oct. 2022.

Nexstar manages Texas-based Mission Broadcasting, a TV company that operates stations in 26 markets across the country, including stations in Illinois, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania and Louisiana, as well as Lansing's WLAJ-TV.

WADL is under pending sale to Mission, a $75 million deal that has been held up as it awaits FCC approval. Adell said he does not believe the sale will be approved "anytime soon," and with no money changing hands, he yanked the deal to air CW programming in the market after giving Nexstar chairman Perry Sook a 10-day heads up of his intentions, he says.

"I told them a week and a half ago, and he ignored me and he didn't want to pay," says Adell. "He knew this was coming."

WADL had been broadcasting CW programming since Sept. 1, following the network's 17-year affiliation with WKBD-TV (Channel 50).

WADL also carries My Network programming, so filling the hole on the station's airwaves won't be a problem, Adell says. He's in the process of changing the TV station's website from its current URL, cw38wadl.com.

Adell, 56, is also the owner of WFDF-AM (910), which last month changed from community broadcasting to conservative talk. The station will be available starting Wednesday on WOMC-FM's (104.3) HD2 station, Adell says.

agraham@detroitnews.com