The CW Network, now controlled by Nexstar Media Group, has named Brad Schwartz as president of CW Entertainment.

Schwartz, most recently president of Pop TV, which gave the U.S. the hit Schitt’s Creek, will report to The CW president Dennis Miller and will be responsible for programming strategy, creative and brand development, as well as day-to-day operations.

Nexstar is looking to change The CW’s programming strategy to fit in more with the older viewers who watch the late newscasts on the company’s stations. The network reportedly has not ordered additional episodes of any of the new series launched this season by the previous administration led by Mark Pedowitz.

“I have had the pleasure of working closely with Brad and I have seen his entrepreneurial approach to reinvigorating brands,” Miller said. “He knows how to develop and acquire hits with limited resources, nurture talent, and broaden the appeal of diverse media assets.”

Before Pop, Schwartz was with Fuse and MTV Canada.

“I have respected and admired The CW for a long, long time and, quite frankly, I have always dreamed of working there,” Schwartz said. “I am thrilled to get back together with Dennis and build upon its great foundation. It is an exciting challenge, backed by a fantastic team at Nexstar, and we’re going to have a ton of fun.” ▪️

When the Emmy awards nominations were announced, Pop TV comedy Schitt’s Creek had its named called four times. The nominations came in advance of the comedy’s sixth and final season, which happens in 2020.

Eugene and Daniel Levy created Schitt’s Creek.

Brad Schwartz, Pop TV president, said the gang was “over the moon, screaming-out-loud excited” when the nominations came down. He spoke with Multichannel News about the appeal of Schitt’s Creek, and which other original could break out. An edited transcript follows.

MCN: Were you surprised to get four nominations?
Brad Schwartz: I thought your question was going to be, were you surprised to get one? (Laughs.)

We certainly knew we were in the conversation. Everywhere they prognosticate these things, everyone had it in the “wouldn’t it be great if ” category. Beyond that, what we knew that I don’t think a lot of people see is the passion people have for the show, which is unlike anything on TV. When we did our Television Academy screening, there were 200 people who could not get in. When this cast did their tour, they sold out the Beacon Theatre at $150 a ticket in 48 hours. They’ve done a 30-city live tour and they sell out all their shows.

MCN: What about Schitt’s Creek appeals to people in such a way?
BS: The character development is as good, I think, as any show in history. These characters arrive in Schitt’s Creek a wealthy family who might not have really known what family is all about. Episode by episode, season by season, as they go through things and become closer, go through heartbreak and relationships and business ordeals, all those things impact who they become.

People who have gone on the ride have been able to see true growth and change in these characters.

And the show is just so joyous. We live in divisive times, in a polarized political climate. But there’s this show and this town that you can go to on a Wednesday night and just have it be happy and the way things should be.

MCN: How much of a role did Netflix play in bringing Schitt’s Creek to a wider audience?
BS: When we launched in season one, we did our best as a rebranded network, with the marketing funds we had, to tell people how fantastic this show was. In a peak TV era, when trying to get attention is hard, it’s even harder when it’s a network [people] haven’t heard of.

Being a network’s No. 1 show really benefits the show. If it were the eighth show on another network, it might not have gotten the love, support and passion the entire organization throws behind it.

Because we wanted to expose the show to as wide an audience as possible, we did a deal with Netflix. We knew we had something special and just wanted people to see it. Pop has more [U.S.] subscribers than Netflix. But the convenience of Netflix — for a show like this, Netflix really became more like a library. When people heard about the show and wanted to watch it, there were many places for them to go, be it Pop, video-on-demand, our app. There was also this platform that everybody is using called Netflix.

MCN: Why is One Day at a Time right for Pop?
BS: When we heard that One Day at a Time was going to be cancelled by Netflix, our instant reaction was, Oh my god, that is such a Pop show. It has much of the same emotional beats that made Schitt’s Creek such a hit. It can make you laugh, it can make you cry, it deals with important cultural themes, with family overcoming adversity, with acceptance and inclusion.

Although they are vastly different shows, they both felt like shows that work on Pop. We jumped at the opportunity to bring that show to Pop. We feel like that show has a lot of life left in it and it will be a huge hit.

MCN: What’s another Pop original with a chance to break out?
BS: Last year, we launched Flack with Anna Paquin. It’s a fabulous, fabulous show. [Pop ordered a season two.] We premiered Florida Girls [in July], a comedy from our former co-owners Lionsgate. That show has surprised the world. Everyone’s writing wonderful accolades about it. Much like the beginning of Schitt’s Creek, that could go on a nice season-after-season run, and just keep picking up audience.

Jed Kapsos has been appointed chief financial officer at Pop, a joint venture of CBS and Lionsgate.

Kapsos, who replaces Debra Wichser, had been senior vice president of finance for the CBS Television Network in New York. He will move to Los Angeles and report to Pop president Brad Schwartz.

We are thrilled and incredibly fortunate to have Jed's expertise as we continue building Pop as a premium media brand,” said Schwartz. “Since rebranding in 2015, we’ve been on quite a run and with nine scripted series set for 2018, Jed will be integral to our continued growth.”

Related: Pop Hires Kent Rees as CMO

At CBS, Kapsos was responsible for overseeing the network accounting, share services and its West Coast operations finances. Before that, Kapsos was CFO of CBS Interactive. He joined CBS in 1998 from Price Waterhouse.

“Pop is a dynamic, fast-growing network with a strong slate of programming and great momentum across all areas of its business,” said Kapsos. “It’s an exciting time to join the team, and I am looking forward to being part of the network’s bright future.”

Pop network has named industry veteran and former Pivot general manager Kent Rees as its new chief marketing officer, the company announced Thursday.

In the newly created position, Rees will oversee the CBS/Lionsgate-owned cable network's brand strategy, creative and research in addition to consumer, ad sales and affiliate marketing duties, said network officials. Rees, who will report to Pop president Brad Schwartz, will also lead Pop’s digital business.

Rees was most recently general manager of the now defunct Pivot cable network where he oversaw the launch of such series as Please Like Me, Fortitude and Hit Record on TV. Prior to Pivot, Rees was head of marketing for Bedrocket Media Ventures, where he led brand and digital marketing for a series of YouTube channels.

“It is rare that you get to add such an accomplished media crusader, brand-builder and digital innovator to your executive team,” said Schwartz in a statement. “Kent has a demonstrated track record of building disruptive channels, break-through multi-platform brands and award-winning creative. As we leap from emerging network to prominent media brand, there is truly nobody better to help get us there. We are lucky to have him join our extraordinary team.”

Added Rees: “I am really excited to join Pop at this moment in time. It’s a fast-growing network with a lot of momentum already built. I look forward to accelerating the brand and digital growth as we prepare for a terrific slate of original programming in the near future. I love the energy that Pop brings to the brand and the viewer experience. It’s just a blast to watch.”

At a time when many smaller networks are getting winnowed out, Pop says it is thriving.

Nearly three years after being rebranded from the TV Guide Channel, Pop says it is adding distribution, viewers and advertisers in its upfront presentation. The network is also upgrading its programming, working with well-known talent, emphasizing scripted shows and dropping low-budget reality shows.

RELATED: Revamped Pop sets January 2015 launch date, new slate

The network is also adding some high-profile acquired programming. It is making its first first-run off-network acquisition with the ABC comedy The Goldbergs. It's brought back E.R., the mega-hit, which hasn’t been on the air or on subscription VOD for seven years.

All of this is made possible by the backing of owners CBS and Lionsgate. For both companies, Pop represents their biggest play in basic cable and Pop has been able to leverage its parents assets in a pay-TV environment in which linear networks such as Pivot and Esquire Network have been terminated and more are likely to meet a similar fate.

“It’s been a great little three-year run for us since we changed from the TV Guide Network,” Pop president Brad Schwartz said.

The network is now on all the major traditional distributors and is also being added to all the new digital distributors’ lineups, including YouTube TV and Hulu’s new live product.

Read more at B&C

As the holiday season approaches, several cable networks will hope to receive an early ratings gift by premiering high-profile scripted content in mid-November.

With the end of a long and ratings-rich presidential election and with the broadcast networks set to take a hiatus from scheduling new episodes of scripted shows heading into the holidays, cable networks like BBC America, Pop, National Geographic, TNT and TBS are all hoping to fill a programming void with original content.

“We wanted to get in just ahead of the holiday programming and take advantage of a moment when a lot of the noise around fall launches is abating,” BBC America president Sarah Barnett said. “No week of the year is uncluttered today, but believe it or not, there can be a small moment of relative space here.”

PAUSE BEFORE HOLIDAYS

BBC America on Wednesday (Nov. 16) will premiere crime drama Undercover, one of at least eight new cable scripted series premiering within 10 days of Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 24). Typically, networks tend to shy away from premiering new shows in the days leading up to the holiday season and the glut of holiday specials and movies. But with more than 400 scripted shows launching year round, Barnett said no time period is off-limits.

Pop president Brad Schwartz said strong ratings for presidential election coverage has shortened what is normally a solid series premiere window running from mid- October through mid-November. As a result, the network will debut its late night-themed comedy series Nightcap later than desired, on Nov. 16.

“If you’re waiting for the election to end but you want it be in front of the holidays, this is the time to launch,” Schwartz said. “You don’t want to get too far into the holiday season because then you get close to Christmas when people’s viewing habits begin to change and it becomes harder to get the message out for your show.”

National Geographic will premiere its highly-touted Mars series tonight (Nov. 14, see review). The network is launching a new on-air look and rebrand around the Brian Grazer/Ron Howard produced series, which will feature both scripted and documentary elements around the future colonization of the red planet.

“Mars is the centerpiece of our new premium strategy and its creatively ambitious for us,” Courteney Monroe, CEO of National Geographic Global Networks, said. “We’re really interested in what the audience thinks and how they react.”

‘SEARCH PARTY’ ON THE WAY

TBS and BBC America said they too are altering the debut schedule of their respective new shows to help build greater awareness and ratings. TBS will launch its 10-episode comedy series Search Party over five consecutive nights beginning Nov. 21, according to network officials.

BBC America’s six-hour Undercover series will air over two nights. Barnett said the network wanted to create some additional buzz for the series by allowing viewers to binge view the series over consecutive nights.

“As a linear network, we understand that there is some content that audiences especially love to binge, and phenomenally written, dramatically shocking mini seasons fall into this category of ‘must devour’ TV,” Barnett said. “We scheduled it in a way where fans could truly immerse themselves in this riveting thriller.”

SIDEBAR: On Script

A partial list of the scripted cable series premiering between Nov. 14-24:

Show                          Network                    Genre                     Premiere Date

Mars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nat Geo . . . . . . . . . Drama . . . . . . . . . . .Nov. 14

Good Behavior . . . . . . . .TNT . . . . . . . . . . . Drama . . . . . . . . . . . Nov. 15

Shooter . . . . . . . . . . . . . .USA . . . . . . . . . . Drama . . . . . . . . . . .Nov. 15

Sweet/Vicious . . . . . . . .  MTV . . . . . . . . . Dramedy . . . . . . . . . .Nov. 15

Ice . . . . . . . . . . . . Audience Network . . . . . Drama . . . . . . . . . . .Nov. 16

Nightcap . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pop . . . . . . . . . . . Comedy . . . . . . . . . . Nov. 16

Undercover . . . . . . . BBC America . . . . . . . Drama . . . . . . . . . . .Nov. 16

Lovesick . . . . . . . . . . . . Netflix . . . . . . . . . Comedy . . . . . . . . . . Nov. 17

Search Party . . . . . . . . . .TBS . . . . . . . . . . . Comedy . . . . . . . . . . Nov. 21

SOURCE :Multichannel News research

A year into its rebirth as Pop, the channel formerly called TV Guide Network continues to add original programming, its biggest show thus far being comedy Schitt’s Creek, returning March 16 for a second season. Other returners include the rock-cruise show Rock This Boat: New Kids on the Block, the Alan Thicke reality show Unusually Thicke; and the a capella singing competition Sing It On. Easiest Game Show Ever, hosted by Michael Ian Black, launches Jan. 22. Pop claims eight consecutive quarters of year-over-year gains, including a 30% lift in primetime among the core audience of women age 25-54 in fourth-quarter 2015. And it is adding distributors, with new ones this quarter lifting Pop to about 83 million homes from about 74 million now. Pop president Brad Schwartz talked up the fan-culture-based entertainment channel with Multichannel News editor Kent Gibbons and programming editor R. Thomas Umstead in New York, ahead of Pop’s Jan. 12 presence with CBS at the Television Critics Association tour in Pasadena, Calif. (CBS and Lionsgate own Pop.) Here are some edited highlights.

RELATED: MCN Original Video >Watch R. Thomas Umstead's "One Question for ... Pop Network's Brad Schwartz"

MCN:We hear you are adding new distributors.

Brad Schwartz: In the New Year, we’ll be adding over 8 million homes. What I think is really interesting about that is — the story that’s driving the dialogue in our business these days is how many people are losing subs. You read about ESPN losing 4 million subs, and it affects the stock price of 10 companies, and it’s just insane. So for an emerging network like ours to actually be gaining subs, I think it’s actually a story that is unique. We’ll be launching on Cablevision Jan. 16. We’ll be launching on WideOpenWest on Feb. 1 and we’ll be launching on AT&T U-verse on March 1. All top-10 distributors will carry us on digital basic or greater. That’s an exciting place to jump off of as we approach our first year as Pop. [Editor’s note: GCI in Alaska dropped Pop on Jan. 1, but RCN and Grande will add it later this year, the network said.]

MCN:What else is resonating with distributors?

BS: We’re very efficient. That certainly resonates with distributors. When you look at ratings per sub fee on every single distributor … we are either one of the top five or, at worst, top 10 most valuable networks. We think we provide a great product for the sub fee that they are paying.

MCN:Do you think the audience has a good sense by now of what Pop is?

BS: I think we have had a very, very successful first year. Rebrands are difficult, and a lot of times when you rebrand you take a step backwards in order to take steps forward. We’re proud to say in our first quarter we went up. I think we had a respect for how do we retain the audiences we already have while building something new. So it’s been a great year, but I think we still have a long way to go. There are still millions of people out there that have not heard of the channel. But what I know from just the results and statistics and everything, the people that have found the channel are enjoying the channel. Our length of tune is up; our frequency is up; our new viewership is up — all three things that create a Nielsen point.

MCN:Do you gain from cross-promotion by CBS?

BS: I have lots of conversations with the Showtime guys — I’m like, how do you get spots on CBS? Those are huge businesses, and if there’s promo time available, they have huge businesses to take care of. But they have been very, very supportive. We get a lot of support from CBS Digital. Like when we launched Schitt’s Creek last year, CBS has this Times Square billboard over by the Port Authority [Bus Terminal in New York], they gave us inventory on there. They give us a lot of VOD advertising through all of their VOD platforms. I haven’t gotten a spot for us on the network yet — not that I haven’t asked — but they are very supportive.

MCN:You’ve added TNA’sImpact Wrestling. How does that fit in with the rest of Pop?

BS: It’s funny, when that opportunity came by, your first reaction is, “Wrestling?” And then when you really start digging into it, it’s like, OK, we’ve built this very passionate, exciting brand where we like to say it’s all about the fans. That’s the personality. Our personality is not housewives or rich kids; it’s fans. If we’re going to talk passionately about being a network for fans, that champions fans that go to music festivals like Coachella or fans that go to Comic-Con or fans that go to New Kids on the Block cruises, if that’s going to be the personality, then why can’t we also champion these amazing wrestling fans?

Brad Schwartz, who had been president of entertainment and media at Pop since joining the then-TVGN in April 2013, is expanding his role to become president of the network. David Wisnia, the longtime entertainment lawyer who had been president of business operations, is leaving the network to pursue other opportunities, the network, a joint venture of CBS and Lionsgate, said in a release.

“Brad’s leadership of TVGN’s successful transition to and rebranding as Pop reflects his clear strategic vision for the network as well as his strong programming skills and business acumen,” CBS CEO Leslie Moonves and Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said in the release. “We’re pleased to expand his mandate to include oversight of the integrated creative and business operations of the network as Pop continues to build its brand, develop new programming and maintain its growth trajectory.”

Schwartz previously was a programming executive at Fuse, MTV and CTV in Canada.