On what went wrong with RINGER
Despite CW President Mark Pedowitz’s assertion that he loved being back in business with Sarah Michelle Gellar, a combination of story complexity and poor performance in both the online digital and social spaces was too much for RINGER to overcome. Said Pedowitz, “Sarah Michelle Gellar and I have had many discussions since Spring and the one thing we did come away with, when she’s ready, is that we’d love her to come back to The CW as an actor or a producer.”
On The CW’s sagging [overnight] ratings
Cementing our long-held belief that Nielsen ratings have never been more obsolete, Pedowitz was quick to defend his Networks viewership levels. As expected, more people than ever are tuning into The CW, they’re just doing it on the likes of hulu.com, thecw.com and the Network’s iPad app. To that end, Pedowitz recently made the decision to roll our a rebranding campaign this August that replaces the Networks’ dated tagline: TV to ‘talk/blog/tweet about,’ with ‘TV Now.’
Pedowitz proud of THE L.A. COMPLEX
“We’re big fans of the show which actually does really well for us both digitally and socially,” said Pedowtiz on the topic of how THE L.A. COMPLEX is faring on his summer schedule. “It’s a well made show with a nice sense of reality of what it’s like to try to make it in this industry. [Showrunner] Martin Gero is fantastic and I hope to be in business with him for a very long time.”
On saying goodbye to GOSSIP GIRL
Serious credit goes to Pedowitz for showing his Network’s loyal audience (Read: The very same audience responsible for paying his Network’s bills and keeping the lights on) a refreshing amount of respect when the subject of GOSSIP GIRL’s final ten episodes comes up. “Shows such as GOSSIP GIRL with a loyal core audience deserve a proper send off for both the Network and the fans. What we did for ONE TREE HILL, we’ll do for GOSSIP GIRL and any show as long as I’m President of the Network.”
On the SMALLVILLE effect
While The CW’s bread and butter has always been about attracting that all-so-valuable 18-49 year old female audience, the Pedowitz believes The CW has to do a better job of bringing men to the table. And a big part of bringing men back into the fold is pairing ARROW with SUPERNATURAL, a one-two punch that worked so well in SMALLVILLE’s heyday and CULT. The latter of which stars Matt Davis and will premiere on the Network in midseason. 