CW Now is a news magazine series which premiered on The CW on September 23, 2007. It is a brand extension of the syndicated Telepictures news magazine Extra, and features anchors and correspondents from that show. The program is devoted to topics of interest to young adults (the audience targeted by the network), including entertainment and technology.
During the upfronts, Dawn Ostroff announced a new marketing strategy for this show using what she calls, "cwickies" (pronounced quickies), which is used in this program to replace the traditional network advertisements. Tanika Ray mentions that CW Now is a 30-minute commercial-free program. Nonetheless, as comedian Lewis Black pointed out on The Daily Show on September 26, 2007, the frequent mention of Wal-Mart shows that it is the program's de facto sponsor.
The show is produced by Telepictures and Warner Horizon Television.
On the January 20, 2008 episode, CW Now received a 0.2/0 in the 18-49 demo. The zero share is a record low for the network. Surprisingly a repeat of Aliens in America (which followed CW Now) received even lower ratings with only a 0.1/0 in the 18-49 demo. CW Now actually beat another record low, on February 3, 2008. The episode received a 0.1/0 in the 18-49 demo, a 0.3/0 in the households, and only 349,000 viewers. However, the episode was against Super Bowl XLII.
On February 8, 2008, The CW announced that CW Now would be going on hiatus. However on February 13, 2008, The CW announced that CW Now would be cancelled after the February 24, 2008 episode. The show was replaced with encores of America's Next Top Model.
