• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, October 31, 2011

Two recent after-market deals for CW shows will make the network profitable -- but U.S. syndication, long a big partner in making money for premium shows, won't contribute to the proce

A billion-dollar, multi-year Netflix deal, followed by a sizable, but probably lower-revenue deal from Hulu, will make CW a profitable TV programming business for its owners, CBS Corp. and Warner Bros.

For years U.S. syndication -– first as the rerunning of network shows on local broadcast stations, and then via combined station/cable network deals -- has made Hollywood studios lot of money. Recently the shows that broadcast stations couldn't -- or wouldn't buy -- went to cable. But cable can't take everything.

As major media companies, CBS and Warner are also in the syndication business in a big way. CBS has shows like "Dr Phil," "Judge Judy" and "Entertainment Tonight,"; Warner Bros. has "The Big Bang Theory," "Ellen" and "Friends."  But they have not done any syndication for their CW shows.

Years ago, broadcast stations and cable networks were hungry for any kind of programming to fill their schedules. But an explosion of media platforms and content -- as well as a fractionalization of ratings points -- has caused stations and cable networks to be more selective.

Syndication has not been particular good at gaining viewers for any kind of serialized dramas -- or for reruns of reality shows. So niche young-women-targeted dramas like  "Vampire Diaries" or reality shows  like "America's Next Top Model" don't have much chance in syndication.

Reruns of sitcoms, plus first-run talk shows, court shows and magazine shows work best in syndication. You can also  throw in crime procedural shows, which work a little better than serialized dramas in syndication, as their storylines -- like comedies -- are more self-contained within each episode.

CW first ventured into digital airings of its shows after their traditional TV airings a couple of years ago. That was an honorable experiment. But the heft of running the shows on more established digital platforms like Hulu, Hulu Plus and Netflix will push the CW into the black after years of red ink.

Perhaps mini-broadcasters, mid-size cable networks or other TV producers  might be the next businesses to try  new digital media deals.