• by Wayne Friedman , July 13, 2023

Shifting further into live TV sports programming, the CW -- the young-skewing, mostly scripted entertainment broadcast network -- will be adding live ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) football and basketball games starting this fall and running through the better part of the 2023-24 TV season.

Some 50 live games will air per season on Saturdays and/or Sundays through the 2026-27 season.

The CW will start with football in September, shifting to ACC basketball in December, January, and February -- with men’s basketball doubleheaders taking place every Saturday afternoon and women’s basketball games on Sunday afternoons.

There will be a total of 13 football games, 28 men’s basketball games and nine women’s basketball games each year.

Raycom Sports will produce all football and basketball games for The CW.

In January, CW announced a multi-year deal with LIV Golf, where it committed to airing 14 global events on Saturday and Sundays this year.

Recently LIV Golf, backed by a Saudi Arabia investment fund, and its main competitor, the U.S.-based PGA Golf, announced a controversial merger, which has drawn congressional scrutiny.

In late February, an initial LIV Golf tournament drew an  average of 289,000 viewers on Saturday and Sunday, according to Nielsen estimates. A March LIV Golf event went a bit lower, averaging 279,000.

Perry Sook, CEO ofNexstar Media Group, the majority owner of The CW,  earlier this year said the network’s deal with LIV Golf has led to talks with other sports rights owners for possible deals, including motorsports.

Over the last 12 months, The CW has pulled in $197.1 million in national TV advertising, down 13% versus the same period a year ago, according to estimates from EDO Ad EnGage.