The state of The CW in the Detroit market continues to spiral out of control.
The latest wrinkle has an attorney for Kevin Adell, owner of WADL-TV, sending a note to E.W. Scripps and its WMYD-TV station seeking a “legal hold” on all documents related to its agreement to carry Nexstar’s The CW network.
This convoluted soap opera began when Adell, had kicked The CW off of WADL after failing to resolve a pay dispute. WADL is in the middle of being sold to Mission Broadcasting, which is also managed by Nexstar, but with the Federal Communications Commission delaying its input on the deal, Adell sought to renegotiate the existing agreement for WADL to carry the network. When Nexstar didn’t engage, Adell took The CW off of WADL.
A week later, E.W. Scripps’ WMYD-TV, known as TV20, said it would carry The CW. That caused Adell to file a cease-and-desist letter to Scripps and WMYD on Tuesday, claiming it was breaking the law. A day later, Adell followed up with the request to freeze all documents and communications.
“To comply with applicable law, you must immediately institute a ‘legal hold’ to retain potentially relevant documents and records,” the letter read. “A litigation hold ensures that the documents relating to the dispute are not destroyed and are available for the discovery process when required or requested.”
A spokesman for E.W. Scripps previously declined to comment on the cease-and-desist letter and the request for a legal hold. A Nexstar spokesman also declined to comment.
The CW is in a middle of a reboot after Nexstar took full control of the network a little more than a year ago. Gone are the raft of teen dramas and superhero shows spawned from DC’s Arrow. In its place are shows like FBoy Island and Penn & Teller: Fool Us, as well as ACC football and basketball games and LIV Golf Nexstar President Michael Biard said on an investor call on Wednesday that it was looking to invest in more broad-appealing program anchored by sports.