Dynasty was among the lowest-rated scripted shows, but its continued renewal was an example of the "free lunch" that The CW is ending with 10 cancelations

The Hollywood Reporter

"To understand what’s happening now at The CW, it’s best to look back to why the network was launched in the first place," explains The Hollywood Reporter's Lesley Goldberg of The CW axing more series (10) than it renewed (eight). "Warners and CBS Studios saw the network as a cash cow: both studios would supply low-cost scripted series to the network and cash in with lucrative international rights. Then, in 2011, Warners and CBS Studios added revenue from a $1 billion Netflix streaming deal as shows like (Julie) Plec’s The Vampire Diaries spinoffs The Originals and the unceremoniously canceled Legacies added a secondary revenue stream. It didn’t matter that The CW was never profitable because both studios — then part of Viacom and Time Warner, respectively — made money hand over fist via foreign sales and the Netflix output deal. The business model was so lucrative that The CW expanded to original programming on Fridays and Sundays and largely stopped canceling much of anything. The CW canceled (or gave a proper farewell) to an average of only 3.3 shows during the past decade — a far cry from this season’s 10. In the same time frame, The CW renewed an average of 10.3 shows annually (vs. eight this year), while new show volume (three) is a bit below the norm (3.9)." So why did shows like Dynasty stop being viable? "Blame streaming. And mergers. And The CW’s impending sale," says Goldberg. She adds that those factors have combined in a loss of billions of dollars in revenue, making Dynasty and its low-rated ilk no longer profitable. ALSO: Broadcasting had a great year, so why end the season with a "Red Wedding's" cancelation dump?