Tribune Media and The CW said they signed a new long-term affiliate agreement that will keep the network on 12 Tribune stations.
In Chicago, the CW affiliation will move from Tribune's WGN-TV to WPWR-TV, owned by 21st Century Fox.
"We are extremely pleased to continue our strong relationship with The CW Network," said Peter Liguori, Tribune Media's president and CEO. "The primetime entertainment programming offered by The CW drives a passionate and loyal audience to our stations and we are looking forward to a lot of success."
WGN plans to run as an independent station, running more local programming.
The Chicago affiliation switch will take effect Sept. 1.
Unlike WGN, which has sports rights to local teams, WPWR will be running the CW in pattern, with almost no preemptions.
"We are very excited to partner with WPWR, our new CW home in Chicago, where Chicagoans can continue to enjoy The CW's popular, critically-acclaimed primetime programming," said Chris Brooks, senior VP, network distribution, The CW. "The CW has continued to gain momentum over the past few seasons with award-winning series like Jane the Virgin and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and its most-watched series ever in The Flash and our new relationship with WPWR is a terrific opportunity to continue that growing momentum with viewers in Chicago."
Frank Cicha, senior VP of programming of Fox Television Stations, stated, "We love high quality, big budget first-run prime and we love having more original programming. But most of all, we love moving to The CW the same time as Supergirl."
