Philly’s Channel 57 is ditching The CW. Here’s what we know.

Philadelphia TV viewers, say so long to The CW.

In September, Channel 57 (WPSG) will drop The CW and its prime-time programming, which includes the shows Riverdale, Walker, and a series of titles based on D.C. Comics characters, such as The Flash and Gotham Knights. The rest of Channel 57′s schedule will remain unaffected.

It’s part of a national move at eight stations owned by CBS after Nexstar Media Group purchased a majority stake in October.

“We look forward to reimagining these stations as independents while leveraging the considerable value of their primetime real estate in each of the markets,” Wendy McMahon, president and co-head of CBS News and Stations, said in a statement.

Channel 57 will still offer local newscasts, according to Kelly Frank, president and general manager of CBS Philadelphia. In fact, Frank said, they’re looking into expanding the number of newscasts beyond the two it offers at 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. If they do, they would be original newscasts and not simulcasts of CBS3, since the network airs CBS programming in primetime.

It’s unclear what other programming might fill the station’s prime-time void, but Frank said they hope to expand sports and local programming.

“We are not locked in on anything yet,” Frank told The Inquirer. “We know that from 8 to 10 p.m. Monday through Sunday— the current CW prime will no longer air on WPSG after August.”

The move was made in part to allow CBS to bid for local sports-rights deals in markets across the country, as some regional sports networks struggle to cope with cord-cutting trends. The affiliation with The CW had locked the stations into nightly prime-time programming, when most MLB, NBA, and NHL games are played.

Channel 57 once aired Phillies, Sixers, and Flyers games, but lost the Phillies in 2008 before all three ended up on Comcast SportsNet (now NBC Sports Philadelphia) in 2009.

NBC Sports Philadelphia has been more stable than some other regional sports networks, though it has endured several rounds of layoffs in recent years. The Phillies purchased a 25% stake in NBC Sports Philadelphia as part of the team’s 25-year, $2.5 billion deal to broadcast games on the network through 2041. Comcast, NBC’s parent company, owns the Flyers under Comcast Spectator.

It appears unlikely Channel 57 will be able to nab local TV rights for the Phillies, Sixers, and Flyers away from NBC Sports Philadelphia, and Union games are locked up on Apple TV+. Beyond airing games for the Philadelphia Wings, the city’s National Lacrosse League franchise, options appear limited outside of college or high school sports.

“We are looking at all options. We already have an established partnership with the Wings, and that is a partnership we have really enjoyed,” Frank said. “We are looking at new and different possibilities that really help us connect on a local level.”

The CW’s branding on Channel 57 dates back to 2006, born out of the merger of two now-defunct channels — The WB and UPN. In October, The CW was purchased by Nexstar in October, and the deal allowed CBS the right to pull the branding off its locally owned stations.

The other seven CW stations that will go independent are: WUPA Atlanta, KBCW San Francisco, KSTW Seattle, WTOG Tampa-St. Petersburg, WKBD Detroit, KMAX Sacramento, and WPCW Pittsburgh.

Nexstar owns PHL17, which is affiliated with MyNetworkTV and airs sitcom reruns such as The Big Bang Theory and Friends in primetime. It’s unclear if PHL17 will take on The CW’s programming or if another station in Philadelphia will make a deal, but Nexstar CEO Perry Sook seems confident there won’t be any interruption in the markets they’ll lose in the fall.

“The good news is that we have multiple expressions of interest for affiliations in virtually every market,” Sook told investors during an earnings call Tuesday morning. “In fact, in a couple of markets — it is too strong to call it a bidding war because the discussions haven’t progressed that far, but we have multiple expressions of interest.”