CW network shutting down on Sunday nights

Local stations will now pick programming for troubled channel

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updated 7:26 p.m. ET May 5, 2009

NEW YORK - The CW television network is shutting down on Sunday nights.

The network is negotiating to turn over the time to its affiliates. Viewers will see programming picked by their local stations instead of the reruns the CW is now airing.

It's a sign of the economy and the young network's consistent failure on Sundays. Last year the CW leased time on Sundays to an independent production company, but their shows lasted only a couple of months.

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Network spokesman Paul McGuire says this will enable the CW to concentrate on its stronger Monday through Friday schedule, and see its weekly ratings increase because a weak link is removed. The affiliates will have more time to sell their own advertising.

The CW is a joint venture between Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. unit and CBS Corp.