Mark Pedowitz Signs New Deal to Stay at The CW

As president, he's seen the No. 5 net achieve more gender balance among viewers and led a push for prestige comedy.

Mark Pedowitz is staying put at The CW, signing a new multiyear deal to continue serving as president of the network.

The pact continues Pedowitz's tenure as the second-longest-running broadcast chief. He first joined The CW in April 2011, when the young network still had a predominantly female audience. A main priority for the TV veteran, who came to The CW after a long tenure with Disney-ABC TV, has been to even the gender balance at the network. It now stands at 52 percent female and 48 percent male.

Season to date, The CW is averaging a 0.8 rating among adults 18-49 and 2 million viewers in primetime. That's with the hefty advantage of The Flash. The network's biggest hit to date, averaging 5.6 million viewers and a 2.3 rating among adults 18-49, it's currently one of the strongest series to air on Tuesdays — winning its time slot among young adults and men 18-49.

Pedowitz's confidence in the current lineup is such that The CW recently renewed nearly its entire lineup. Those orders for the 2016-17 season include Crazy Ex Girlfriend and Jane the Virgin, two series that have languished in the ratings but have proven to be critical darlings. The series' respective leads, Rachel Bloom and Gina Rodriguez, have won Golden Globes for best actress in a comedy, TV or musical — firsts for the network.

One of the longest-standing broadcast chiefs, Pedowitz's tenure is only bested by NBC's Robert Greenblatt. The past two years have seen turnover in the top executive suites at ABC, CBS and Fox.

Looking ahead, Pedowitz seems resolute on staying the course. There are few holes to fill in its 2016-17 lineup, given the recent onslaught of renewals, and more genre fare is considered to favored.

The success of The Flash, on the heels of Arrow, was recently followed by another DC Comics series in Legends of Tomorrow. The block of supernatural soaps The Vampire Diaries and The Originals have also been doing their part to lift the Friday lineup in their recent move.