The CW has selected Known as its media agency of record, responsible for the network’s media strategy, planning, buying and optimization. The announcement marks a moment of transition for both organizations, as The CW works to broaden its audience beyond the “Gossip Girl” set and introduce live sports, and Known endeavors to make its name in the world of media investment.

“The CW of the past was essentially a niche cable brand that did one or two things really, really well, and they built a strong, iconic brand that resonated in culture and with fans,” said Chris Spadaccini, chief marketing officer for The CW. As the network settles into new ownership by broadcast company Nexstar, Spadaccini said The CW’s goal is to “test the elasticity of the brand and flex it so that it can appeal to more people.”

Spadaccini, who recently served 20 years in marketing at HBO, was named CMO for The CW in February, five months after Nexstar closed its acquisition for majority ownership of the network from previous co-owners Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount, which each retain minority ownership. The CMO said the network will retain its name, but is in process of a redesign aimed at the something-for-everyone philosophy The CW is pivoting toward, somewhat reminiscent of recent streaming revamps like HBO Max’s Max rebrand.

While the brand has high recognition for teen TV such as “Riverdale,” which aired its series finale earlier this year, and “Supernatural,” it will now focus on “expanding our programming mix across the board, from drama to comedy to unscripted to movies and, very importantly, live sports,” said Spadaccini. In January, The CW secured live broadcast rights for LIV Golf, and this summer it added 50 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) college football and basketball games to its slate.

Spadaccini also said that finding a media agency was one of his first major decisions as CMO, and while the network had previously worked with Omnicom Media Group’s OMD, “given our challenge of repositioning the brand and bringing new viewers to the network, I felt strongly that we needed a fresh start and a more bespoke approach,” he said. “I was looking for an agency that was scrappy and entrepreneurial, just like us, and who had strong data-driven marketing and analytics capabilities.”

Known, which specializes in using AI and predictive algorithmic tools for planning, will dig into the data of each program on The CW’s slate to precisely target ideal audiences that don’t know The CW is now the home of reality series “FBoy Island.” Kasha Cacy, chief media officer at Known, said the agency’s role in media strategy is finding marrying the science and creativity of audience strategy.

“We’re seeing a lot of clients who are struggling to figure out the balance between branding and performance—how do you build a brand, but also drive bottom line results at the same time?” said Cacy. “That seems to be a real sweet spot of ours, helping [brands] understand how they work together and making them work together more effectively.”

Cacy joined Known in February as the agency has pushed to make its media practice more robust. In addition to The CW, the agency’s media clients include The Knot, Memorial Sloan Kettering and Sesame Workshop.

Known was selected as The CW’s media AOR without a formal review. The agency worked with the network earlier this year on campaigns for series such as “Superman & Lois,” which aired its third season from March to June. When Spadaccini joined, he said he was given six weeks to campaign for the show, as well as “Gotham Knights,” which premiered its first season in March and has since been canceled. Spadaccini’s assignment was to “make a splash and win back some audience” from the CW’s president Brad Schwartz.

“What impressed me the most is how quickly Known got onboarded and set up,” said Spadaccini. “It’s not sexy stuff, but it is not easy…So, how quickly they got up to speed and how quickly they were able to put a strategy in place to help us reactivate this core audience for ‘Superman & Lois’ and also platform a new show off of it was very impressive and sealed the deal.”