The E.W. Scripps Co. said it was shutting down its Scripps News over-the-air channel effective November 15 and eliminating at least 200 jobs.

When the move was announced, Scripps stock jumped and was up 15% in midday trading Friday.

Burdened by debt since its acquisition of Ion Media, Scripps stock is down 72% this year from a 52-week high of $9.25 a share in January.

Kate O’Brian, president of news at Scripps, said she would be leaving the company.

“Over the last two years, Scripps News’ live anchored coverage and documentary programming have grown its linear television audience, but the prospects for the necessary revenue growth haven’t materialized, despite our sales teams’ efforts,” Scripps CEO Adam Symson said in a memo to employees. “Scripps News’ current financial position is what has led me to the decision to scale back our approach to 24-hour news and over-the-air coverage.“

“Amidst an already difficult linear television advertising marketplace, many brands and agencies have decided that advertising around national news is just too risky for them given the polarized nature of this country, no matter the accolades and credentials a news organization like Scripps receives for its objectivity,” Symson said. “I vehemently disagree, but it is hurting Scripps News, along with every other national linear and digital news outlet.” 

Symson said Scripps News will remain on streaming and digital platforms with weekday live coverage from a Washington, D.C.-based core reporting team. He said about 50 Scripps News staff members would remain to report for its local stations.

“I also want to emphasize that the advertising issues Scripps News has faced reflect the national marketplace,“ Symson said. ”Locally, there is advertising support for our local news and our stations’ ability to connect local businesses with our audiences. It remains our responsibility to serve local communities and connect them to the greater world through Scripps News’ national and international reporting.” 

In her memo to staff, O’Brian called the shutdown “a business decision” and not reflection on the quality of its work.

“The tough reality is that despite doing remarkable and award-winning journalism, building our OTA audience steadily since we launched, and doubling our weekly OTA revenue in the last year, the national ad market simply did not sustain over-the-air Scripps News as a viable business,” she said.

“The world needs more objective journalism and dedicated journalists like all of you,” O’Brian added. “Indeed, we still have a most consequential election to cover for our audience that demands fact-based and thoughtful coverage. We owe it to our loyal audiences on every platform to continue  to deliver the highest quality news and information right up to November 15.”

WMXI, the Fox affiliate in Grand Rapids, Michigan, said it named Jace Larson as senior director of news.

Larson had been director of newsgathering at Scripps News. Scripps News and WMXI are owned by E.W. Scripps.

Larson is replacing Dan Boers, who left the station in July.

At Scripps News, Larson oversaw the general assignment reporting team. He previously managed teams within the Scripps local-national operation before it merged with Scripps News.

Earlier in his career, Larson worked as a reporter at stations including KUSA and KMGH in Denver, KPRC Houston and KOKI Tulsa, Oklahoma. He won an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for uncovering and dismantling a foreclosure scam in Colorado.

With its women’s sports franchises leading the way, E.W. Scripps generated higher volume in the upfront market.

In addition to its string of local TV stations, Scripps owns national networks including Ion, Bounce, Court TV and Scripps News.

Brian Norris, who oversees all ad sales at Scripps as chief revenue officer told B+C that market demand for live sports helped Scripps lock in a low-single-digit increase in volume, which was better than similar-sized companies without women’s sports did.

In a market marked by lower prices on a cost-per-thousand viewers basis, Scripps saw higher prices for sports (the gains weren’t quite NFL-sized), flat pricing for entertainment and higher prices to reach multicultural audiences.

“The upfront played out just the way we wanted it to,“ Norris said. “Probably a little better than we even anticipated.”

Scripps used its women’s sports franchises to bring new advertisers into its huddle. Advertisers were looking at women’s sports as a way to reach audiences that are balanced from a gender perspective and a multicultural perspective.

Almost 50% of Scripps’ WNBA audiences are multicultural, Norris added.

“They're getting the benefit of an incredibly diverse audience but also an audience that has the ability to spend against their products,” he said.

Norris said Scripps made deals with two dozen new advertisers in the upfront.

There were big advertisers in the automotive, alcohol, insurance, travel and telco. Norris said that 25% of its new advertisers were either small or medium-sized businesses or direct-to-consumer brands.

Norris said a focus of Scripps’s upfront was to “democratize this content for all advertisers.” The company formed a special team to interact with SMBs and its connected TV inventory is available on most programmatic platforms.

Buyers also wanted streaming CTV inventory, and sales grew 70% in the upfront, “That was largely driven by new business and sports,” Norris said. 

But women’s sports was the biggest deal for Scripps. 

The WNBA, enjoying record ratings, recently signed new rights deals with ESPN, NBC and Amazon worth $2.2 billion over 11 years. Scripps has WNBA rights for one more season after the current season.

“What we've done for them is unlock new value for them in terms of unprecedented reach via our OTA network,“ Norris said.

Ion had its most-watched WNBA game every August 31, when the Chicago Sky faced the Indiana Fever with Caitlin Clark. It averaged 1.6 million viewers, peaking with 1.92 million.  

“Whether it’s over the top, over the air cable or streaming, we are giving the WNBA and the NWSL access to audiences representing growth to both groups,” he said. “And so we’re optimistic that we will that we will get a deal done with the WNBA.” 

Looking forward to the rest of the year, Norris said sports will continue to be a focus and advertisers will be attracted to CTV for its ability to target audiences.

“It’s clear to me and clear to Scripps that advertisers have choices more choices than they likely have ever had,” Norris said.

"What we want to do is provide value beyond just price. We want to provide value beyond just a commoditized offering,” he said. “ We do that with service, we do that with creativity and we do that by providing a product that is differentiated in the marketplace.”

In her first job in television news, Maya Sargent, a multimedia journalist for E.W. Scripps’ WTXL, is covering a neighborhood in Northwest Tallahassee.

Originally from the U.K., Sargent said her British accent has endeared her to the Floridians she now lives with and reports on and makes them more inclined to talk to her.

“It’s been great to kind of learn more about my neighborhood through the lens of my neighbors,” Sargent told B+C Multichannel News. “They’re telling you what’s important to them, what they want to hear.”

From a message on Facebook, she learned that the food pantry at the local Veterans Village for homeless former servicemen was empty. Sargent did a story on that for the station.

A few days later, she got an email from a teacher in a school on the other side of town.

“They said they were so moved by the story,” Sargent said. The elementary school held a food drive and delivered what it collected to the Veterans Village. Sargent did a follow-up story. 

“To call attention to a problem and have a viewer react and encourage a whole school to do a food drive then deliver that food to fill the pantry was the most unbelievable display of what local news can do,” she said.

That’s the ideal for Scripps, which launched the Neighborhood News format at many of its stations as part of its news initiative a year ago.

More Reporters in the Field

Scripps said it will have added 250 journalists in its local newsrooms by the end of the year, a 67% increase. In smaller markets, stations will have at least 10 reporters, and in larger markets, stations will have at least 25 journalists in the field. 

The company has spent $11.4 million to increase the pay of its newsgathering employees, especially in small and midsized markets.

Scripps CEO Adam Symson, who began his career as a journalist, recently said in a note to staffers that he was “exceptionally proud” of the news being produced from the Scripps stations that have transitioned to the new system.

“In our smaller markets through the Neighborhood News strategy, we’re covering more of the community with far more reporters than in the past,” he said. “In our medium and larger markets, the new staffing structure is opening the opportunity to cover markets farther and wider, from the rural edges and far-flung suburbs to a city’s core. We are rebuilding trust with our audiences because we are committed to covering their community all the time and not just occasionally parachuting in.

“Now a year in, and with most of our local stations transitioned or having started their transition, by focusing on both quality journalism and financial performance, we are creating a stronger foundation for our future to serve our communities with local news for years to come,” Symson said.

They say you have to break a lot of eggs to make an omelet, and former Scripps executives say the new approach is producing lower ratings and adding to the company’s difficult financial condition.

Sources also said the initiative created a struggle within Scripps between those pushing the new approach and an old guard more interested in next month’s ratings and revenue than the future of TV news. 

“There’s a struggle inside the company about how you get there and treat people respectfully,” said one former Scripps exec. “It was very much top down the way it was communicated and some if it didn’t happen the way they said it would happen.”

The struggle was intensified as Scripps went through a corporate reorganization that resulted in senior executives leaving the company and the replacement of general managers at many stations with station managers, reporting to regional managers.

Even within stations, there were jealousies as some staffers got raises, well-paid reporters were added and others saw their income stagnate or their jobs disappear altogether, the executives said.

Many of Scripps’ stations no longer rely on anchors and big chunks of their newscasts — other than weather — are prerecorded. When news breaks, Scripps said, its reporters can and do still report live.

A Scripps spokesman acknowledged that between the company’s reorganization and the news initiative, communication could have been better.

Business Worries

Former Scripps executives also said some station managers are concerned the initiative will hurt ratings and revenues — especially in 2025, when bigger stations make the change and political advertising dries up in a nonelection year. While viewers tell researchers they prefer softer community news, the executives said, they really want to know about the shootings, fires and other disasters in their neighborhoods.

In Tallahassee, Florida, one of the first markets where the initiative was installed, viewership fell sharply in the second quarter from a year ago, according to Comscore numbers. (Scripps uses Comscore for local audience measurement.) 

Scripps noted that Comscore changed its methodology, making apples-to-apples comparisons difficult. Even given that, the leading station in the market saw a much smaller percentage decline in viewership.

Meanwhile, Scripps reported a second-quarter loss and is going through a second management shakeup, all of which has contributed to a big drop in the company’s stock price, which hasn’t enhanced faith in the company’s management.

As far as news is concerned, Sean McLaughlin, a 10-year Scripps vet who was senior VP, local news, before leaving earlier this year, agrees that change is due.

“At the end of the day, I think It’s pretty clear, no matter what sort of audience data you look at that local news needs serious reform,” said McLaughlin, now VP of news at Graham Media Group.

“I’ll tell you, it’s not easy,” he added. ”Within the industry, there’s a lot of tension between the reformers, the people who realize we need to drastically change the way we’re operating, and people who are clinging to a past that doesn’t exist anymore. That tension is what prevents real transformation from happening.”

Graham had a similar effort to modernize its news, improve its journalism and produce more stories underway when McLaughlin arrived at the company, he said.

“Any of the journalism-focused broadcasters that are left are eyeballing the same thing,” he said.

The issues at Graham and Scripps are not exactly the same. “Graham is in a different financial situation, so there’s not as much pressure on cutting costs,” McLaughlin said. “And so what it’s really allowed us to do is singularly focus on improving the quality of the news product and not having to simultaneously deal with the financial side.”

Scripps is moving forward with its local news initiative. 

If TV is going to continue to inform viewers about their world, Scripps president of news Kate O’Brian said, it can’t become a victim of the financial and technological changes the industry is going through.

“Local news is just an institution like a battleship,” O’Brian said. “It’s going to be really hard to turn around. Where people lost their jobs, the reinvestment of the money saved went into expanding the number of journalists on the street.” 

Some stations have cut ties with longtime anchors, but O’Brian said eliminating those big salaries to hire additional less-experienced staffers isn’t the Scripps strategy.

“The model is utilizing a lot of levers in order to bring in more reporters,” she said. “And that’s including using technology in a different way and reformatting what the newsrooms look like.”

And while O’Brian said she was sorry for those in newsrooms who’ve left the company, “we also appreciate the people who understand what we’re trying to do.”

At this point 35 stations have made the transition, starting with those in smaller markets. Scripps’ bigger stations started the process in August and the company expects it to be wrapped up in the fourth quarter.

Of those, 12 have chosen the Neighborhood News format.

Other stations have adopted formats including “Fight for What’s Right” and “We Follow Through,” which emphasizes staying with a story.

One of the first stations to make the transition was WTXL Tallahassee. Station manager Vicki Bradley said when she’s fully staffed, she’ll have 12 MMJs in her newsroom, a number she’d never experienced in a small market.

“In a lot of small markets, here are some places in your DMA you never get to because you never had the people,” she said. 

The second largest city in the Tallahassee DMA is Valdosta, Georgia, two and half hours from the station. As part of the initiative, WTXL was able to hire a reporter from the Valdosta newspaper, whose family was from the area and went to college there.

“The beauty of hiring people that live in the community they serve is they want to stay,” Bradley said. “My desire is that my Valdosta reporter will want to stay because we do pay people a living wage.”

The station’s new salary structure means she can compete for talent in midsized markets. WTXL recently was able to hire a senior reporter from Charlotte, Bradley said.

Bradley said viewers are noticing the station’s reporters showing up and sticking around in their neighborhoods.

She was at a meeting of community leaders and people would come up to her and drop the names of the station’s reporters — something that hadn’t happened in the past. “This is crazy impactful,” she said.

More reporters in the newsroom creates a need for more management. That’s led to additional training and the creation of executive reporters, who help coach less-experienced MMJs.

At KERO, Scripps’s station in Bakersfield, California, Mike Hart, an anchor for 30 years, has become an executive reporter, overseeing the newsroom’s 12 MMJs, teaching them about what’s a story and how to report and write it.

“We’re a small market in size, but we’re in the second largest county in California,” he said. “This Neighborhood News model now sends our reporters into every corner of the county. They cover stories that we might not have covered even a year or two ago,” when the station had more anchors than reporters.

More Local, Less Live

Besides having more reporters, the station’s Neighborhood News format features fewer unnecessary live shots. “It makes us so much more efficient and it gives our reporters the ability to really spend more time putting their stories together,” Hart said, like a recent investigation into a rise of arson cases in the market.

In an industry where most news staffers move from market to market, Hart says he landed in Bakersfield and has now spent 33 years there. “People ask me where I’m from and I say I’m from Bakersfield,” he said.

At KERO, he’s been through a number of formats, from Action News to Standing Up for You. He said he hopes that Scripps’s initiative will encourage more people to stay in market — especially if that’s where they grew up. 

KERO senior reporter Veronica Morley was born and raised in Bakersfield and has the talent to move up to a larger market, Hart said. “She has told me she wants to stay in Bakersfield. This is her home.”

Another KERO reporter, Corey O’Leary, lives in a little town called Bodfish. When storms hit the area, “having someone embedded up there where it was all happening was a tremendous advantage,” Hart said. 

Hart hopes some of his younger MMJs will stick around.

“We’re going to see other companies follow us,” he said. “We’re already seeing it in our market. Two of the other stations are trying to imitate some of the things we’re doing.” 

E.W. Scripps Co. named Jeff Mulligan as station manager for its stations in Kansas City, NBC affiliate KSHB and independent KMCI, effective September 9.

Mulligan is returning to the stations, where he served as executive producer from 2017 to 2019. He left to lead news department operations at WSIL Carterville, Illinois.

Mulligan replaces Matt Waggoner, who is leaving Scripps.

“Jeff’s leadership, experience and previous tenure with Scripps stations make him a great fit for KSHB/KMCI,” Kathleen Choal, regional VP and general manager for Scripps, said. “At WSIL-TV, he fostered a culture of innovation and helped transform news coverage from a strictly linear focus to multiplatform coverage. We look forward to having Jeff rejoin our team.”

During his career, Mulligan has also held posts as assistant news director at WISH in Indianapolis, news director at WMBD in Peoria, Illinois, and executive producer at KGO San Francisco and WDAF Kansas City.

With its stock price under pressure, Lisa Knutson, who was named chief operating officer of the E.W. Scripps Co. last year as part of a reorganization, is leaving the company at the end of the year in another shakeup at the broadcaster.

A number of executives who had reported to Knutson will be getting additional responsibilities.

Chief financial officer Jason Combs will oversee distribution and the enterprise strategy team.

Keisha Taylor Starr, who was promoted to chief marketing officer at Scripps last year, has been named head of the company’s struggling national networks unit. 

Dean Littleton, senior VP of local media, will also be responsible for streaming and digital.

Chief administrative officer Laura Tomlin will become chief transformation officer.

Beth Welter has been named chief of staff, reporting to Tomlin.

The company’s stock price dropped 10% to $2.12 a share on Monday.

Starr had been CMO of the national networks division before being promoted. Knutson had been in charge of the national networks unit before she became COO of the whole company.

In an email to staff, Scripps CEO Adam Symson outlined the new duties being assigned to managers and said the COO post was being eliminated.

"When I asked Lisa Knutson to be chief operating officer in 2022, her role was to combine our businesses into one media operation, setting us up for success today and into the future. Now that she has completed that work, we are preparing for our next chapter by considering how our company is organized, especially as the media landscape continues to evolve and new challenges are brought to our doorstep," symson said.

Scripps reported a second quarter net loss of $14 million as it took a big writeoff of its national networks unit.

Profits at the national networks unit fell to $37.7 million in the second quarter from $60.3 million a year ago.

Scripps has put one of its networks, Bounce TV, up for sale and the company said it was getting closer to getting a transaction done.

Scripps took on a large debt load when it acquired Ion Network as part of the national networks business.

The debt load has contributed to Scripps stock falling from a 52 week high of $9.98.

E.W. Scripps said it promoted John Cook to senior VP and general manager of KTNV, its ABC affiliate in Las Vegas, effective September 3.

Cook has been senior director of sales for Scripps stations WXYZ-WMYD Detroit since January 2021. 

He replaces Jeff Kiernan, who was promoted to VP of local news at Scripps in May.

“John is an experienced local media executive who has hit the ground running at Scripps, leading change in our stations amidst a constantly shifting media landscape,” said Anita Helt, regional VP and general manager at Scripps. “During his time with our Detroit stations, he has helped deliver impactful results against revenue objectives and has worked closely with all departments.”  

Before Scripps Cook was with Graham Media’s WDIV Detroit.

“I look forward to joining the team of professionals at KTNV and to diving into the vibrant Las Vegas community that ABC 13 serves,” Cook said. “It’s a true honor to have the opportunity to lead this talented team. Together, we will continue to deliver critical community journalism and high-quality sports entertainment through our Scripps Sports partnership with the Vegas Golden Knights.”

E.W. Scripps Co. said it is making its Ion Plus free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) network available over-the-air beginning July 1. 

Ion Plus will be available in 90% of the U.S. television homes over the air, enabling the channel to reach a bigger audience. 

It will continue to be streamed on FAST platforms including Samsung TV Plus, The Roku Channel, Vizio WatchFree Plus, LG Channels and Amazon Freevee. It can also be watched by subscribers to Fubo.

Scripps operates a number of digital multicast over-the-air networks, including Grit, Laff, Court TV and Scripps News and it has expanded their distribution by creating FAST versions.

At a time when cord-cutting is reducing the number of pay TV subscribers, Scripps has been promoting over-the-air to viewers (via antennas) and advertisers trying to reach viewers no longer available on cable.

Scripps is among the leaders in the amount of broadcast spectrum it has available between its local network affiliated stations and the stations it acquired with Ion Media in 2020.

The purchase of Ion Media boosted Scripps national networks business, but since the acquisition, the ad market has tightened and revenues have been down.

Also Read: E.W. Scripps Takes $686 Million Charge Against National Networks

In the second quarter, Scripps reported that segment profit for its national network unit dropped to $49.7 million from $51.5 million the prior year as revenue dipped 3.3% to $209 million. 

Programming on Ion Plus features off-network series including MacGyver, Scorpion, Murdoch Mysteries, Leverage, Hudson & Rex and Private Eyes.

Scripps rebranded Ion earlier this year and has been adding sports and live events to the network, making deals to air games from the WNBA and the National Women’s Soccer League.

Scripps also has Ion Mystery, which is currently available as a FAST channel.

The E.W. Scripps Co. named Robin Davis senior VP, chief distribution officer, effective immediately.

Davis had been senior VP for strategy, planning and development at Scripps.

In her new post, Davis will be responsible for managing distribution across cable, satellite, virtual carriers and multicast spectrum.

She replaces Michael O'Brien, who left to become chief revenue officer at National Media Research.

“Robin is an outstanding media executive with all of the skills to lead our distribution strategy,” Scripps CEO Adam Symson said. “Her thorough grasp of our business, the evolving television marketplace and the opportunities we see ahead give me great confidence that she will maximize the value of our distribution platforms.”

Davis joined Scripps in 2005 as controller for the company’s former newspaper division. After moving to corporate, she worked on mergers and acquisitions including Journal Communications, Katz Networks and Ion Media.

Before joining Scripps, Davis was VP and chief financial officer of Pulitzer Newspapers and manager of financial reporting for Sigma-Aldrich Corp. She began her career at Deloitte. 

To give its subscribers more content to pick from, DirecTV Stream is making deals to carry streaming channels from Cineverse and additional digital multicast channels from E.W. Scripps. 

The new channels are expected to be available to subscribers of DirecTV’s Enttertainment tier or higher on Tuesday afternoon (April 23). The channels can also be accessed by other DirecTV subscribers online or via the DirecTV app.

Cineverse, which focuses on streaming, is putting its The Bob Ross Channel, Comedy Dynamics, Dog Whisperer With Cesar Millan, Dove Channel and MeatEater TV on DirecTV.

“We are creating a second-to-none lineup of streaming channels that will allow our customers to choose from a wider variety of genres or explore their most avid interests in greater depth,” Rebecca Nelson, senior VP of content and programming at DirecTV, said. “This new relationship with Cineverse allows us to draw from one of the industry’s most dynamic portfolios to strategically add more channels as our customers begin to discover and embrace these new options.”

Also Read: DirecTV to Let Satellite Customers Drop Local Stations From Bundle to Cut Bill

DirecTV and Cineverse said they will work together to identify other Cineverse streaming channels that could be added to DirecTV.

“With DirecTV, our channels continue to expand their reach across platforms, increasing our ability to connect with existing fandoms and new audiences for our premium content across every popular genre,” Cineverse executive VP, partnerships Marc Rashba said.

Scripps channels Court TV and Scripps News are also being added to DirecTV Tuesday.  

DirecTV has been carrying Scripps’ Bounce and Grit channels since 2022.

Leichtman Research Group estimates that DirecTV reaches 11.3 million subscribers after losing 1.8 million customers in 2023.

DirecTV said it has been adding content and channels recently and said the Cineverse agreement alone makes about 4,000 hours of on-demand shows available to subscribers in genres including action-adventure, anime, animation, comedy, crime, drama, documentary, news, romance, reality, science fiction, horror kids and family, sports, westerns and music.

As regional sports networks have stopped carrying certain teams, DirecTV has been among the carriers picking up games produced by Major League Baseball.

The satellite company also recently added eight more The CW affiliates to its lineup.

Nexstar Media Group said it does not intend to renew the affiliations of The CW stations owned by the E.W. Scripps Co. in seven markets.

In two of those markets — Norfolk, Virginia, and Lafayette, Louisiana — Nexstar-owned stations will become the new The CW affiliates, effective Sept. 1.

“We have interest from other station groups in the five remaining markets and expect to make announcements about those affiliations soon,” Nexstar said in a statement. “We are prepared for this transition and confident that The CW will continue to reach 100% of US television households without interruption.”  

The other five markets are Detroit; Miami; Tucson, Arizona; Corpus Christi, Texas[ and San Luis Obispo, California.

“This is an opportunity for us to bring Scripps’ excellent local and national programming — entertainment from our networks, news from local stations and Scripps News and, in some markets, local sports rights — to even more audiences across the country,” Scripps said in a statement. “We are still in the process of determining exactly what the new programming will look like in each affected market.”

Low-cost, family-oriented streaming service Frndly TV said it will add local TV stations to its lineup in six markets this month.

The stations will give Frndly subscribers more access to local news and syndicated programming.

“We reached out to a couple of broadcasters and they were open to it,” Michael McKenna, co-founder and chief programming officer of Frndly TV, told Broadcasting+Cable. “We hope this is a good start that resonates with our viewers and is providing support to the broadcasters.”

Frndly TV will not be raising prices because of the addition of the stations. Stations that aren’t Big Four affiliates rarely get substantial retransmission carriers from cable and satellite multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) , or from streaming virtual MVPDs, like Frndly TV.

Because of the way it manages programming expenses, Frndly TV has been profitable almost from the start, and remains in the black, according to McKenna. 

Five of the stations that will appear on Frndly TV are owned by E.W. Scripps. Frndly previously made a deal to carry Scripps multicast networks including Bounce, Ion, Grit, Laff and Court TV.

The sixth station is Marantha Broadcasting Co.’s WFMZ in the Philadelphia market.

“This agreement is a milestone for our station because Frndly TV will be the first vMVPD to launch WFMZ, thus providing its subscribers with access to 10 hours per day of live local news as well as the station’s other great programming,” said Barry Fisher, president and general manager of WFMZ.

At a time when viewing is moving to streaming, stations are looking for ways to be watched by consumers, who have cut the cord but may not be using an antenna.

“Clearly WFMZ viewers are discovering OTT streaming options for their viewing,” Fisher said. “Between our OTT linear feed and 69News FAST channel combined, we are now streaming over 1 million hours a month to our viewers, and growing.”

Frndly TV is putting the stations it is adding at the top of its channel guide, making the stations easier to find.

The stations’ programming will be available only in their local markets. Frndly does not get advertising inventory on the stations to sell.

Frndly stays in contact with its subscribers and one of the things they said they wanted on the service was local stations.

These deals provide Frndly customers with the local content that they're looking for —  primarily local news — while holding down the cost for customers who are not highly focused on sports, McKenna said.

Frndly's basic programming package costs $6.99 a month.

Frndly will be able to tell what effect adding local stations has on adding subscribers, usage and churn.

“I am a believer in local news, and I think that it's important to have a healthy ecosystem for local news,” McKenna said.

Frndly could have gotten local news through the 24-7 streaming channels many stations have launched. But McKenna said Frndly was more interested in the blend of programming local stations offer.

“If you want somebody to stick on the channel, you’ve got to provide something more than news,” he said. “Local news maybe brings them in, but Judge Judy keeps them on the platform.”

Should it turn out that viewers like the local stations, Frndly will look to add more. It has already spoken to additional broadcasters, some of whom were open to Frndly’s approach, while others were looking for a big retransmission payment.

Frndly had a good year in 2023, according to McKenna, with growth in subscribers and revenue and 10% to 15% growth in hours viewed.

Frndly hasn’t released subscriber numbers in a while. The company last said it had 750,000 subscribers, and McKenna said it has grown since then, but hasn’t yet hit the million subscriber mark.

Last month, Parks Associates found that Frndly had the highest customer loyalty among vMVPDs.

“I think people like the idea that it's not 500 channels and it's not hard to find content, so we don't have a goal of adding a lot of content,” McKenna said.

“We are trying to maintain a small, relevant bouquet of channels,” he said. “We know who our subscribers are and we try to lean into what they want.”

Price is important to Frndly subscribers, but so is having the right programming.

“You have to try and figure out how best to deliver on both sides of that equation,” McKenna said.

In addition to WFMZ, the stations Frndly will be adding are:

• KCDO, Channel 3, Denver, CO DMA (Scripps - Independent)
• WMYD, Channel 20, Detroit, MI DMA (Scripps - The CW Affiliate)
• WACY, Channel 32, Green Bay, WI DMA (Scripps - Independent)
• KMCI, Channel 38, Kansas City, MO DMA (Scripps - Independent)
• WHDT, Channel 9, West Palm Beach, FL DMA (Scripps - Independent)

Leading a local media company is not for the faint of heart. Everywhere you look, there is change — technology, regulation, audiences, partners, employees. In these rough seas, we have a light to help guide us through the storm. It is a focus on mission.

Plenty of businesses have written mission statements, but few have the kind of North Star shared by a media company practicing journalism. 

The E.W. Scripps Co. mission statement says, “We do well by doing good — informing, entertaining and engaging the audiences we serve.” Every business decision we make will be better if we keep that mission in mind.

No matter how your company puts it into words your purpose is likely to make your communities better, keep people informed, and hold the powerful accountable. Democracy itself depends on our ability to meet the task. Still, we often lose sight of our purpose in the hustle and bustle.

Also Read: Local News Close-Up: Nashville Newsrooms Catch Their Breath

Clarifying our mission creates a touchstone for better business decisions. At Scripps, we have been evaluating resources at our stations, prioritizing field journalism and increasing our investment in newsgathering. Does that mean we set lofty goals and do not worry about the business fundamentals? The opposite is true. Because we must have margin for the mission, our focus on the bottom line should be relentless. Both cuts and investments can be guided by our “why.” Our station in Nashville invests in investigative journalism. Our chief investigative reporter, Phil Williams, has been honored in recent months with the DuPont Award, the John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism and the Lifetime Achievement Award from RTDNA. John Oliver featured him on Last Week Tonight. Phil has reported on everything from lead in drinking water to sexual assault on school buses, but his specialty is government accountability and abuses of power. He recently received an oversized thank you card, signed by local leaders, grateful that he revealed a  candidate’s ties to white supremacists. Both the honors and card confirm that we are helping our neighbors and being true to our mission.

Live Event: Attend The Business of TV News Event in Washington, D.C.

Another key area of our mission-focused investment is literacy for children. Nearly all employees give to our “If You Give a Child a Book …” campaign. The Scripps Howard Fund and our viewers make contributions and the Nashville Predators match our donations. We have given more than 50,000 books to students in high-need schools in Tennessee. It is the first time many of them have owned a book.

In a less traditional example of business decisions guided by mission, WTVF commissioned a downtown Nashville mural called “Embrace.” It features imagery designed to encourage caring and community. NewsChannel 5 describes the mural as a gift to the city we love, and the city has responded. Everyone from ordinary citizens to celebrities has taken and posted photos of the mural. 

Clarity of mission takes more than a mural. It requires living by your touchstones daily and making sure your team does the same. This is a key strategy to attract and maintain a talented team when talent sometimes seems scarce. If you ask people early in their media careers how they chose their path, most will

say they wanted to make a difference. Team members, tenured and new, likely came in the door full of enthusiasm to do work that matters. When we stop pointing out their impact and reminding them of mission, their fire can die out. Station leaders have the power to rekindle that fire, making decisions that support it, and clarifying each person’s role in the team’s highest calling. 

Making It Better 

In Nashville, leaders talk about mission and impact during the hiring process, and keep it front and center in staff meetings and coaching conversations. Not coincidentally, the station’s rate of turnover is low with remarkable tenure in key positions.

No person or business gets it right all the time, but we share a basic desire to leave an imprint, to know we have made things better. When we align our strategies and teams around the importance of our contributions, we will tap into energy that improves our business performance, elevates our work and gives us strength. Nashville’s June Carter Cash was a famously strong woman. When people asked how she was doing, she often replied, “I’m just trying to matter.”

Same here, June. Same here. 

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Brian Norris was named chief revenue officer at The E.W. Scripps Co. last year.

He dreamed of a career as a broadcast journalist but balked at not living in New York, so he pivoted to ad sales, starting at Lifetime and then moving to positions at Dish Media and NBCUniversal.

A football player while at Towson University, Norris is married with an 11-year-old daughter and a 6-year-old son. 

As he gets ready to pitch Scripps’s recently acquired sports properties and free, ad-supported television (FAST) channels, as well as its TV stations, at his first upfront with the company, Norris spoke to Broadcasting+Cable business editor Jon Lafayette.

How did you get into the business? During my senior year at Towson University, I was accepted to the IRTS Multicultural Career Workshop where I had the opportunity to interview with so many media companies. Right now I sit on the board of the IRTS as vice chairman of educational programs, so it’s been a full circle moment for me to be able to give back to people who don’t have access to the media industry, people who sometimes feel marginalized.

Has your experience playing football proved useful in business? My college football coach would tell us all the time: “You’re either getting better or you’re getting worse. You can’t stay the same.” I use that with my team now. Another thing I use a lot comes from my high school coach. He would say: “Nobody ever said this would be easy. We just said it would be worth it.” What we do is sometimes difficult, sometimes challenging, but if you are disciplined to follow your training, give yourself the grace to make mistakes, to fail but to learn from them, you will be successful.

What do you feel your biggest accomplishment has been since you’ve been at Scripps? We’ve executed a reorg that will help put us in position to win long-term. The structure lends itself to the needs of clients. They’re asking us for fluidity across linear and streaming. They’re asking us for sponsorship and integration opportunities. They’re asking for us to provide them a great opportunity to share that message within and around live sports. 

You’ve got a background in advanced advertising. How will that work at a very traditional media company like Scripps? I’ve tried to come into the situation by pushing the team to provide solutions for advertisers and not to think of ourselves as a media company that is over 140 years old with a proud tradition. I think those of us who can balance evolution, technology and automation with customer service at a human level are going to be the ones that win. 

How do you balance work and family life? After I got my MBA, I started thinking about the concept of time. I had to find an additional 20 hours a week to complete business school while working, while raising a family, and I found those 20 extra hours. I said to myself, I won’t give that time back. I will do something interesting with that time. And since I’ve graduated, I have taken on an adjunct professor role at Fordham University’s business school. I’ve also started an art collection. At this point in my life, I probably won’t get a pilot’s license, but I love all things that have to do with aviation. The other thing I love to do is fly fish. It’s another one of those hobbies where you have to focus and it takes you away from your day to day. 

The E.W. Scripps Co. named Kate O’Brian president of news, a new position overseeing the company’s local and national news operations.

O’Brian had been in charge of Scripps’ national news outlets, Scripps News and Court TV.

Sean McLaughlin, senior VP of local News, is leaving the company, which plans to hire a VP, head of local news, who will report to O’Brian and work with O’Brian and Dean Littleton, senior VP of local media.

“Kate O’Brian is a skilled executive and journalist who embodies our responsibility to serve American audiences nationally and locally. This new structure puts oversight for the entire company’s news and editorial strategy under her leadership,” Scripps CEO Adam Symson said in a statement. 

“Scripps will maintain locally run, locally focused newsrooms serving each of our local markets, and at the same time we will coordinate our local and national reporting for the benefit of all our audiences, including for Scripps News’ network,” Symson said.

In an internal memo, Symson noted that Scripps new structure is similar to the ones recently adopted by ABC, CBS and NBC. 

“I’d like to thank Kate for her willingness to lead this organization,” Symson said. “Americans need the straightforward, context-driven and opinion-free journalism provided by all of Scripps’ news outlets, and her leadership will allow us to expand the breadth and quality of news we provide to our audiences and communities.”

Also reporting to O’Brian are Christina Hartman VP, head of Scripps News, and Ethan Nelson, VP, head of Court TV.

O’Brian joined Scripps in 2021. She was president of Al Jazeera America after spending 33 years at ABC News.

Broadcast stocks got hammered last week, with the sports streaming venture formed by ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery being the latest development to spook investors about the station business.

On earnings calls Friday, station-group heads tried to persuade Wall Street that despite the venture, eroding subscriber numbers and questions about the ad market, the sky wasn’t falling, and that local broadcast, in particular, was still a good bet.

Scripps stock dropped 19% after reporting a fourth-quarter loss, mainly due to special charges related to acquisitions and restructuring.

Also Read: Questions Surround Blockbuster Streaming Sports Venture

“I completely understand why even the most seasoned media investors are struggling to sort through the chaos,” E.W. Scripps Co. CEO Adam Symson said on his company’s call. "I've been a part of this business for a while … and it feels like the market is always ready to believe the worst about broadcast.”

From the standpoint of viewers, Symson said he sees the new streaming venture as cannibalizing other streaming products, rather than impacting broadcast.

Symson noted that the streaming venture — which does not involve CBS or NBC — will have only part of March Madness, half of the NFL game broadcasts and none of the Olympics.

“It's the introduction of yet another service into a fragmented landscape that will likely confuse and confound an already frustrated consumer,” he said. “This is not to say that the new offering won't get subscribers. If, as the partners say, it will target cord-cutters, we at Scripps will very much benefit from increased distribution fees and strength and reach.”

More importantly, the sports venture will be carrying the ABC and Fox broadcast networks, and Scripps and other broadcasters will receive retransmission-consent payments when subscribers sign up.

“[Network] executives have confirmed over and over that affiliates like Scripps will be carried along and compensated just as we are with the other virtual MVPDs,” Symson said. 

“I can't see why analysts nor investors would see this as some sort of killer app,“ he said. ”But hey, if it adds new value to linear television, I'll be happy to root for its success and take advantage of its reach because we'll get paid for our ABC and Fox affiliates.”

Gray Television also reported earnings on Friday. Its stock also plunged 22%. Sinclair, Tegna and Nexstar shares were also down a few percentage points Friday.

“We think broadcast television is as healthy now, if not healthier than it’s been in decades,” Gray CEO Hilton Howell said.

“We actually did a video for our general managers back to the future. And because what we’re seeing is a return to broadcast television,“ Howell said. “Now I know that doesn’t fit the narrative out in New York, but too many people confuse the term linear television. A lot of people, what they mean by that, is cable-distributed cable networks.”

Benchmark analyst Daniel Kurnos, explained the market’s reaction to Gray’s results in a note Monday. “During a day where legacy media continued to fall out of favor, Gray added to the pressure by posting a solid end to 2024 and then offering one of the most baffling retrans guides in recent memory,“ Kurnos wrote.   

“Somehow, with 56% of subs up for renewal this year, management suggested that gross retrans growth could be down year over year, effectively implying that subscriber losses were finally outweighing rate gains,” Kurnos said. “While there are several Gray-specific factors that likely go into that equation, the ramifications for the industry are profound if it ends up being closer to a blanket statement (early indicators lean more towards Gray-specific).”

Bullish About Local Ads, CTV

Executives with Scripps and Gray talked about the local ad market improving and new revenue being generated by connected TV (CTV) and other digital properties.

“One of the things that we have been so successful at is growing our digital revenue,” Howell said. “That’s 100% ours, and it gets bigger and bigger and bigger every year. And so I think there’s just a tremendous amount of opportunities for growth. And I think you’re going to see us have an extraordinary 2024.”

At Scripps, connected TV revenue was up 70% year-over-year and the company is expecting 45% growth in CTV revenue in the first quarter and more than 40% for 2024.

“We're benefiting from continued audience growth as Americans seek out new options for ad-supported free TV,” Scripps chief operating officer Lisa Knutson said.

Knutson said Scripps will be aggressive in the upfront. “Our partnership with the WNBA and the National Women's Soccer League are the foundation for recasting Ion into an entertainment destination for younger and more diverse audiences at scale, which is more attractive than ever to advertisers,” she said.

Sports are drawing new advertisers to Ion and other Scripps Networks across all time periods, she said.

“Sports advertising is serving as the tip of the spear for scatter-market advertising in general,” said Knutson. ’To that end, we are focused on growing our base of regular advertisers drawn by our sports programming and expanding into CTV and into our popular entertainment brands, with a specific focus on multicultural.” 

Scripps also talked about Tablo, its broadcast digital video recorder.

Symson said Walmart started selling Tablo in January, but that Amazon accounts for about 60% of sales. HSN sold out in a few minutes when it launched Tablo in October.

Tablo could also fuel a data business at Scripps.

“Tablo is the only platform in the market that directly measures over-the-air viewing. Our back end measures all of the same data that set-top boxes do and more,” Symson said. “That valuable data and the monetization of the fast platform are the recurring revenue streams that drive value further downstream and will make up the average revenue per user metrics we’ll share with you in the future.”

The E.W. Scripps Co. said it has hired Tony Song as head of network sales and advanced TV, a new position, effective February 7.

Song joins Scripps from AMC Networks, where he was senior VP of ad sales and partnerships.

In his new job, Song will lead Scripps’ go-to-market strategy and drive long-term revenue growth for Scripps national assets.

He will report to Brian Norris, who joined Scripps as chief revenue officer last year.

“As we continue to grow our portfolio of high-quality news, premium sports and addictive entertainment programming, Tony is the ideal leader to help Scripps into this next chapter of our storied history,” Norris said. “He has an impressive track record of leading national teams to deliver innovative solutions for partners and brands, and his understanding of data-driven linear and addressable capabilities will be a tremendous asset for us.”

Before joining AMC, Song held posts at BET, MediaEdge, Universal McCann and BBDO. 

E.W. Scripps said it named Lisa Moore general manager of KSBY San Luis Obispo, California.

Moore has been senior director of sales at KSBY since 2022 and will continue to lead sales, as well as helping with day-to-day operations at the station.

Ed Chapuis, who had been general manager of KSBY is no longer with the company. Under Scripps’s new regional structure, Moore will report to Anita Hall, regional VP and general manager of KNXV Phoenix.

Originally from the market, Moore joined the station in 2000 as an account executive. In 2016, she moved across the market to KEYT-KCOY, before returning in 2018. 

“Born and raised on the Central Coast, Lisa comes to this new role having built her career here,” Dean Littleton, senior VP of local media for Scripps, said. “Her wealth of knowledge about the market, combined with her leadership skills, make her the ideal person for this role.” 

AI TV advertising startup Waymark has added station group E.W. Scripps to its growing list of client wins. 

Scripps will now deploy the technology to its 61 network affiliates in 41 markets. 

Waymark's generative-AI software tool automatically produces TV commercials and voiceovers for clients using already created assets, lowering a key barrier to entry for smaller advertisers looking to reach audiences via broadcast TV. 

The startup's tools have already been deployed by Spectrum Reach, Fox owned-and-operated stations, Gray Television, Beasley Media Group and Morgan Murphy Media.

Also Read: B+C Broadcaster of the Year Adam Symson Keeps Scripps Focused on the Future

“After a successful pilot test program across five of its owned-and-operated stations, we’re thrilled to roll out our gen-AI video platform across all the Scripps stations nationally,” says Waymark CEO Alex Persky-Stern, in a statement. “Waymark’s instant, fully customized commercials, plus Scripps’ wide distribution, will open the door to premium video advertising for millions of businesses that otherwise wouldn’t have had the budget, time or know-how.”

Added Brian Norris, executive VP and chief revenue officer for The E.W. Scripps Company: “Everything we do must be in the best interest of our audiences and our clients and their needs. The rapid and dramatic advancements in technology allow us to service clients in real time. We aim to be nimble, move quickly and help brands reach audiences to scale beyond social media origins.”

If you were going to pick a time to be the new CEO of a broadcast company, you might not have chosen 2017, amid cord-cutting, new streaming competition and the advertising slump that has been challenging for most media executives — not even counting the worldwide pandemic that was coming soon.

Those were the conditions, though, when venerable E.W. Scripps Co. named 41-year-old Adam Symson as its new CEO. Kim Williams, board chair at Scripps, said Symson was the right choice and has since helped the company navigate through the turbulence by taking the Cincinnati-based station group owner into new businesses, including national networks and live sports.

Williams said Symson, named the B+C Broadcaster of the Year, has “the ability to have a vision for the future, the ability to identify trends early and to position the company so that we can create value with our existing assets.”

The CEO also has been able to “determine where there might be additional value we can create by adding assets to the portfolio,” Williams said. She pointed to Scripps’s 2020 acquisition of Ion Media for $2.65 billion as a deal “many people wouldn’t have undertaken, given the level of uncertainty that we were in during the pandemic.”

The deal doubled down on Scripps’s spectrum, brought the company a national platform and set the foundation for what has emerged as a sports strategy, Williams told B+C.

Corporate strategy is not necessarily what one might have foreseen for Symson when he started out as an investigative producer at TV stations in Chicago and Los Angeles, before joining KNXV, Scripps’s station in Phoenix, as executive producer of investigations and special projects.

At KCBS Los Angeles, he produced a story, “Behind the Kitchen Door,” that used an undercover camera to show the conditions in restaurants and led to restaurant inspections being revamped, first in California and then nationally.

Despite that impact, Symson said he became “very disenchanted” with L.A. news and looked to take his investigative skills to the FBI. He passed the physical fitness test but chose not to take the job. Instead, he ran Scripps’s digital businesses until moving into the corner office.

While most top executives are schooled in finance or the law, the creative and problem-solving skills involved in investigative journalism are valuable to a CEO, Symson said.

“One of the things that I didn’t realize before I got this job was how much of my time was going to be spent on communication,” Symson said. “So in that way, being a journalist actually prepared me well to understand how to articulate our story so people understand where we’re going.”

Like on TV, sometimes the news isn’t good. Since January, the company has been undergoing a reorganization that has led to layoffs.

“The business is under revenue pressure, so we’ve got to be a little bit leaner,” Symson said. “We’ve got to be more effective in executing our strategy. It’s been a time of incredible change at Scripps. We have transformed several times over and I recognize that that’s been difficult on our employees.”

Making a Media Company

One goal of the reorganization is to transform Scripps from a holding company of brands into a media firm. “We’ve got to become a media company in the minds of the American consumer and the American advertiser,” Symson said.

Under Symson, Scripps has been leaning into linear television, particularly over-the-air broadcasting. Buying Ion, with its national footprint, gave Scripps more stations, more spectrum and more coverage.

“I have become a believer in the necessity to have scale in a marketplace like this and the acquisition of Ion was transformational,” Symson said. “It opened up so many options for our company.” 

The key opportunities for Scripps were in sports and news.

“Sports and live news are two of the most durable and important genres for the future of linear television,” he said. “And if we wanted to make sure that our brands and our platforms were going to retain their relevancy, we’re going to need to make sure that we were a significant player in sports.” 

Scripps established a sports unit and made a deal to put WNBA basketball games on Ion on Friday nights. With regional sports networks melting down, Scripps stations arranged to broadcast games locally for a pair of NHL teams, the Stanley Cup champion Las Vegas Golden Knights and the Arizona Coyotes. Scripps followed up by getting Ion a package of Saturday-night National Women’s Soccer League games.

Ahead of the Curve on Sports

Among broadcasters, Symson was ahead of the curve in targeting the sports opportunity. 

“He read the data before the rest of us, honestly before the leagues did,” said Hillary Mandel, executive VP, head of Americas, IMG, who negotiated for the NWSL. “They didn’t want to believe that model for local sports was falling apart.”

While new to sports, Symson was no rookie in the business of television, Mandel added.

“They are more than a local station group there,” she said. “This is an established company with real expertise in all of the divisions that matter.”

On top of that, Symson has been hands-on in tackling sports. “It takes a certain tenacity and he brings a personal commitment to the table,” Mandel said. 

Symson said he’s not the kind of sports fan who can rattle off statistics. He roots for his alma mater, UCLA, and for Cincinnati’s teams. 

“I don’t play fantasy sports,” he said. “I don’t do sports betting. But I do spend every Sunday on the couch with my daughter watching the Bengals game.” A bigger thrill was taking one of his two daughters to Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles, when the Bengals played the Rams. 

Of course, journalism remains a preoccupation for Symson. 

“Folks inside Scripps know for better or for worse that if they send me a script, I will mark it up and send it back to them,” he said.

On a more fundamental level, Symson said he considers democracy a stakeholder, along with the Scripps family, shareholders, employees and audiences.

Scripps this year rebranded Newsy as Scripps News, a free over-the-air news network that contributes content to Scripps’s local stations. Symson also announced a $10 million investment in increasing journalists’ salaries and hiring up to 250 newsroom staffers over the next year.

“The way we are approaching local journalism is all about future-proofing the approach and making sure that we get ahead of some of the pressures we see in the marketplace and create a really durable model for a better level of quality journalism in those markets,” he said. “Cutting your way to existence — or even cutting yourself out of existence, as we’re starting to see in some markets — is not the Scripps way.”

Ray Hopkins, president of U.S. Networks Distribution at Paramount, observed that Scripps has always taken a lot of pride in its local journalism. 

“The name Scripps is synonymous with quality,” he said. “They are a great partner within their communities and CBS is proud to be associated with them.” 

Hopkins, who deals with station groups, added that Symson has been both innovative and contrarian.“He’s trying to figure out how to navigate this crazy business. He’s not looking to manage loss. He is looking to grow.”

Symson also spends a lot of time as a director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, according to the group’s chairman, Steve Adler.

“He has a clear commitment to press freedom and to local journalism,” Adler said. “We have a lot of lawyers on the board and a lot of journalists. We don’t have as many people who really understand business. He’s been incredibly useful.”

Debt Overhang

Speaking of business, Scripps stock traded at about $16 a share when Symson became CEO, but now trades at less than $8, weighed down by corporate debt.

Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall rates Scripps stock “equal weight.” In a recent report, Cahall said: “Local sports are set to add growth at Scripps, while [advertising at its national] networks face pressure. We still think the free-to-air focus could be compelling if leverage comes down.”

“Our business is on a really firm financial footing,” Symson said. “We generate significant free cash flow and the moves we are making are putting the company onto a growth trajectory. I think the stock price ultimately should take care of itself.”

Williams, the Scripps chairman, is also bullish.

“We have opportunities in datacasting and there are two generations now who don’t actually know you can get free TV, so introducing the notion of over-the-air television and the launch of the new Tablo digital video recorder are very exciting for us,” she said. 

As for Symson, she said, “I expect him not to be standing still.” 

The operational capabilities of a television station depend on its technological infrastructure. Fortunately for KRIS Corpus Christi, engineering director Phil Brooks has made sure the station is built for success.

Over the last year, Brooks, who joined the E.W. Scripps-owned station in 2021, has overseen the rebuilding of the NBC-The CW outlet’s overall plant. KRIS is one of the group’s more complicated operations because it is also the hub for KAJA, Scripps’s Telemundo affiliate; independent station KDF; and SagamoreHill Broadcasting-owned KZTV, which Scripps manages. This year, Brooks, the B+C choice for our Unsung Hero award, facilitated the building of two new studio sets and two new control rooms. 

“He pretty much rebuilt the whole station, from replacing transmitters to supervising the construction of a new tower,” KRIS VP and general manager Ramon Pineda said. “One takes for granted the infrastructure of a television station when you don’t have it, and there was a lot of work to be done here. But Phil loves a challenge and he likes to do things that haven’t been done before.” 

Brooks has also improved KRIS’s local newsgathering by spearheading the acquisition of new field equipment and trucks for its multimedia journalists. While Brooks’s engineering talents are undeniable, Pineda said his ability to work with others and lead a team are Brooks traits, too. 

“The best accolade that I could give him is his ability to coalesce and work as a team, not only in engineering but also in operations and news,” he said. “The whole station understands that Phil is here to make sure that we have the best infrastructure possible, and his commitment to the team and staff members is very valued here.” 

E.W. Scripps said it has launched a national ad campaign for Tablo, its device that enables whole-home recording and viewing of over-the-air broadcasts and free ad-supported streaming channels.

Commercials feature Jesse Palmer, former NFL quarterback and host of The Bachelor, and Emmitt Smith, record-setting running back for the Dallas Cowboys.

The spots explain to budget-conscious viewers that they can watch more TV for free, using the slogan, “It’s not a fantasy, it’s reality.”

Scripps acquired Tablo maker Nuvyyo for $14 million in 2022 and relaunched the product earlier this year.

The fourth-generation $99.95 Tablo device is available at TabloTV.com and BestBuy.com, in Best Buy stores across the U.S. and online at Amazon.com and HSN.com. The Tablo Total System, which includes a 35-mile indoor TV antenna, is on sale at TabloTV.com.

The E.W. Scripps Co. dismissed about 10 members of its national advertising sales staff on Monday.

Scripps  confirmed that positions were eliminated, saying that the moves were part of a strategic reorganization the company announced in January.

"Scripps is establishing a revenue structure that better reflects the rapidly changing needs of the business," a spokesperson said. 

The move also followed Scripps naming former NBCU exec Brian Norris as chief revenue officer in August.

TV advertising sales have been challenged this year. In the third quarter, Scripps Networks reported an 8.5% drop in revenues and a sharper drop in profits to $49.7 million.

Staffers were laid off from Scripps sales offices in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Eliminated roles included sales managers and support staff.

One source said targeted employees were asked to leave their offices immediately and their email accounts were locked.

Kevin Adell, owner of Adell Broadcasting and WADL Detroit, served WMYD Detroit a cease and desist letter after WMYD agreed to succeed WADL as the market’s The CW affiliate. The letter was hand-delivered to WMYD, sister station of WXYZ and part of E.W. Scripps, on November 7. 

WADL stopped airing The CW on October 29 and WMYD, currently an independent known as TV20, is scheduled to launch The CW on November 13. WADL and WXYZ-WMYD are neighbors, on West 10 Mile Road north of Detroit. 

Adell Broadcasting agreed to sell WADL to Mission Broadcasting for $75 million in May. The FCC has not yet signed off on the acquisition. 

Nexstar owns the majority of The CW and manages the Mission stations. 

The letter, from Adell Broadcasting’s law firm, Bodman Attorneys & Counselors, states: “By agreeing to carry The CW not on market terms, you are interfering with and impacting WADL’s business relationships and expectancy with Mission. Agreeing to carry The CW implies an improper purpose and constitutes tortious interference under well-established Michigan law.”

Adell told B+C he did not have an affiliation agreement with The CW, but agreed to air the network as an “accommodation” as he awaited the FCC’s signoff on the sale. 

On November 8, Bodman served up another letter to WMYD, reminding the station, and Scripps, to “preserve all documents (paper and electronically stored information) and other evidence that are, or may be, relevant to the dispute between you and WADL regarding The CW Network.”

WXYZ-WMYD management did not comment. 

This week, Nexstar reported that third-quarter income was down, impacted by losses at The CW. 

Adell told B+C he plans to go beyond letters from lawyers in his battle with WMYD.

E.W. Scripps Co. said it named Laurie Asin as station manager at KIVI Boise, a new post at the ABC-affiliated station.

A graduate of Boise High School and the University of Idaho, Asin worked at KIVI from 2013 to 2014 when it was owned by Journal Broadcast.

More recently, she had been with Marquee Broadcasting-owned Fox affiliate KNIN Boise since 2014 as local sales manager and general sales manager.

“Laurie is deeply familiar with the station, the marketplace and is well-respected in the community,” Dean Littleton, senior VP of local media for Scripps, said. “She is a great choice to be the leader of KIVI.”

KIVI general manager Merri Hanson moved to Salt Lake City in July as GM of Scripps-owned KSTU.

“This is my home,” Asin said. “I care about the community. I care about the people. It’s important to me that KIVI serves its viewers and advertisers in the best way possible each and every day. I am committed to that.”

Maybe the sky isn’t falling on broadcast. 

Gray Television on Tuesday became the latest large station owner to stand up and tell Wall Street that business is good because the outlook for distribution revenues —including retransmission-consent fees — are expected to grow at a healthy rate.

Nexstar Media Group made a similar presentation last week and a few days later E.W. Scripps said it expects 15% growth in distribution revenue and a 40% jump in net distribution dollars.

Wall Street seems to be listening. Gray stock was up 3% Tuesday morning. 

Other broadcasters were showing gains Tuesday (October 17): E.W. Scripps was up 5.25%, Nexstar Media Group was up 2%, Sinclair was up nearly 2% and Tegna edged up 0.34%.

Over the last five days, station-group stocks have been on the upswing, with Scripps up 17%, Gray up 0%, Sinclair up 8%, Nexstar up 5% and Tegna up 4%.

Despite the gains, the broadcast stocks remained near their 52-week lows.

Broadcast has been suffering from the perception that the TV world is turning to streaming, leaving local stations in the dust. Advertising has been weak and it appeared that it would be difficult for stations to wring increases in retransmission fees from pay TV providers whose subscriber bases are eroding due to cord-cutting.

Two big retrans disputes added to the gloom, with Nexstar stations blacked out on DirecTV and The Walt Disney Co. going dark on Charter, which declared its business would be just fine without Disney’s cable networks, broadcast networks and stations.

When the dust settled and Charter and Disney made a deal, Nexstar declared stations a winner. 

Gray’s new presentation also maintains  the Charter-Disney agreement is positive for stations.

On the first page of its presentation, Gray declares “we believe that broadcast retrans remains significantly undervalued” and “we believe that the current environment favors continued growth for retrans revenues.”

Gray also argued that “the network/affiliate model aligns participants’ interests in curbing MVPD sub churn and in growing retrans for affiliates.”

The Disney/Charter deal, which allows Charter to no longer carry several less-watched Disney cable channels, will shift viewing and carriage fees in the stations’ direction, Gray said.

And with the regional sports network business imploding, sports teams and leagues are moving high-rated games from cable to broadcast, which will lead to higher retrans fees. 

Also Read: Phoenix Suns Fast-Break to Broadcast With Gray From Bankrupt Bally RSN 

Gray said that if half of RSN feels were reallocated to broadcast stations, retrans revenues would rise by $3 billion, or 23%.

In its conclusion, Gray said that “broadcasters continue to deliver Premium Content that is the most watched and valued by consumers. Gray in particular provides the most valued content across its well-diversified footprint of 113 large, midsize and small markets.”

The broadcaster reiterated that networks and affiliates are aligned in preserving and growing retrans revenues, and that broadcasters and distributors are aligned in slowing subscriber churn.

“The MVPDs’ $40 billion annual spending on linear programming fees will continue to be reallocated to premium content providers, and especially to broadcasters, particularly as the number of cable nets and RSNs continues to decline,” Gray said.

E.W. Scripps said it is anticipating that its local media division revenue will grow nearly 15% to $750 million in 2023 after completing carriage agreements covering 75% of its pay TV households.

More significantly, Scripps set its net distributions dollars--after network programming fees and other expenses--will up 40%.

Distribution and retransmission fee growth has been a major question mark for stock market analysts following the television business, but Scripps CEO Adam Symson said he’s pleased with the latest set of agreements, which bolster the case for a strong financial future for the broadcast business.

“In resetting rates for the vast majority of our pay TV subscriber base this year, we reached agreements that reflect the mutual benefit of our relationship with these important distribution partners,” Symson said. “In addition, we successfully negotiated to receive new distribution fees for television stations carrying local and regional sports. 

Scripps was able to achieve its distribution revenue growth without having blackouts to cable and satellite subscribers, Symson added.

“Scripps is now capturing full value for its pay TV households, and the robust growth in our net distribution margin dollars and gross revenue is a testament to the durable economics of the linear TV marketplace at a time when most streaming services themselves are unprofitable,” he said.

Scripps has opportunities to further increase its distribution revenues as it adds local sports team games to some of its duopoly stations. The company recently signed deals with the NHL Golden Knights in Las Vegas and the Phoenix Coyotes. 

“As we continue to sign new rights agreements in local markets, we fully expect to partner with distributors and garner distribution fees for the carriage of live sports,” Symson said.

Scripps has 5% of its footprint up for renewal in 2024 and about 20% in 2025.

E.W. Scripps has agreements to place in several markets to broadcast games where teams are worried that their games will no longer be telecast by Bally Sports regional networks.

The local sports market is entering a potentially chaotic phase, with the Major League Baseball season ending and the National Basketball League and National Hockey League about to start play for 2023-24. 

With Diamond Sports Group — the Sinclair subsidiary that runs the Bally Sports RSNs — in bankruptcy, teams are concerned that Diamond might opt to drop the teams rights and many have made plans, including signing contingency deals with Scripps Sports, Scripps Sports president Brian Lawlor told Broadcasting+Cable.

“Every team associated with Bally is concerned about the future,“ Lawlor said. “As a result they are all doing contingency planning for the short term and the longer-term. We’ve been able to advance discussions about contingency plans all the way to actually written contracts that if Bally were to go away, we have agreements already in place that we would be the partner to be able to take over distribution and production and begin immediately.”

With Diamond and its creditors in bankruptcy court, the situation in many markets is very fluid for the teams and the leagues.

“We’re talking to the leagues every week. I don’t think any of them are hoping it’s all going to blow up,” Lawlor said. “People would like to see existing contracts get to the end of those contracts and have time to thoughtfully figure out what’s the right next step.”

Since starting Scripps Sports in January, Scripps has signed local broadcast deals with the Stanley Cup Champion Las Vegas Golden Knights and just last week, the Arizona Coyotes of the NHL. It also made a deal to put WNBA games on Friday nights on its Ion network.

Lawlor said the biggest obstacle Scripps has been facing is resistance by distributors to carry independent and digital channels that are now carrying the games of teams that are popular locally.

“They’ve had the same way of distributing local sports teams for 30 years and its been through an RSN,“ he said. “Suddenly, the RSN is losing the business and now it’s going to local broadcasters who are standing up independent stations.” 

Some distributors have policies not to clear independent stations. They only carry —and pay retransmission consent for — network-affiliated stations.

“We’re saying we understand, but there’s no station in America that looks like our station,” Lawlor said. “We have a full-powered independent station now in Las Vegas that has the Stanley Cup champions, every one of their regular season games that’s not on a network.”

Vegas Golden Knights games generate huge ratings and fans want to see those games.

“I think the distributors need to lean into serving the fans and putting these games on their platforms instead of staying with their archaic rules of not clearing a multicast station or an independent station,” Lawlor said.

Lawlor said the move of local sports to broadcast is going to continue and distributors have to get on board.

“Fans are going to demand that they have access to their sports,” he said. “They need to get on board.”

Of course, Scripps isn’t giving away those stations for free. “We’re not looking to break the bank, but we’re paying for the rights. We deserve to be compensated for those rights.”

Sports Is Good Business

Lawlor said the business opportunities that Scripps saw when it launched Scripps Sports are proving out.

“Every thesis that we developed at the beginning of this about what broadcasters could do to help expand the reach of teams and leagues” has panned out, according to Lawlor.

“Live sports, especially live, local sports, deserves and gets a premium,” he said.  “It’s one of the few things that drives live eyeballs in large masses and it’s really valuable to advertisers.”

In the markets where Scripps is delivering sports advertising, it is commanding premium pricing, there are significant sponsorship opportunities and Scripps is talking to and signing clients that are different than those its local television stations already works with.

With the WNBA regular season over, Lawlor said putting games on Ion introduced a lot of viewers to the league.

“We were really happy,“ he said. “We had 6 million viewers over 16 weeks. Our ratings were better than ESPN and ESPN2 combined,” he said, adding that over 30% of viewing was over the air.

“We’re really excited to continue to build out our visibility and women’s sports,“ he said. “The more people that start to realize that there’s a franchise and a consistent place where they can find women’s sports, I think it’s going to continue to push this success of the league.” 

E.W. Scripps said it made a deal to have Rainmaker Content, a global distributor, represent original programming and channels from the broadcaster in international markets.

It’s the first time Scripps has permitted a third party to distribute channels such as Court TV and Scripps News and programming including the Scripps National Spelling Bee and Bounce TV’s Act Your Age.

“Scripps has built a library of unique and compelling content over the years which has had virtually no prior exposure in territories around the world — until now,“ Scripps senior VP of content and programming strategy Tom Zappala said. “Our diverse entertainment library of scripted, reality, features and event programming is unrivaled, while our thriving news and court channels are distinctive and appealing. They combine to offer a terrific opportunity to content providers worldwide and we believe Rainmaker is the perfect partner to take our programming across the globe.”

Rainmaker will be distributing unscripted shows including Court TV’s Someone They Knew With Tamron Hall and OJ25, and Scripps News content like Next Level, a series that looks at the impact of gaming, and The Why, a series that looks behind the headlines on important topics.

“Scripps and its networks have a global reputation for its compelling programs and channel offerings,“ Rainmaker Content co-CEO Greg Phillips said. “Rainmaker, meanwhile, has built a global network of relationships with premium broadcast partners, which enables us to find the best home for our growing catalog of content. That Scripps has appointed us to distribute its channels for the first time internationally alongside their premium programming is a real vote of confidence in Rainmaker’s abilities.” 

E.W. Scripps Co. is launching a redesigned digital video recorder to help fuel the renaissance of free over-the-air broadcast and ad-supported streaming TV.

Scripps, which pushed antennas last year as part of its Free TV Project, also paid $14 million for Nuvyyo, a Canadian tech company that manufactures digital video recorders under the Tablo brand. Tablo is rolling out a new version of the device and software today that Scripps hopes will help build momentum for OTA viewing of local TV stations and networks such as Court TV, Scripps News and Ion. 

While cable cord-cutting has brought more viewers to free over-the-air broadcast television, it has also separated many consumers from their DVR services, which were often bundled as part of a pay-TV package.

Consumers might have had less need for DVRs when most streaming programming was available on demand. But as streamers add linear channels, sports and other live events — and other sports rights return to broadcast from regional sports cable networks — the demand for homes to have DVR functionality is rising.

Also Read: Early Innings: Scripps Not Done Making Sports Deals

“A cornerstone of our company strategy is to increase OTA adoption by improving the consumer experience, and Tablo does that by giving users some of the same features and benefits they are accustomed to with other TV services,” Scripps CEO Adam Symson said. 

“The new Tablo solution revolutionizes the consumer experience for over-the-air television and free streaming services,” Symson said. “Our investments in Tablo as well as the Scripps Networks, live sports and news all expand our leadership in free ad-supported television.”    

Scripps said the new fourth version of Tablo is the first consumer-electronics device to enable whole-home viewing, recording of over-the-air broadcast television and curated free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels without a subscription. 

Tablo attaches to an over-the-air antenna and a home Wi-Fi network to access programming and sends a live signal to other smart devices, such as a Roku or Fire TV player, allowing viewers to watch live broadcast TV anywhere in the home.

Tablo’s features include advanced DVR scheduling, more than 50 hours worth of storage space and a program guide that lists shows playing on live local broadcast and on most free streaming platforms.

The company has plans to make future editions of the Tablo compatible with ATSC 3.0 broadcast signals.

The device lets users pause, record and replay shows. It also allows fast-forwarding in recorded programming, which lets viewers skip past the commercials that support the channels’ business models. (Some streaming channels disable the fast-forward function during commercial breaks.)

The new Tablo is available at TabloTV.com and BestBuy.com for a manufacturer’s suggested $99.95. It can be brought home and used without additional subscriptions, contracts or fees. It will also be available in Best Buy stores in the U.S. and online at Amazon.com.

A Tablo Total System, including a 35-mile indoor TV antenna, is on sale now for $109.95 at TabloTV.com. The regular price is $129.95.

“We’ve completely rebuilt the Tablo experience from the ground up to provide consumers with an amazing free TV experience that you can’t get from an antenna alone,” said Bo Schuerman, Scripps VP of enterprise strategy. “Now, consumers can easily watch live football, local news, free streaming channels and record so many great shows and movies with no subscription fees.”

Courtney Gousman, who was an anchor at WEWS Cleveland, explained her absence from TV screens in recent weeks with a post on Facebook. “Hey Cleveland, let's talk,” she wrote. “I owe you an explanation. For the past 3 weeks I have been missing on-air at News 5 Cleveland. As painful as this has been to talk about, I want to let you know I was laid off. I was informed the decision was made due to budgetary reasons and station restructuring.”

Scripps owns WEWS. Gousman joined the station in September 2020, after a stint at WGN Chicago. She anchored the 5, 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts. 

She was last on the air in late July. 

“Unfortunately, I am not alone,“ Gousman said. “I’m one of dozens of colleagues throughout the company who have suffered the same fate, and have been recently let go.” 

Known as News 5, WEWS is an ABC affiliate owned by Scripps. WEWS management did not comment, on short notice, at deadline. 

Scripps will eliminate 300 jobs in the next 12 months as part of a restructuring aimed at reducing annual expenses by $40 million, the group’s WCPO Cincinnati reported earlier in the year. 

DaLaun Dillard, Gousman’s co-anchor at WEWS, saluted his departed colleague on X, as Twitter is now known. “In just 2.5 years Court and I quickly grew from co-anchors to genuine friends,“ Dillard said. “The dynamic of putting two Black anchors together was never lost on me nor the viewers. I’m grateful for the opportunity to work alongside a passionate professional like her.”  

Gousman thanked Cleveland viewers for watching. “I don't know if I'll ever make an appearance on Cleveland TV again, but I wanted to let you know that I appreciate you,” she wrote on social media. “I appreciate you embracing this Chicago girl who came here in the middle of a pandemic to accept her dream job of becoming an evening anchor and all the challenges and joys that come with it. This journalist who came to a city she knew nothing about, to start over after divorce … You let me hold your babies and have shared with me some of the most intimate moments of your lives. Thank you for trusting me with your stories.”

The E.W. Scripps Co. reported a second quarter loss as it took a charge against its national networks business.

The net loss was $682.4 million, or $8.10 cents a share, compared to net income of $29.1 million, or $32 cents a share, a year ago.

Revenues fell 2% to $582.8 million.

Local media profit was $81 million, up from $80.7 million a year ago. Revenue fell 1% to $352 million.

Core advertising revenue–excluding political spending–was down 5.2% to $149 million and political advertising was $3.8 million, compared to $24 million during the midterm elections a year ago.

Distribution revenue was up 14% to $195 million

At Scripps Networks, profit  fell to $60.3 million from $73.3 million a year ago.

Revenue fell 3.2% to $231 million and expenses rose 3.2% because of higher employees costs and distribution fees.

Second quarter CTV revenue was up 18%.

Scripps took a $686 million non-cash charge to reduce the carrying value of goodwill at its networks business.

The company pointed to its sports and news businesses as being bright spots.

“Our Scripps Sports division came to life in the second quarter with the launch of the WNBA on Ion . We are very pleased to be attracting a large number of fans to this Friday night franchise,” said Scripps CEO Adam Symson.

The WNBA Friday Night Spotlight on Ion began its run on May 26.  Ratings for games on Ion have grown 42% since the inaugural broadcast and continue to grow. Also, Scripps’ new independent stations in Las Vegas and Salt Lake City will begin running the Stanley Cup Champion Vegas Golden Knights National Hockey League games with the preseason in late September. Advertising demand for both Scripps Sports properties has been strong, the company said.

“In our Local Media segment, we are pleased to be making good progress on our distribution renewals, netting Scripps significant increases to market rate and leading to mid-teens distribution revenue growth this year as well as significant net distribution margin expansion. In local advertising, the most positive story was the return of automotive spending – our second-largest core advertising category. Automotive has now shown year over year growth for four consecutive quarters,” Symson said. 

“Scripps Sports and Scripps News are both important components to the reorganization we began at the start of the year,” Symson said. 

“The reorganization is positioning the company to capture opportunities in the industry growth areas of news, sports and entertainment; TV distribution platforms including over the air and connected TV; and datacasting and other businesses enabled by our large spectrum footprint. We continue to expect to realize savings of at least $40 million through centralization and consolidation of layers of management as well as advances in newsroom technology and organizational structure that also allow us to put more reporters into the community and deepen our local coverage,” he said.

E.W. Scripps Co. said it was expanding its roster of free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels to nine by launching Court TV Legendary Trials and Laff More.

The channels initially are being carried by a number of distributors. Legendary Trials is being distributed on Fubo, Amazon Freevee, Xumo Play and Plex. Laff More can be found on Amazon Freevee, LG Channels, Xumo Play and Plex.

Also Read: E.W. Scripps Folding TrueReal Digital Network Into Defy TV

Court TV Legendary channels will feature top cases from 30 years of Court TV archives. The cases will be presented in four-hour chapters with new commentary from current Court TV anchors and reporters. Among the cases on the docket are the trials of Jodi Arias, Kyle Rittenhouse, Jeffrey Dahmer and Casey Anthony.

“People have flocked to our website to watch Court TV’s trial archive, and when we’ve posted clips on other digital platforms, including YouTube, they’ve watched in record numbers,” head of Court TV Ethan Nelson said. “In just the past year alone, Court TV more than doubled its hours of viewing on digital/streaming. We anticipate that Court TV: Legendary Trials will be added to the must-watch lists of the enormous number of true crime fans.”   

Laff More features a roster of contemporary sitcoms and movies aimed at viewers 18-49.

Other Scripps FAST channels include Court TV, Scripps News, Ion and offshoots of Bounce and Grit.

Merri Hanson has been named VP and general manager of KSTU Salt Lake City. She departs the GM position at KIVI Boise and starts in Salt Lake City July 17. 

Both stations are part of E.W. Scripps. 

Hanson took over as KIVI VP and general manager in January 2021, when Ken Ritchie retired. She joined the station in 2016 as local sales manager and was station manager before being appointed to general manager. 

KSTU is a Fox affiliate in DMA No. 29. 

“Merri is an accomplished Scripps leader who knows how to build trust with her internal teams and the communities our local television stations serve,” Dean Littleton, Scripps senior VP of local media, said. “We know her decades of experience in both news-producing and business leadership roles will make her a great fit for our Salt Lake City team.”

Prior to joining Scripps, Hanson was VP of business development with Stevenson Advertising in Seattle, regional marketing executive with Tegna, anchor and producer at KTRV near Boise and general manager at KSVT in Twin Falls, Idaho. 

“I am proud of the work our Idaho News 6 team has accomplished together for the people of Idaho over the last seven years, and I look forward to cheering them on as they continue that work,” Hanson said. “As I transition to Salt Lake City, I am eager to learn from the Fox13 team as we find new and innovative ways to bring quality local journalism to the community we serve.”

The E.W. Scripps Co., which is pushing into the sports business, said it signed State Farm as the title sponsor of its upcoming WNBA Friday NIght Spotlight on Ion.

Scripps and the WNBA announced in April that WNBA games would appear in primetime on  Friday nights on Ion. The first games air Friday. 

State Farm has had a 10-year relationship with the WNBA, going back to 2013, when it became presenting partner of the WNBA Draft. 

“State Farm is a longtime supporter and sponsor of the WNBA,” said Kristyn Cook, chief agency, sales and marketing officer, State Farm. “We are constantly looking for ways to elevate women in sports, and WNBA Friday Night Showcase on Ion will bring the excitement of women’s basketball to even more people.”

Financial terms were not disclosed.

“State Farm has set the pace once again as we partner to raise the WNBA’s profile,” said Tony Lamerato, VP of revenue and sponsorships for Scripps Sports. “They are the perfect fit to title our new Friday night franchise on Ion.” 

The E.W. Scripps Co. reported a first-quarter loss as profits fell at both its local media and national networks units.

The first-quarter loss was $31.1 million, or 37 cents a share. Restructuring costs accounted for $16.5 million, or 15 cent per share, of the loss.

Revenue fell 6.7% to $528 million.

At the Scripps Local Media unit, segment profit fell to $45.8 million from $54.4 million a year ago as revenues dropped 4.5% to $312 million.

Core advertising revenue was down 10% to $141 million and distribution revenue increased 2.4% to $163 million. 

Also Read: Vegas Golden Knights Will Air NHL Games on Scripps Station

At Scripps Networks, segment profit fell to $51.5 million from $85.1 million a year ago. Revenue fell 9.5% to $216 million. The company said the drop reflected continued weakness in the national advertising marketplace.

“Despite the ongoing macroeconomic challenges, Scripps had several bright spots in our first-quarter financial results,” said CEO Adam Symson. 

”First, as we renew the majority of our pay TV subscriber households this year, we saw a 1% sequential increase in subscriber households in our most recent reporting period. Second, we continue to maintain strong partnerships with both legacy and virtual pay TV services as they recognize the value created for them by local stations. Third, we also are benefitting from the rise in connected TV viewing now that our Scripps Networks are carried by all the major players. Being distributed on cable, satellite, virtual MVPDs, CTV and over the air is Scripps’ all-of-the-above strategy to create enterprise value on every viewing platform.”

Symson also noted that the company was scoring with sports leagues and teams seeing value in broadcast.

“In the short time since we launched Scripps Sports, we are very pleased to have already announced two significant deals — the creation of the WNBA Friday Night Spotlight on Ion and an exclusive local distribution partnership with the National Hockey League’s Vegas Golden Knights,” Symson said. “Live sports is the most valuable content genre in linear television, and we established Scripps Sports to work with leagues and teams to leverage the power of our platform for mutual financial benefit. We are taking a disciplined approach to the marketplace and look forward to more partnerships ahead.”

The NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights have become the latest major pro sports team to bolt from the regional sports network cable TV business, signing a deal to put their non-nationally televised games on E.W. Scripps Co.-owned KMCC starting next season. 

Scripps said it will broadcast Golden Knights games free over-the-air to Nevada viewers on the local station, channel 34, which currently airs programming from Ion, Scripps’ national entertainment network. 

The Golden Knights are the first pro sports team signed under the newly formed banner of Scripps Sports, which launched in December. 

“We see the right live sports as an unparalleled opportunity to drive the value of our linear television streams even higher,” Scripps CEO Adam Symson told B+C’s Jon Lafayette in February. “Live sports has been proven as drawing the latest audiences to linear TV. It also attracts more advertising dollars per programming hour.

“Live sports will draw young new audiences to our brand as fervent fans employ digital antennas to watch their favorite local team for free again,” Symson added.

Also read: Scripps Sports: Phones ‘Already Ringing’ as Regional Sports Nets Implode

“This deal is a significant win for our fans because they will be able to see our games on television and for free, if they wish,” Golden Knights president and CEO Kerry Bubolz said. “That was our goal in finding a new TV partner. We wanted to serve our fanbase in the best way possible.”

The agreement, terms of which were not disclosed, does allow Scripps to televise all non-nationally exclusive Golden Knights games with full distribution on cable, satellite and over-the-air television. So tiered premium offerings could be down the road. 

Perhaps notable: Last year, Scripps quietly paid $14 million to acquire tech company Nuvyyo, maker of niche-popular Tablo TV OTA DVR gadgets. That deal is viewed as a means for Scripps to proliferate ATSC 3.0 reception gadgets into the homes of its viewers. Of course, Scripps hasn't yet said anything about a pay-gated ATSC 3.0 model for its emerging sports media business. 

Also read: Phoenix Suns Could Have Big ATSC 3.0 Distribution Plans, and Other Teams, Including the Utah Jazz, Might Soon Follow

As for the Golden Knights, the five-year-old Las Vegas National Hockey League franchise previously licensed its local TV rights to AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain, one of several RSNs that parent company Warner Bros. Discovery has pledged to divest.

In that regard, the deal differs from an arrangement announced last week by the Phoenix Suns, who are leaving bankrupt Bally Sports Arizona to show their games on Gray TV stations in Arizona. 

Bankrupt Diamond Sports Group, which operates the 19 Bally Sports RSNs, has petitioned the Texas court overseeing its restructuring to stop the Suns and the WBNA's Phoenix Mercury from executing on that deal and leaving its RSN. 

As for AT&T SportsNet, WBD wants out of the RSN business, so the Golden Knights are in need of a new local TV home. 

Major League Baseball's Colorado Rockies and the NBA's Utah Jazz also show their games on AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain. New local TV arrangements announcements for both teams are pending. 

Add Next TV to your Twitter feed today! Follow @ThisIsNextTV to keep up to date on the latest business and technology news of the video entertainment industry 

Currently, the Golden Knights are leading the Edmonton Oilers 1-0 in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but the remainder of the NHL postseason will be presented via national TV deals with Disney's ESPN, and WBD's TNT and TBS.

KMCC, licensed to Laughlin, Nevada, will be rebranded as an independent station before the 2023-24 NHL season begins, Scripps added. In addition to the Golden Knights games, the new KMCC will broadcast local and national news, local sports and additional entertainment programming. 

Ion programming will continue to be available to Nevadans over-the-air, on pay TV and on connected TV platforms through a move to another Las Vegas broadcast channel, Scripps said.

Scripps also owns the Las Vegas ABC affiliate, KTNV, which will provide a marketing platform for KMCC and the Golden Knights telecasts and has carried the team's preseason games since the franchise’s inaugural season of 2017-18.

The Golden Knights will transition their AT&T SportsNet play-by-play duo of Dave Goucher and Shane Hnidy over to Scripps. 

Golden Knights broadcasts will include pregame and postgame coverage for every game, with additional distribution into Idaho (Boise, Idaho Falls and Twin Falls), Montana (Billings, Butte-Bozeman, Glendive, Great Falls, Helena and Missoula), Nevada (Reno), Utah (Salt Lake City) and Wyoming (Casper-Riverton and Cheyenne-Scottsbluff). 

“We have been impressed by the Golden Knights’ commitment to winning and their desire to connect and engage with fans in Vegas and outer markets, as well,” Scripps Sports president Brian Lawlor said in a statement. “This is going to be a wonderful partnership, and it’s the fans who will benefit most. We launched Scripps Sports with the belief that we could help teams reach more fans through our stations, which do not depend on subscriptions and added fees for the consumer.” 

The E.W. Scripps Co. appointed Brian Joyce as VP and general manager of KMGH Denver, effective May 8.

Joyce is VP and general manager of Scripps’s KPAX in Missoula, Montana. He was with KMGH, an ABC affiliate branded on-air as Denver7, for two years as senior director of sales before moving to Missoula.

He succeeds Dean Littleton, who was promoted to senior VP of local media for Scripps.

“Brian is a newsroom leader with the proven ability to drive meaningful results for station audiences and advertisers while also developing a team culture of empathy and inclusiveness,” Littleton said. “He understands the Denver community well through his experience serving it with on-air and sales roles, and I know he’ll be a terrific leader to the Denver7 teams. His career growth across several Scripps stations is a great example of the commitment Scripps is making to employee development and leadership.” 

Also Read: Denver Stations Show Mile-High Growth

Early in his career, Joyce was sports director at KYTX Tyler, Texas. Later he was a sports reporter and anchor for KUSA Denver. He became a station executive with London Broadcasting Co. before taking on sales roles at Tegna, Raycom and Scripps’ KGUN in Tucson, Arizona.

“I’m proud of the work our team at KPAX has accomplished over the last two years, and I know they’ll continue to serve the Western Montana communities well,” said Joyce. “As I return to KMGH, I'm looking forward to learning from the Denver7 team as we explore new ways to connect our audiences with the news and information they need to be informed and engaged.” 

After landing a deal to broadcast WNBA games Friday nights nationally on Ion, E.W. Scripps is looking for more sports leagues and teams to put on its national networks and local stations.

“If we found another league that was the right fit and intersected so well with the demographics that we have on Ion, there’s room for more,” Scripps CEO Adam Symson told Broadcasting+Cable.

“But we’re not looking for partnerships with any sports,” he added. “Clearly, the WNBA is a premier league and that’s what we set out to do was make partnerships with premier partners of the highest kind.”

Scripps is also monitoring the regional sports network situation. Sinclair Broadcast Group’s Bally Sports RSNs are in bankruptcy and not paying some teams for rights. Major League Baseball could take TV rights back from Bally Sports parent Diamond Sports Group early next month.

Also Read: Bally Sports Bankruptcy: Judge Tells Diamond To Pay Half of What It Owes to MLB Clubs, Pending Restructure

“MLB has the whole situation well in hand,“ Symson said. ”We’ve obviously had conversations with the folks in distribution with every major league that has been dependent on the RSN business. Where we think there’s a fit with our local footprint and league or a series of teams, we’re absolutely ready to do a deal.”

Historically, sports rights have been costly and getting increasingly expensive. That’s one reason the RSNs are under pressure. 

Symson declined to provide details of Scripps’s financial arrangement with the WNBA.

“From the very beginning we’ve been clear that we were going to be taking a disciplined approach to sports rights,” he said. “We recognize that we bring something very special to the table with the reach. I think the WNBA recognizes that, and we’ve created a partnership in which both parties will benefit economically.”

He said the WNBA will be handling production of the games airing on Ion.

New Model for Sports

“I do think that the sports marketplace for the most part is ready for a new model,” Symson said. “We brought a different kind of model to the marketplace when we are speaking with leagues and teams, and our message is resonating. We bring unparalleled reach and they are seeking to connect with as many fans as possible, especially in this environment of fragmentation.”

The WNBA deal came just four months after Scripps established its Scripps Sports division, announcing it was looking to do deals with leagues and teams looking for the reach broadcast can provide while cord-cutting erodes the number of viewers subscribing to pay TV.

More viewers are turning to streaming, particularly for the scripted dramas and comedies that used to draw big ratings on network television.

“Our strategy rests on the fact that live sports and live news are two of the most important content genres for linear television,” Symson said.

Symson did not seem surprised that a deal got done so quickly. “Ion is a compelling platform in terms of reach,” he said. “We could tell when we launched Scripps Sports, based on the number of inbounds that we were getting, that there was a high level of interest in tapping that reach.”

Ion’s Wide Reach

Acquired by Scripps in 2020, Ion reaches 79 million pay TV consumers, plus 103 connected TV households and 34 million over-the-air households, Symson said. “The 103 million connected TV and the 34 million OTA homes aren’t reached by the cable programmers,“ he said. “You can see why a league like the WNBA, which has significant ambitions for continued growth, would want to partner with a platform like Ion and Scripps Sports.”

Symson said it was important to make a deal with a strategic partner that was a good fit for Ion. Women’s sports fills the bill, according to Symson, because of Ion’s large audience of women. Ion ranks No. 3 among cable networks among women 18-49, excluding news.

Distribution executive Jeffrey Wolf, who is leaving E.W. Scripps Co., said he is restarting The Lobo Group, a consultancy that works with programmers and platforms on distributing and monetizing content.

Wolf’s departure as chief distribution executive for Scripps Networks,  comes amid a restructuring at Scripps.

In an email to staff, Wolf noted that the first investment the Lobo Group made when it was originally launched was in Bounce, the digital broadcast network aimed at African-American viewers. 

Bounce became part of Katz Broadcasting, which was acquired by Scripps. “I am hoping to strike lightning again,” he said.

Wolf helped get the Scripps Networks, including Ion Media channels, distributed on multiple platforms, including digital broadcast and streaming.

In his email, he thanked his staff and top executives at Scripps.

“Thank you for trusting me and believing in me to make the best decisions on behalf of the company,” Wolf said. “While today and tomorrow may feel a bit bittersweet, I am excited for the next chapter. I will be doing something entrepreneurial again — I love building things and am already working on my next plan.  In the meantime, I’m ready for a little downtime for the first time in almost 35-plus years — it’s time for a little “me time” and for me to work on my 6 handicap.”

Before joining Scripps, Wolf was executive VP, U.S. syndication sales for Sony PIctures Television, an account executive at King World and a research analyst at Seltel.

Broadcast giant E.W. Scripps quietly paid $14 million in January of 2022 to acquire Canadian startup Nuvyyo, maker of the popular Tablo TV OTA DVR device. 

The revelation comes from The Verge, which stumbled upon the until-now unreported purchase while perusing a Scripps 10-Q regulatory filing. 

“It’s a very important project to us,” said Scripps Networks chief distribution officer Jeffrey Wolf to The Verge.  “It allows viewers to watch over-the-air content essentially on demand." 

Tablo TV is essentially a digital video recorder connected to an over-the-air antenna. It connects on the other end to a user's Wi-Fi network, enabling them to stream broadcast signals, recorded or live, from a wide range of connected TV gadgets, mobile devices and PC browsers. 

Like many broadcasters, Scripps is bullish about OTA and wants to promote the use of traditional broadcast antennas to consumers. 

Further, Scripps would like to enable the usage of ATSC 3.0, a (relatively) new broadcast TV tech standard that's still not so amply supported by smart TVs and other consumer video gadgets. 

As The Verge postulates, a company like Nuvyyo could be useful in making devices that help consumers connect to the so-called NextGen TV standard. 

E.W. Scripps Co., which has been a leader in the digital broadcast network business, said it will fold TrueReal into its Defy TV network.

TrueReal’s last day as a standalone network will be March 27.

Scripps launched both Defy TV and TrueReal in 2021 (TrueReal had originally been named Doozy but got a makeover before its debut.). In adding to its over-the-air network portfolio, Scripps was taking advantage of its acquisition of Ion Media, which made Scripps the biggest holder of broadcast spectrum in the U.S.

“Scripps is constantly evaluating the best ways to find value from its spectrum. A decision was reached to merge TrueReal and Defy TV, taking the most popular programs from each service, while retaining the established Defy branding,” Scripps said in a statement. “This programming decision opened an opportunity to lease spectrum to Jewelry Television, which sells men’s and women’s jewelry online and on air.”

Scripps Networks, the unit that runs the company’s national channels, reported a 9.2% drop in revenue in the fourth quarter. Segment profit fell from $106 million a year ago to $80 million. The company blamed a slow ad market for the downturn.

Also Read: Scripps Networks Get Carriage on Google, YouTube Platform

The Scripps national networks include Ion, Bounce, Laff, Grit, Defy, Ion Mystery, Court TV and Scripps News, formerly known as Newsy.

The over-the-air digital network category has been growing as cord-cutters discover the vast amounts of programming available for free with an antenna. Companies including Weigel Broadcasting, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Nexstar Media Group and Tegna operate popular diginets.

Scripps Networks has been aggressively distributing its national networks on cable and streaming platforms in addition to over the air.

Many of the networks became part of Scripps when it acquired Katz Broadcasting for $302 million in 2017. ■

E.W. Scripps Co. reported higher earnings and said that the reorganization announced in January will result in $40 million in annual savings. 

Net income was $73 million or 84 cents a share, up from $40.2 million or 43 cents a share a year ago. This year’s income includes a $5.5 million gain from redeeming senior notes.

Revenues were $681 million, up 9.4%.

The results were below Wall Street expectations, hurt by lower revenues and income at Scripps national networks unit.

“Since the beginning of this year, Scripps has been engaged in examining the best ways to structure our company so that we are well-positioned to capture the opportunities we see emerging in our industry,” Scripps CEO Adam Symson said. “We see those in three key growth areas: the content categories of news, sports and entertainment; TV distribution platforms; and the burgeoning marketplace enabled by ATSC 3.0.”

Also: Scripps Sees Opportunity in 'Broken' RSN Business

Symson said the reorganization will generate savings by centralizing some services and consolidating layers of management.

“We expect to realize savings of at least $40 million. Our end goal, however, is not just a more efficient structure but a smarter one, designed to use the breadth of our assets to accelerate the company’s growth,” he said.

Scripps’s local-media division had a segment profit of $152 million, up from $82.2 million a year ago. Revenue rose 24% to $433 million, with core advertising revenue down 11% to $164 million; $106 million in political advertising, up from $11 million a year ago, and distribution revenue up 5.4% to $160 million.

At Scripps Networks, segment profit fell to $80 million from $106 million a year ago. Revenue dropped 9.2% to $248 million as the national advertising marketplace softened, the company said. 

The head of Scripps Networks, Lisa Knutson, was promoted to chief operating officer. No successor has been named.

Looking ahead to the first quarter, Scripps said it expects local media revenue to be down by mid-single digits and Scripps Networks revenue to be down by high-single digits.

“The Q1 guide indicates national ads are still challenged at Networks, dragging EBITDA guidance to about $62 million vs our $84 million estimate,” Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall said. ■

The E.W. Scripps Co. said that two great-great grandchildren of company founder E.W. Scripps have been nominated to take seats on its board of directors.

Raymundo Granado and Monica Holcomb would replace current directors Anne La Dow and Michael Scagliotti, who are stepping down when their terms expire. La Dow and Scagliotti are also great-great grandchildren of E.W. Scripps. 

The board is expected to continue to have 11 members.

Granado, 43,  is a private investor and philanthropist. Holcomb, 48, is founding director of the Scripps Family Impact Fund and a charter member of the charitable advisory board to the Adam R. Scripps Foundation.

Granado and Holcomb’s nominations will be voted on at the company’s annual meeting on May 1. Shareholders who are members of the Scripps family will vote on who will hold the seats on the board reserved for family members. ■

Scripps Sports, a new division of the E.W. Scripps Co., said it hired Tony Lamerato as VP for sports revenue and sponsorships, effective immediately.

Lamerato was senior director of revenue strategy for Scripps’ Local Media division. In his new post, Lamerato will aim to execute a strategic plan to model and value sports-rights opportunities. When sports rights are acquired, he’ll be responsible for the development of a revenue plan, including pricing and sponsorships.

Also: Scripps Sees Opportunity in ‘Broken’ RSN Business

“Tony has already been a valuable member of the team,” Brian Lawlor, president of Scripps Sports, said. “His insights and experience in this space will be crucial to our success,” Lawlor has been head of Scripps Local Media.

Before being director of revenue strategy, Lamerato was director of sales for Scripps’ WXYZ-WMYD Detroit. Earlier in his career, he was local sales manager at Fox Sports Detroit. ■

Frndly TV, the low-priced, family-friendly streaming TV service, said it made a deal with Scripps Networks to bring Ion, Ion Mystery and Grit to its customers .

The Scripps channels increase the number of live channels Frndly TV offers basic subscribers to 45.

The price for Frndly’s base tier remains $6.99 a month.

Also: vMVPD Frndly TV Grows 40% To Top 700,000 Subs

Scripps Networks has been working to maximize distribution of its channels over the air, via FAST (free, ad-supported television) channels and with virtual multichannel video programming distributors (vMVPDs) like Frndly TV.

Last month Scripps reached a deal with Alphabet that includes getting three of its networks — Scripps News, Ion and Bounce — on YouTube TV. ■

The E.W. Scripps Co. named Lisa Knutson as chief operating officer and said that she will lead a reorganization of the media company.

Knutson had been president of Scripps Networks. Scripps Networks and Scripps’ local media unit will be reporting to her.

“With the acquisition of Ion and the creation of Scripps Networks two years ago, Scripps became a major U.S. television enterprise, able to capitalize on opportunities in the national and local television marketplaces,” said Scripps CEO Adam Symson. “We see the next phase of our growth coming from a focus on news and sports, over-the-air and connected TV viewing and new ways to monetize our spectrum.

Scripps last year formed Scripps News and Scripps Sports units.

Also: Scripps Sees Opportunity in 'Broken' RSN Business

“The restructuring work of Lisa and her team is aimed at positioning us to seize the opportunities ahead by creating a leaner and more agile operating structure through the centralization of certain services and the consolidation of layers of management across our operating businesses and at the corporate office," Symson said.

Scripps said the reorganization has three objectives: 

• To improve company operating performance by forming an agile, responsive organizational structure; 
• To realize synergies between existing operations;
• To create an organizational structure where employees can move seamlessly throughout the company.

The company aims to capitalize on what it sees as three growth areas:

• The enduringly popular content categories of news and sports — to complement Scripps‘s strong entertainment brands;
•  The wide range of television distribution platforms available today and to come; 
• The rapidly emerging marketplace driven by ATSC 3.0. ■

The E.W. Scripps Co.’s national networks division promoted two distribution executives, naming Damian Riordan VP and general manager of distribution and Matthew Hijuelos VP of distribution partnerships.

Riordan joined Scripps when it acquired Ion Media Networks. He will head sales for the national distribution of Scripps networks including Ion, Ion Mystery, Ion Plus, Bounce, Grit, Laff, Newsy (now Scripps News) and Court TV.

Previously, Riordan was founder and managing principal of Peloton Media Advisors, LLC.

He reports to Jeffrey Wolf, chief distribution officer at Scripps Networks.

“Damian’s vast experience makes him the perfect choice for this newly-created position, leading our efforts to distribute Scripps Networks on every available platform,” Wolf said. “I have known Damian personally and professionally for more than 30 years and I am excited to have him as a business partner as we navigate expanding our footprint in OTA, CTV, OTT, MVPD, vMVPD and anywhere else viewers consume video.”

Hijuelos also joined Scripps during the Ion acquisition. He will lead the strategy, development and execution of distribution partnership efforts across cable, satellite, telco, digital and over-the-top (OTT) platforms. Prior to joining Ion Media, Hijuelos served as senior director, business development for Akamai Technologies. ■

FuboTV has announced a new carriage agreement with Scripps Networks that will bring seven more channels to the virtual pay TV service's $70-a-month baseline "Pro" tier.

The multi-year deal will add ION, ION Mystery, ION Plus, Bounce, Grit, Court TV and -- effective January 1, when it becomes "Scripps News" -- Newsy.

“Today’s launch gives consumers a new streaming option to watch these top Scripps channels and further diversifies FuboTV’s growing programming line-up,” said Marisa Elizondo, VP of content strategy and distribution for FuboTV. “Fubo’s mission is to aggregate and distribute a leading sports package, balanced with news and entertainment content, that appeals to every member of the household, all at an affordable price.”

The Scripps channels aren't available in other vMVPD bundles, beyond DirecTV Stream, FuboTV noted.

The addition ups FuboTV's base tier to 146 networks. ■

With the regional sports network business model broken, the E.W. Scripps Co. sees an opportunity to step up and play hardball with the big boys.

Brian Lawlor, who was named president of the new Scripps Sports division, told Broadcasting+Cable that cord-cutting has become a "massive problem" for teams and leagues. That makes his company's broadcast stations and linear networks attractive to rights holders looking to reach a bigger share of fans and potential fans.

TV sports started on broadcast. Now, "what's old is new again," Lawlor said.

Before launching its sports division, Scripps consolidated its news assets into a Scripps News unit, focusing its efforts on two key forms of content that still drive linear viewing.

"Probably 95% of all the revenue inside of our company is attached to linear," Lawlor said. "There are no better assets on linear television than sports. I believe we have an expertise in local and an expertise in sports. We’re bringing an acute focus to maybe our two most valuable areas."

Two-Pronged Strategy

Scripps has a two-pronged sports strategy as it takes its swings at the sports business. It will seek national deals with leagues to turn Ion network into a channel that looks like TNT, with a combination of entertainment and sports. Ion, though, will aim to showcase the leagues it does business with, rather than simply programming different sports on different nights, Lawlor said.

Scripps focused on sports after acquiring Ion Media for $2.65 million last year. "We own the fifth-largest broadcast network in America," he said. "The first four have a lot of sports rights. There are a lot of other sports rights out there. ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox can only absorb so much of it."

Scripps will also look to make local deals, particularly in markets where it has two stations, like Detroit, Phoenix and Denver.

Also: Fubo TV Deal with Altitude Sports Makes Denver One of the Nation's Most Interesting RSN Regions

"Big markets with big sports and RSNs with problems provide an opportunity for us," he said. "I think our portfolio is unique. I think our proposition is unique."

Costly Rights

Lawlor said Scripps would be "interested in looking at everything" when it comes to national and local sports rights, including the NBA, and that it has "been engaged in many conversations with leagues and teams over the past year."

Blitzing costly sports rights will put a scare into Wall Street — Scripps stock fell 8.1% to $13.50 on (a selloff day overall) Thursday — so the company "will be very selective and figure out where we can create the most value for a league and for ourselves," Lawlor said.

Lawlor said Scripps doesn’t have a specific budget for sports rights. "It will all be case-by-case and we will run models and develop P&Ls and ROIs and figure out what make sense and what doesn’t," he said. "And again, every deal isn’t going to be right for us."

The problems Sinclair Broadcast Group in particular has been having with its Bally Sports RSNs have been well-chronicled. It paid more than $9 billion to The Walt Disney Co. for what were then known as the Fox RSNs, and now is burdened with debt as sports rights costs rise and subscribers fall.

Rights for regional sports networks will be coming up for renewal and "I would certainly expect in the next couple of months that we’ll start chipping away at some deals," he said.

In the current environment, Scripps won’t be trying to pay more than the RSNs are currently paying.

"The RSNs aren’t going to pay what they used to pay," Lawlor said. "Their next deals are going to look completely different than the last ones. It’s more of a conversation about what is the value to their franchise and brand if they’re reaching 100% of the audience versus 40%."

The new strategy might put Scripps in competition with the networks its local stations are affiliated with — networks that Scripps pays "reverse compensation" fees that help the networks pay for sports rights. 

"We have great relationships with our networks and we’re very comfortable with what we pay," he said. "I think live sports is the primary foundational part of the network-affiliate model."

On the local level, having both live news and live sports would demonstrate that its stations are local community stations.

The shrinkage of RSN distribution means that "teams can’t even reach 50% of all the households in their home viewing market," Lawlor said. "That’s not a good business model if you can’t reach half of your potential customers" and that people who aren’t hard-core fans can’t stumble onto games, either by flipping through available channels or through search.

New Model

Lawlor said a new local sports business model might entail having a broadcaster work with a streamer, with a station’s broad reach helping to funnel direct-to-consumer opportunities. Deals with teams and leagues would take advantage of revenue streams from merchandise, ticket sales generated and sports betting, he added.

The company will be looking at deals that involve full seasons worth of games, partial seasons, or even a handful of games, as Nexstar Media Group did in Los Angeles with the Clippers.

Scripps already does some sports business. It has the right to the college Big Sky Conference. Some of its stations show NFL Monday Night Football or Thursday Night Football when a local team is involved. Scripps stations also have preseason partnerships with NFL teams and air coaches’ shows.

"Now there’s an opportunity to just go a little deeper with more elaborate rights," Lawlor said. "The RSNs are in trouble and I think linear television will be the savior and the solution for many teams and leagues." ■