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.

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. 

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 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.” 

In March, The Verge stumbled onto an E.W. Scripps Company 10-Q SEC filing, indicating that the broadcaster had, 13 months earlier, for $13.8 million oh-so-quietly acquired Ottawa-based tech company Nuvyyo, maker of the niche-popular Tablo over-the-air DVR.

Like The Verge, we assumed the play had something to do with Scripps' desire to unstick the stalled drive to proliferate ATSC 3.0.  

Incorrect. 

On Monday, Scripps rolled out the latest edition of the Tablo OTA DVR, the first Tablo upgrade introduced with Scripps owning Nuvyyo. Scripps is currently offering its new Tablo DVR via TabloTV.com and BestBuy.com for a promotional price of $99.95. The gadget comes with two tuners, 50 hours of HD storage and access to around 50 FAST channels out of the gate. For just 10 bucks more ($109.95 promo price), you can get an ATSC 1.0 antenna tossed into the package.

The gadget connects wirelessly to your home Wi-Fi router and shows up as an app on popular connected TV platforms like Roku and Amazon Fire TV. So basically, it's a nifty means of getting your live broadcast channels into your app-based spread ... plus some FAST content you may or may not want.

But surprise -- there is no ATSC 3.0 support. At least not yet. 

On Tuesday afternoon, Next TV caught up over Zoom with Grant Hall, still calling the shots for the intact Nuvyyo as founder and CEO out of the Ottawa home office. The affable Hall and his able PR handlers were pretty stoked to have a warm late-August day outside. The Eastern Ontario city doesn't have many of those left this year, so we kept our questioning brief. 

Daniel Frankel: No ATSC 3.0? What the hell are you people up in the Great White North drinking?

Grant Hall: ATSC 1.0 is still the major broadcasting standard. I's going to be around for another five to seven years. It's not going anywhere. So, there's no question we had to support ATSC 1. The question was, could we do ATSC 3.0 right out of the box? And, you know, we started this development a little while ago, back then ATSC 3.0 was evolving, as well, in the earlier stages. And it wasn't quite ready to, you know, for us to bet the farm and to include it into the very first product. We do have ATSC 3.0 on the roadmap, and we're actively working on products with that technology. But for that reason, and for the reason that we wanted to hit a very attractive price point, with the initial product, because we wanted mass adoption ... we wanted to have sub-$100 price for the product. We wanted to have, you know, two tuners to record on board, at least 50 hours for recordings. So all of those challenges kind of led us to ... you know, ATSC 1.0 is the standard, it's the it's the most ubiquitous technology out there. So that's why the first product is ATSC 1.0. It doesn't mean that we're ignoring or not doing ATSC 3.0. It's just not the first product.

Daniel: So what do you think Scripps wants out of this?

Grant: Scripps, obviously, are broadcasters. They have a huge interest in getting eyeballs on their broadcast channels. They've run a program called in a Free TV for a long time, espousing the benefits of antennas and whatnot. So the product that we've been building is really an extension of that -- to provide, you know, a great end user experience for this fantastic over-the-air content. And also to add in some of the other Scripps media and other media to kind of blend in this world of over-the-top TV into this one device, one comprehensive user experience.

Daniel: The device is kind of like Dish Network's AirTV ... except, unlike Dish, Scripps actually seems little less distracted. Maybe you can explain to Next TV's rapt audience of millions how it all works. 

Grant:  It connects to your antenna on one side, and then it connects to your network via Wi-Fi. And then you download the Tablo app on your Roku, your Android TV, your Fire TV, or whatever device you want to use. And that app connects to the Tablo and brings you all of that over-the-air content and local broadcast content. But we've also added the ability to receive over the internet at launch, I think, 50 FAST channels, and that'll be growing. We've designed it so that from an end-user perspective, you just kind of see the channel, you know, whether it's an over-the-air channel are a FAST channel. And you can watch whatever content you want, you can record it, you can play it back, just like you could with a cable DVR. And then we have a fantastic home screen, which we use to sort this content across all of those dimensions. If you're interested in sports, for example, you'll see what sports are playing right now and what's coming up. But the key component is the over-the-air, because people just don't generally realize that there's this fantastic free HDTV that you can get for free with just antenna. The other key with this device is there's no subscription, so there's no recurring fees.

Daniel: And you can stream any broadcast channel?

Grant: Whatever your locals are. I mean, in most U.S. cities, you generally get between 40 to 60 channels over the air. Very good quality. We've been in this business for about a decade. We know the OTA business like the back of our hand. This is really the opportunity for Scripps to add in the over-top-media, the FAST channels, building the experience.

Daniel: Having a broadcaster with a $659 million market capitalization changes the game quite a bit for your little startup, no?

Grant: It makes a massive difference, right? I mean, as a small startup, we were always, you know, under-financed. It's hardware. It's a bit of a tough market in the startup game. So, you know, at certain times, we had trouble building enough product to meet demand. So with a big partner, that's not a problem anymore. We can build enough product to meet whatever demand that the market generates. Plus, they also have a big megaphone to be able to educate the market and to promote the product. And that's going to make a massive difference in terms of awareness, and, you know, just educating the consumer that, hey, there's this free over-the-air, HDTV device. It's free. And it looks fantastic. 

Daniel: So how much bigger will you get with Scripps having your back?

Grant: With this new relationship, we expect almost two orders of magnitude more in terms of what we want to claim over the next couple of years. So it's not just a small linear change, it's an exponential change in terms of what our ambitions are.

“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.

“I gotta say as we sit here today witnessing the implosion of the RSN business model . . . Scripps Sports has been getting a very warm reception in the marketplace,” Symson said on Scripps’s fourth-quarter earnings call Friday.

Unlike RSNs, which mainly reach the shirking number of subscribers to cable, satellite and telcos, Symson said Scripps can reach viewers over the air, on pay TV and connected TV.

“Our ubiquitous over-the-air pay-TV and connected-TV reach through Ion and the Scripps Networks has immense appeal for leagues looking to build new and consistent franchise viewing events across the national footprint,” Symson said.

Scripps set up Scripps Sports as a new unit in December

Also: Scripps Sees Opportunity in 'Broken' RSN Business

“We see the right live sports as an unparalleled opportunity to drive the value of our linear television streams even higher,” Symson said. LIve sports has been proven as drawing the latest audiences to linear TV. It also attracts more advertising dollars per programming hour, he said.

“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.

Scripps has talked about being able to replace an RSN in markets where it had a duopoly, with the station that does not have a Big Four network affiliate airing games and other team programming.

Symson added that because Scripps also owns Ion, which is broadcast but doesn’t have local feeds, a league could find a home on Ion nationally, or a team could reach local fans through Ion in a single market.

“The interesting thing about Ion is we not only control all of the programming decisions, we also control all of the affiliates,” Symson said. “And so we have the ability to bring sports onto our platform on the weekends, in prime, what every way we think makes sense for both the league’s benefit and for our benefit.”

He noted that in many markets, “we have a tremendous amount of distribution real estate and that gives us tremendous optionality.”

Symson said sports still need the kind of distribution broadcast offers in order to create value in the form of sports betting, ticket sales, merchandise sale and direct-to-consumer subscriptions.

“That’s exactly why we’re getting such a good reception in the marketplace because the leagues realize that going to a direct-to-consumer-only strategy isn’t necessarily going to serve them well over the long haul,” Symson said. 

With pay TV declines, the RSN model simply doesn’t work, Symson argues. “There just not enough subs to sustain the kind of revenue that the teams have gotten in the past,” he said. “What we’re  bringing to the market is a new model that the leagues and the teams can get behind because they understand it’s about balancing both the revenue that they bring in as well as reach.”

Going back to the future and putting sports on free TV is a winning idea, Symson said.

“It's in everybody's best interest, including the American people and the fans, that we don't allow live sports to become a pure D-to-C product,” he said. “It won't work for the economics of the leagues, It won't work for the economics of the teams and it definitely won't work for the economics of the American people.” ■

Newly created virtual multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) like YouTube TV and Sling TV currently negotiate with broadcast networks for national carriage on behalf of their owned stations and affiliates. The issue recently came to a head when the CBS affiliate board said a deal reached with Fubo TV did not give affiliates enough value for their local programming 

Owners of CBS affiliates rejected the deal and Fubo is now streaming a national feed provided by CBS. 

Earlier this week on Sinclair Broadcast Group’s earnings call, CEO Chris Ripley said “there is a growing consensus within the broadcast community and also within D.C., that this situation with the virtuals needs to change,” Ripley said. “It really is not consistent with the way the industry is set up and the way market power should be used.

On Scripps’s earnings call Friday morning, Symson said, “There’s no question that the virtual MVPDs and their customers want the local feeds.”

Symson said Scripps believes “the virtual MVPDs need to be considered MVPDs, just like cable and satellite.”

“What’s the difference whether the programming comes in over IP or cable or satellite or coax or fiber?“ he asked. ”It’s essential the same business and broadcast affiliates should have the wherewithal to negotiation directly with the virtual MVPDs for the distribution of our signal with the networks out of the way.”

Symson noted that Fubo was “pretty immaterial” as a distributor. “These are not existential issues or existential negotiations. But this is an example of where the regulatory framework needs to catch up to reality,” he said. 

“We expect fair value in the distribution of our signals, whether they're to traditional MVPD virtual MVPDs,” he said.

Scripps already has extensive experience dealing with vMVPDs through its national networks division. Scripps has gained carriage of its digital over-the-air broadcast networks on vMVPDs including YouTube TV, which is now carrying Scripps’ Ion, Bounce and Court TV channels.

Scripps president Lisa Knutson said she expects vMVPD carriage to contribute to a 40% growth in the company’s connected-TV ad revenue in 2023.

“Our networks have grown with the growth of virtual MVPDs during this quarter,” she said. “We are planning to launch additional free ad-supported, or FAST, channels in the coming months.”

Also on Friday, at the end of Gray TV’s fourth-quarter earnings call, chairman and CEO Hilton Howell weighed in on the issue of Paramount negotiating with virtual pay-TV providers on behalf of CBS affiliates, an arrangement Gray and other station owners initially agreed to in order to help fledgling virtual carriers get off the ground. 

“As a matter of just basic law and common sense, no other company has a right to negotiate on behalf of my company without our consent,” Howell said. Saying he was not going to negotiate in public or criticize anyone, he said “the negotiations in the past everyone agreed to, so they were handled in that way. The affiliate groups feel that times change.”

Howell said he read Ripley’s remarks on the topic in B+C. “I personally endorse his comments and where he articulated it,” he said. 

“I’m very hopeful that we can work out something with all of the networks,” Howell said. “But we consented to where it has been. We will not be consenting going forward.” ■

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. ■

Scripps Sports will work with leagues, conferences and teams to find ways to take advantage of the reach of Scripps assets in broadcast, pay TV and connected TV.

The move comes at a time when cable is losing viewers because of cord cutting, which could force sports rights holders to look at different ways to engage fans.

“There is no better way to reach every generation of sports fan than through live broadcast television,” said Adam Symson, Scripps’ president and CEO. “Scripps is working with the leagues and teams that recognize the role our assets can play in increasing reach and visibility for audience engagement.

Scripps also recently formed a Scripps News unit.

Lawlor will continue to report to Symson. Scripps said he will stay in charge of local media while the company works to identify its next steps for division leadership.

“Sports is one of the most important content genres in television, with its consistently large and dedicated audiences,” Lawlor said. “But the sports viewing marketplace has become extremely fragmented. Cable subscriptions are down, and regional sports networks are challenged, keeping fans from watching their home teams. Between our vast number of local stations and ION, a national network that can be customized in many markets, we believe Scripps is positioned to widely showcase leagues and players that are currently limited by aging distribution deals.” ■

The initiative, funded by Google, aims to help print journalists make the transition to video.

Iovino most recently was visiting assistant professor of media innovation at West Virginia University.

“With his diverse journalism industry knowledge and experience in education, Jim quickly emerged as an exceptional person to steer this important initiative for our company,” Scripps CEO Adam Symson said. “We’re pleased to find a leader that is passionate about the way this initiative will bring even more great journalism talent into Scripps.”

Also: Scripps Creates Inclusive Journalism Executive Role

Before joining West Virginia University, Iovino was managing editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news reporting covering the Tree of LIfe synagogue shooting. Previously he was senior news editor of operations for NBC-owned stations’ digital properties. He also served as a digital editor for TV stations in Washington, D.C.; Columbus, Ohio; and PIttsburgh. Iovino started out as a sportswriter.

“This is a special opportunity to draw upon every aspect of my career — print, digital, managing, educating,” Iovino said. “At a time when journalism has never been more important, this program will nurture veteran journalists and reignite their passions. I can’t wait to get started.”  ■

Net income was $29.2 million, or 32 cents a share, compared to a loss of $6.9 million, or 9 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue rose 5.2% to $594 million.

Scripps’s local stations generated a profit of $80.7 million, up from $64.6 million a year ago. Revenue there rose 9.5% to $356 million. While core ad revenue dropped 2% to $158 million, political advertising was $24 million, compared to $3.2 million a year ago. Retransmission revenue rose 9.4% to $171 million.

The company said it is on track to deliver at least $270 million of local media political advertising revenue for the full year, outpacing its 2020 adjusted-combined presidential election year political revenue, after record-setting second quarter results.

“For the second quarter, Scripps met or exceeded overall expectations. Foreshadowing the record performance we expect in the back half of the year, political advertising during the first two quarters nearly equaled the level of revenue we saw for the same period of the presidential election year 2020, when Michael Bloomberg spent early and heavily in our markets to promote his presidential campaign,” said Adam Symson, Scripps president and CEO. 

“While Scripps Networks revenue was short of guidance – a reflection of the weakness in the national ad market – it  still equaled last year’s extraordinary performance and delivered results better than peers as well as a margin of more than 30%,” Symson said.

At Scripps Networks, segment profit was $73.3 million, down from $107 million a year ago.

Revenue at the national networks unit was flat at $239 million, with revenue from new networks Defy TV and TrueReal offset by weakness in the national advertising market, the company said.

“The Networks benefited from growth in connected TV revenue, with continued momentum expected in the back half of the year. By the end of the third quarter, most of our Scripps networks will be nearly fully distributed across connected TV platforms, and our previous CTV launches this year are garnering significant viewing, driving the  increases in CTV revenue. Our networks also are available on cable and satellite and to nearly every U.S. television household through over-the-air broadcast,” he said. Scripps national networks include Court TV, Newsy and ION brands.

Looking ahead to the third quarter, Scripps expects local media revenue to be up in the low to mid 20% range, while Scripps Networks revenue will continue to be flat. ■

Pacini, a native of Helena, had been general manager of Learfield/Bobcat Sports Properties, which handles Montana State Athletics, since 2015.

In his new role, Pacini will oversee KBZK and KXLF. He succeeds Maureen Lang, who left to pursue other opportunities.

“Quinn has a unique background that combines expertise in creating high-profile content with the ability to market that content and find sponsors to support it,” Scripps Local Media president Brian Lawlor said. “His track record of driving revenue growth within the Montana media industry, paired with his experience leading multimedia marketing and advertising campaigns, make him a great addition to our teams at KBZK and KXLF and their community partners.”

Pacini graduated from Montana State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology. He previously worked at CDK Global and digital marketing agency Rally Marketing Group.

“I look forward to continuing my Montana media career working alongside the great teams at KBZK and KXLF,” Pacini said. “Together we’ll find new ways to provide Montanans the news and entertainment that informs their days and connects them with their communities.”  ■

The move comes as as broadcasters are calling for federal help to allow them to jointly negotiate for compensation for online platform use of their local news content.

Google has agreed to fund a new Scripps Journalism Journey initiative to help print journalists make what it calls "mid-career" transitions to "video-driven storytelling" in broadcast news careers. Those new jobs can include beat reporter, executive producer, editor/manager, documentary producer and copy editor.

The program will provide training, support, mentoring (including job shadowing), and coaching, and may also include conferences, Google News Initiative programs, Poynter Institute for journalism programs, or opportunities through the National Association of Broadcasters and the Society of Professional Journalists.

Also: Senate Panel Weighs in on Journalism Competition Issues

Those chosen to participate will get full-time "career" positions in Scripps newsrooms, local and national, said the broadcaster. Interested journalists can start applying in early summer.

The new program comes the same week that National Association of Broadcasters President Curtis LeGeyt called on Congress to pass the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act.

The bill would grant publishers immunity from federal and state antitrust laws for a 48-month period while they bargain collectively with digital platforms like Google.

Media outlets argue that Big Tech has been using their content without sufficiently compensating them for their investment in original, independent journalism, and sought the antitrust carveout to be able to present a more united negotiating front.

Broadcasters say not getting that fair compensation is an existential threat to the local news that multiple polls have shown American media audiences rely on.

NAB has also launched a website calling for help from Congress and calling out Google and Facebook by name for controlling access while failing to pay most new publishers for use of their local news content. ■

E.W. Scripps is one of the largest TV broadcast groups in the country, with 61 TV stations in 41 markets.

In the wake of the country's racial reckoning following the death of George Floyd, companies across the spectrum have been looking to heed that call for change. Scripps said it has been conducting research to "learn how to be more inclusive in its news coverage and connect better with the people who live in our communities."

McLaughlin said that Riley will be working with all of Scripps' local news operations to implement its research findings.

“Content strategy is about more than how to cover news,” Riley said. “It’s about how to engage with a community and connect on new and important levels so we’re reflecting our audiences – how they look and how they feel. Scripps is committed to getting better and better at that, and I am committed, too.” ■

Juenger took a three month sabbatical beginning on July 30, and Bernstein suspended coverage of media companies in his absence.  The analyst, who joined Bernstein in 2012 after heading up TiVo’s Audience Research business, has proven himself to be one of the more insightful analysts covering the programming space. 

In upgrading Discovery, Juenger also announced that he was dropping coverage of AMC Networks “to focus on stocks with broader investor interest.”

Juenger didn’t pull any punches upon his return. Although he increased his rating on Discovery, he lowered his 12-month price target on the stock to $26 from $28, reflecting his concerns about its ability to integrate the WarnerMedia business.

“[W]e continue to have high conviction that these businesses face a long list of very serious concerns, including: the legacy business is facing insurmountable structural pressure, the streaming future is riddled with risk for this set of brands, including the daunting complications of the WarnerMedia integration and rationalization,” Juenger wrote of Discovery. “However, the market seems to also share those concerns, and has driven the stock price down to a level where we can no longer argue the risk/reward for investors skews significantly negative from here.”

Juenger continued that he believed Discovery’s stock price already reflects the market’s belief that it will miss its streaming revenue guidance, cash flow guidance or both. 

“As the closing date approaches, the key question for investors from a catalyst perspective is: if the company takes down their guide, will that be bad for the stock (confirming tougher business conditions and lower financial results) or good for the stock (clearing the overhang, regaining investor confidence in a believable outlook on which to price the stock)?”

In his report, Juenger points out that Discovery WarnerMedia is not yet the “streaming powerhouse” depicted in headlines, but instead relies almost entirely on traditional linear cable network revenue to fund its streaming endeavors. How it manages to keep that linear business generating cash while its streaming business grows will be critical. 

“Ironically, the more successful the streaming service becomes in the market – the more pressure is put on the linear networks, which is the tyranny of the innovator's dilemma,” Juenger wrote, adding that the new entity will have a leverage ratio of about 5 times cash flow, and has promised to use excess free cash flow to lower debt. 

“We think this puts the company in a very difficult box to start from: promises to both invest in streaming and invest in delevering,” Juenger continued. “It also greatly amplifies risk to equity value. Any downturn in either EBITDA/FCF, or the valuation multiple of the stock, will fall sharply on the equity holders.”

Discovery shares were up more than 5% in early trading Monday to $24.70 each. The stock was priced at $24.52, up 4.6% ($1.08 each) at 12:09 p.m. on Nov. 1.  

Juenger also didn’t want to downplay the massive integration issues the combined company will face once the deal closes.

Integration Issues Loom 

“Which departments survive, which get merged or deleted, who stays/who goes, who's in charge, how to design incentives for leaders of the legacy business and the streaming business, and how to align that market by market, region by region and globally,” Juenger wrote. “All while trying to deliver/exceed on financial synergies promised to the investment community. This complex task will not only require significant expense, but also significant management bandwidth and distraction. And employee trepidation, and time. Important decisions cannot be made before the new leadership is installed (otherwise it undermines the authority of the new leadership).”

Juenger also saw some potential bright spots, including overdelivering on streaming growth and potential synergies. The analyst wrote that the market usually forgives other sins if a company manages to add more streaming customers than expected, and so far most streaming services have. 

In addition, Juenger added that if consumers pare down to three or slightly more than three streaming subscriptions, Warner Bros. Discovery will likely be among them. 

“This view would be supported by a belief that HBO would continue its history of putting forth a handful of truly distinctive premium entertainment series every year, and the addition of Discovery's portfolio would add complementary engagement value,” Juenger wrote.

As far as synergies, Juenger pointed to Discovery’s 2017 purchase of Scripps Networks. Less than three months after closing that deal, Discovery raised its cost synergy target from $350 million to $600 million. 

“One could easily expect Discovery will once again exceed the original target,” Juenger wrote. “Which, theoretically, could be additive to the $14 billion EBITDA guidance (or, give the company that much extra room to invest in streaming, or de-lever).”

Also Read: Local TV Connects Amid Crises

Pew, which issues an annual review of key audience and economic indicators from a variety of sectors and sources, pointed out that audiences for the 4-7 p.m. and 11 p.m.-2 a.m. time slots were each up an average 4% (Pew cited Comscore data).

Total revenue (according to MEDIA Pro Access/BIA) was $18.4 billion in 2020, an 8% increase over 2019, driven by election advertising.

Gray Television, Nexstar Media Group, Scripps, Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tegna — the big publicly held broadcast groups (and thus with publicly reported numbers) — reported a total $2 billion in political ad revenue, up from $1.2 billion in the 2018 mid-term election year, but almost two and a half times the $843 million spent in 2016, the most recent prior presidential election year.

Also Read: Pew: Led By Fox, Big Cable News Nets Fare Well in 2020

While digital advertising remains a fraction — less than 10% — of total TV station ad revenue, the category was up 6% to about $1.4 billion.

For a summary of Pew's methodology for analyzing the various data sources, go here.

The station will feature reporting from Scripps TV stations in the market. Scripps has stations in Miami, Tampa, West Palm Beach, Tallahassee and Fort Myers.

“Scripps is committed to serving both long-time Florida residents and newcomers with the authentic and hyperlocal journalism we know is essential to people’s lives,” said Scripps Local Media president Brian Lawlor. “The launch of the Florida 24 Network is the evolution of our long-time commitment to our Florida audiences and advertisers. We know our local business partners are eager to reach TV consumers via OTT.”

The Florida 24 Network will be available everywhere in the state in linear form and on-demand via its OTT app on streaming platforms, including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Android TV and via all Scripps Florida stations’ streaming apps. 

Also Read: Local Now Gets Additional News Programming from Scripps Stations

The network will be led by news director Nicole Wolfe, based at Scripps’ WSFL-TV in Miami, and senior director of digital Matt Borek, based at Scripps’ WFTS-TV, Tampa. 

It will cover politics, tourism, wildlife, beaches, lifestyle and agriculture. Meteorologists from each market will have frequent weather reports, with a focus on storms during hurricane season.

The network will also feature regular updates from Katie LaGrone, Scripps’ statewide investigative reporter and Forrest Saunders, Florida State Capitol reporter in Tallahassee. 

Also Read: E.W. Scripps Plans to Take Over the Air Nets Over the Top

“The pandemic has taught us a lot about the ways in which our newsrooms are able to collaborate to produce high-quality news and information in a remote environment,” said Lawlor. “The Florida 24 Network captures those learnings with the same commitment to essential journalism for which Florida residents have known Scripps for many years.”

Keith Summa has been named to head up Scripps' Washington-based national investigative team in the newly created post of deputy bureau chief. The appointment is effective immediately.

Also Read: Scripps Names Fort Myers GM

Summa reports to bureau chief Ellen Weiss.

The bureau serves Scripps' 61 TV stations and Scripps Networks, as well as podcasts. Summa said one of his goals is to extend the bureau's impact across "new and emerging television platforms."

For the past two years, Summa has developed and produced investigative docuseries and served as a consultant, according to Scripps.

Summa is the former senior VP of content and programming for cable net Fusion. Before that he headed up CBS News' investigative unit and before that was a producer and writer for ABC news and Peter Jennings Productions.

The media company said it will air an hour special, “Hidden Bias of Good People,” on stations in 41 markets that it bills as "essentially an anti-bias training session," the focus being implicit bias that abets racial discrimination.

Also Read: Groups Push Digital Civil Rights

The special is hosted by Dr. Bryant T. Marks, founder/chief equity officer of the National Institute on Race and Equity (NTIRE).

Also Read: High Tech Still Has Work to Do on Diversity

The special will air between March 7 and March 20 in various time periods, but primarily between 6 and 11 p.m.

KASW offers weekday news at 7-9 a.m, noon-1 p.m. and, most recently, 9-9:30 p.m. The morning news happened in late March. “Our plan was to extend our community presence and the strong connection our team has with our ABC15 Mornings viewers,” said Anita Helt, VP/general manager of KNXV-KASW. “Little did we know that the connection would only deepen as we have helped our viewers through these unprecedented times.”

ALSO READ: Local News Battle Royale in Phoenix

KASW’s news features ABC15 on CW61 branding. The noon program happened when daytime viewership spiked amidst the pandemic and the primetime newscast premiered in July. 

KASW has also enjoyed an upgrade in its syndicated programs, which include Seinfeld and Friends. “Nostalgia really seems to resonate,” said Helt. 

KASW had a minimal news presence prior to the acquisition. “We’ve really expanded our news footprint,” Helt said. 

“Our anchors are real people,” Tracy Brogden-Miller, VP and general manager, said. “The community connects with them because people can relate to them.” 

Also drawing viewers to Fox4 is syndication standouts such as Live with Kelly and Ryan, Rachael Ray, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! 

Nexstar Media Group owns WDAF. Meredith has CBS affiliate KCTV and MyNetworkTV station KSMO. Hearst Television has ABC outlet KMBC and The CW affiliate KCWE. Scripps owns NBC affiliate KSHB and independent KMCI, known as 38 the Spot. KUKC is a Univision affiliate and KGKC a Telemundo one. Spectrum is the primary pay TV operator. 

Adjusting To New Normality 

Staffers are getting used to the work-from home era. WDAF has two buildings. KSHB has three floors and lots of room. “We’re able to have separate bubbles and keep people apart,” said Kathleen Choal, VP and general manager, KSHB-KMCI. 

The energy in the stations may not be what it was. “People in the business love it because it’s loud, it has a pulse to it,” said Sarah Smith, KMBC-KCWE  president/general manager. “It’s more quiet now.” 

Choal marked one year in Kansas City in October. Charlie Henrich, VP and general manager of KCTV-KSMO, arrived in March. 

Earlier in his career, he worked in Kansas City for Newport Television. “The city to me is very familiar,” he said. “The market can pride itself on its consistency.” 

The news race is tight. WDAF won households and the 25-54 demo at 6 a.m. in September. KMBC won the household race at 5 p.m. and WDAF a tight battle in 25-54. At 6 p.m., KMBC won households and WDAF the demo. At 10 p.m., KCTV got a 3.9 in households and WDAF a 3.8, KMBC a 3.5 and KSHB a 1.9. In the 10 p.m. demo, WDAF had a 2.0, KMBC a 1.2, KCTV a 1.1 and KSHB a 0.6. 

WDAF goes live at 4 a.m. KMBC has a lively investigative approach. “Do we do the day-to-day things? Yes,” said Smith. “But we try to dig a little deeper.” 

KCWE started a 60-minute noon news Sept. 21. KCTV launched a 9 a.m. news in June, in place of a lifestyle program. “That couldn’t have come at a better time for us,” said Henrich. 

KSHB offers news segments called “The Rebound.” “We want to give people hope,” said Choal. “That’s a hard thing to find.” 

Both KGKC and KUKC do news inserts, but not full local newscasts … yet. “My goal is to produce local content, including news,” said Steve Downing, general manager at KGKC, shooting for a morning newscast next year. 

Both Spanish-language stations hustled to keep viewers up to date on Census and election information. “Even though we’re not a full news station, we do a lot of outreach in the community,” said Velia Chavez, general manager at KUKC. 

The Chiefs are the reigning Super Bowl champs, and look strong again in 2020. In these divisive times, it’s something everyone in DMA No. 32 can agree on. “Everyone is proud that [quarterback] Patrick Mahomes calls this city home,” said Smith. 

Kansas City offers a favorable mix of both cosmopolitan and folksy vibes. “There are lots of big-city amenities,” said Brogden-Miller, “but not a lot of big-city problems.”

KMCI OFFERS DAILY SCHOOL LESSONS

Scripps independent station KMCI is partnering with the Kansas City Public Schoools on KCPS Homeroom, a school lessons program that airs from 8-9 a.m. weekdays. As the pandemic took hold and students were not permitted in schools, Kathleen Choal, VP and general manager of KSHB-KMCI, reached out to the public school system and asked if the stations could help. The school system said yes. 

Kansas City schools are a mix of hybrid and remote learning these days. Kansas City Public Schools pays a modest fee for air time (“It’s not designed to be a money-maker for us,” Choal said) and has school staff deliver the lessons, which target kindergarten to 12th grade students. The hour is commercial-free and the school system handles production. 

“What we’re trying to do is bridge the divide between the kids that have internet access and the kids who don’t,” Choal said. 

The partnership began in August with graduation videos and rolled into lessons when school began. It will continue throughout the school year. 

“We think it’s a good service to our community,” Choal said. — MM

Net income was $58.5 million, or 69 cents a share, compared to a loss of $21.8 million, or 27 cents, a year ago.

Revenue rose 49% to $493 million from $331 million, including $50 million from former Tribune stations acquired from Nexstar Media Group. 

Political ad revenue in the quarter was $98.3 million.

“Despite the lingering economic disruption, Scripps achieved record political advertising revenue, nearly 40% retransmission revenue growth, a rebound in core advertising, double-digit National Media revenue growth and a return to National division margin expansion,” said CEO Adam Symson.

Symson said Scripps was  on track to end the year at more than $280 million of free cash flow, or at least $3.42 of free cash, exceeding its guidance to Wall Street.

“We credit this performance to a recovering advertising marketplace combined with our strategies to become a stronger and more durable enterprise. Our recently announced acquisition of ION Media is another step in our systematic plan to improve the financial profile of the company and increase free cash flow, providing a clear path to debt reduction,’ he said.

Local media profit rose to $145 million from $48.7 million as revenues increased 60% to $404 million. Adjusted for the station acquisitions, revenue was up 32%

Retransmission revenue increased 60% to $152 million. Adjusted retrans revenue was up 39%.

Core ad revenue increased 2.2% to $151 million, helped by the addition of the Tribune stations. Adjusted ad revenue decreased 18%. 

National Media--including the Katz Networks and Newsy-- generated a $12.1 million profit, up from $9.7 million a year ago. Revenue rose to $98.4 million from $78.3 million. 

According to a copy of the letter obtained by Multichannel News/B&C, Asper points out that he has both operated local TV stations and, currently, independent programming services (two sports nets. AXS TV and HDNet Movies) "in the context of a worldwide pandemic, economic upheaval and social unrest."

Related: Anthem Sports Buys Majority Stake in AXS TV

It is a context he suggests exposes the cracks and flaws in the retransmission consent/must carry regime that "handicaps" independent programmers.

"We struggle to compete for channel capacity and revenue, both from license fees and ad dollars, against broadcasters’ immense demands on embattled cable and satellite providers," he told Pai. He said those demands include the multicast signals and affiliated cable networks that boost fees to operators that are then passed on to consumers. "These escalating broadcaster demands at each renewal have created an onerous multiplier effect, crowding out carriage by competing programmers, limiting programming diversity and choice for consumers," he said.

Pointing to the Cox and Scripps disputes, he said: "I have had longstanding concerns about retrans, but was prompted to write by the dispute between DISH and the Scripps local stations and Apollo’s Cox Media Group stations. The decision by these station groups to pull their signal - during the pandemic, when local news is of utmost importance, showed a lack of concern for their viewers and disregard for the 'localism' considerations underlying the retransmission consent regime."

Cox has said it offered Dish an extension that would have kept its "trusted stations" on the air "during these times of uncertainty," but that Dish did not agree. Scripps had said its dispute was not about rates but "other distribution terms."

Asper asked Pai to review the retrans rules and recommend changes to Congress to update the "antiquated legislative mandate." 

Asper said he would be happy to continue the discussion remotely or in person when that is allowed. 

"If free market competition is what the FCC seeks, then it should truly enable free market competition and stop granting broadcasters undue market power in the retrans regime," he wrote. 

This has been particularly good for TV stations. In May of 2020, Elevate at SmithGeiger found the pandemic had produced hefty increases in local news viewership. Some 75% of survey respondents expressed the most confidence in local outlets’ COVID-19 news coverage, compared with 72% for network TV news, 71% for cable news and 48% for Facebook.

“There is all this partisanship on social media and other media and I think local news is one of the few places where there is less of it,” Meredith Local Media Group president Patrick McCreery said. “With all the challenges of the pandemic and racial strife and political partisanship, our reporting is more important than it has ever been.”

To build on that trust, Tegna has been beefing up its coverage of major issues, said VP of news Ellen Crooke.  “Being the most trusted source of news in the country, we are really aiming at making sure that our voters are well versed on the issues and where the candidates stand,” she said.  

“There is a real hunger for accurate information,” she added, pointing to the success of Tegna’s fact-checking series Verify. “We had 9.4 million visitors from March to June to our Verify stories and that is up 77% from November to February, and we had over 4 million video starts of those stories, up 335%.”

The election is both a giant national and local story, said Scripps VP of news Sean McLaughlin. “In some ways the election has never been more national,” he said. “But on the flip side it has never been more local when you consider the economic impact of the coronavirus and the different ways the civil unrest and the coronavirus is manifesting itself across our footprint.”

That is also making local TV reporting central to the election coverage efforts of national news organizations. This reflects both travel restrictions and the deeper understanding that local reporters have of their communities, executives said. As a result, the Scripps stations are working closer than ever before with the company’s Newsy channel; CBS News is benefiting from the local versions of its CBSN service and its owned stations; and ABC, NBC and Fox News are all working closely with their companies’ owned TV stations.

“With the broad reach that we have now, we have an ability, day and date, to tell people on HGTV and Food and ID that something great is going on TLC,” David Zaslav, Discovery’s president and CEO, said July 26 at the Television Critics Association summer press tour. “So we’re kind of just growing into our new set of assets, but we’re working together really well, and things are going better than we expected, and we’re having a good time.”

On the ratings side, a number of Discovery networks are clicking with female audiences. HGTV was July’s most-watched network among women 25 to 54 — behind Investigation Discovery — while Food Network was No. 5 within the demo.

HGTV and Food Network president Allison Page talked about the potential synergies that can be created between the legacy Scripps and Discovery Channels, as well as the continued popularity of the two network brands, with Multichannel News senior content producer, programming R. Thomas Umstead.

MCN: What has been the biggest change for the legacy Scripps networks since the merger?
Allison Page: The biggest change on the legacy Scripps side is the power of the combined brands and what we can do together. The fact that it’s an international company with so many networks is great. On some nights, up to 20% to 25% of women watching TV are watching one of our networks, so there’s a really big audience that we can speak to now.

MCN: Are there any opportunities beyond cross-promoting that you can benefit from — maybe sharing programming across the networks?
AP: We’re talking a lot about what’s working on another network and how we can come together and do something that is shared. An example of that revolved around Drew Scott’s wedding (Scott is co-host of HGTV’s Property Brothers). Weddings are such a big category for TLC, so we did a special around their wedding on TLC. Likewise, we brought the story of how they chose their wedding cake to Food Network. So there’s a lot of crossover, particularly with Food Network, TLC and HGTV — there’s a lot of shared DNA and a lot of opportunity. On The Wedding Cake Championship on Food Network, we had Randy [Fenoli] from Say Yes to the Dress on the show, so that was fun as well. There are a lot of places where it’s just so natural. The Discovery networks, along with HGTV and Food Network are really feeling the benefits, and it’s pretty exciting as a combined company what we can do together.

MCN: What the secret sauce behind the continued ratings success of Food Network and HGTV in a very crowded television marketplace?
AP: I think the secret sauce is the strength of the brands. We’re not about one show, one hit or one night that’s working. If you come to HGTV you know what you’re looking for and you’re going to get what you want, and you’re probably going to get a premiere episode, because we have them every single night. Same thing with Food Network — we know who we are and we deliver on that every single night.

With its focus on offering quality content, the combined Scripps and Discovery-owned services – which include such networks as Food Network, HGTV, DIY, Discovery Channel, TLC, OWN, Animal Planet and Investigation Discovery – provide the company with programming and marketing synergies that further help build already strong brands, according to Discovery CEO David Zaslav, who addressed TV critics along with Discovery Chief Brand Officer and Factual Nancy Daniels, Chief Lifestyles Brand Officer Kathleen Finch, and Animal Planet Global President Susanna Dinnage.

“We have four of the top five [most watched] networks for women,” Zaslav said. “If we can promote across all of our networks the broad reach that we have now, we have the ability to tell people [watching] Food and HGTV that something great is going on over on TLC. Things are going better than expected and we’re having a good time.”

The executives said the merged networks will not change their respective programming strategies or brand focus under the new Discovery company, although Discovery Channel will now focus exclusively on the non-scripted business despite some ratings and critical success with recent scripted limited series Manhunt: The Unabomber and Harley and The Davidsons.

“[Both] projects were critically well received, but at the end of the day we decided to do what we do best and focus on non-fiction programming,” Daniels said. “There’s a lot of scripted content out there and its really hard to break through … we decided to focus on what we do best.”

Zaslav also alluded to a potential Discovery networks-based OTT service but would not reveal specific details. “We really see the media business as being two sides: one side is scripted series and movies, and we’ve moved away from that,” he said. “There are great companies competing against each other, and eventually they’re all going to be offering [OTT] services for $10 to $15,” he said. “We have everything else. We think an offering of all of our content for $6, $7 or $8 will look very different to consumers around the world. We like where we are right now.”

Discovery Communications said the U.S. Department of Justice has completed its investigation of its pending merger with Scripps Networks Interactive.

Discovery agreed to purchase Scripps Networks in July in a deal valued at about $14.6 billion. The closing of the proposed transaction remains subject to completion of review in Ireland and other customary closing conditions, which are expected to be compelted ebfore the end of he first quarter.

“We are pleased to have passed this significant regulatory milestone on our path to acquire Scripps Networks Interactive,” Discovery Communications CEO David Zaslav said in a statement “The conclusion of the Department of Justice’s investigation is an integral step toward closing our transaction. We look forward to combining these two great companies to the benefit of our enthusiast audiences around the world.”

Until the close of the deal the companies will continue to operate as separate and independent entities.

Former Scripps Networks communications chief Cindy McConkey Cox died Thursday after a long illness.

McConkey Cox joined Scripps Networks in 2001 as senior vice president of Corporate Communications after 15 years at Knoxville, Tenn.-based Ackermann Public Relations & Marketing. She took an early retirement from Scripps in 2014, about a year after she was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare form of liver cancer, according to a 2016 report in the Knoville News Sentinel. She is survived by her husband, two daughters and two grandchildren.

“In her nearly 15 years with us at Scripps Networks, Cindy was a standout leader and friend," Scripps Networks chairman and CEO Ken Lowe said in a statement. "She had a reputation for speaking her mind with conviction, having a tireless work ethic, and taking care of business. But as a respected colleague, she was so much more. Cindy was generous with her time and her friendship, serving as a mentor to many. She endeared herself not only to those within our company and our community, but throughout the entire cable television industry.

"We were devastated as we stood by her side when she told us of her cancer diagnosis and have anxiously followed along with her journey since then," Lowe continued. "And we were not surprised to see her tackle her disease with hope, determination and grace, in typical Cindy fashion. We are heartbroken to say goodbye to Cindy but everyone whose path crossed with hers at Scripps Networks Interactive is truly grateful to have known her.”

Before joining the cable industry, McConkey Cox was a ground-breaking journalist covering national sports for USA Today in the 1980s.

She joined Random Acts of Flowers, a Knoxville-based non-profit company whose volunteers convert donated flowers into bouquets and deliver them to people in health care facilities across the country, as chief operations officer and chief marketing officer in 2016.     

“I cannot begin to express how devastated we are as a team,” Random Acts of Flowers founder and CEO Larsen Jay said on the company’s website. “Cindy was a guiding light in our organization since her first day in April 2016. Within our organization she was known as a brilliant communicator, a strategic thinker, and someone who always put others above herself. Thoughtful, warm, and ‘one tough cookie’ is how her closest friends describe Cindy.

“Our love for Cindy is hard to put into words,” Jay continued. “Her loss is profound. We will miss her deeply but we are also grateful our team could share so many meaningful personal and professional milestones with this wonderful woman.”

The rollercoaster ride for Viacom and CBS investors continued Wednesday after the Wall Street Journal reported that one of the biggest shareholders of both companies – CBS and Viacom vice chair Shari Redstone – is attempting to add new directors to the broadcaster’s board as she continues to try to push a deal through.

Viacom stock was up nearly 4% ($1.29 each) to $32.60 per share late Wednesday on the news. CBS shares rose slightly (9 cents) to $59.52 each in late afternoon trading.

According to the Journal, Redstone, who had pulled back her attempt to merge the two companies in 2016, reached out earlier this month to CBS chairman and CEO Les Moonves, who has in the past resisted a merger, to serve as a catalyst toward a recombination.

The paper said she is gathering a slate of possible directors ahead of CBS’s May annual meeting of shareholders, where several directors are expected to be replaced.

Moonves has resisted past attempts to put the two companies together because like other analysts, he sees little benefit for CBS, according to reports. But with large media companies moving to get larger – like Disney’s pending $66.1 billion purchase of certain 21st Century Fox assets and Discovery Communications $14.6 billion buy of Scripps Networks, expected to close in the first quarter, the urge to merge is greater than ever.       

Viacom and CBS split in 2006 in an effort to unlock value at both companies. But since then, CBS has flourished, growing into the top rated broadcaster in the country with a strong OTT service (CBS All Access) and a steady premium channel (Showtime). Viacom, which endured some extreme management turmoil over the past few years, has struggled to get back on track as its networks have slipped in the ratings and the ad market has dwindled.

TheWrap first reported that Redstone was eyeing a reconstituted CBS-Viacom on Friday. That resulted in a 7% runup in Viacom’s stock price on Jan. 12 that was eroded on Jan. 16 after reports surfaced that no formal talks were being held.

John Lansing, former head of Scripps Networks and the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing, oversees all U.S. government-funded independent international news media. He has headed up the Broadcasting Board of Governors and its five networks — Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks — since September 2015.

hired by the board, chaired by then Chair Jeff Shell. Only the board was nominated by the WH

He was hired by the BBG board, which was nominated by the White House (Editor's Note: The story initially said he was a presidential appointee, which was not correct).

In addition to running the Scripps cable networks and the cable marketing association, Lansing brought a TV-news background to the job of providing unbiased and uncensored information “to people who need it the most,” along with providing a model of free and independent news to the people who lack it.

There has been concern, with recent changes to BBG oversight and a new administration with a “fake news” fixation, that the mission could become clouded or co-opted. That’s not happening, Lansing said, and it won’t on his watch. But what has been happening is a tech-focused upgrade and use of the tools of the cable network trade, ratings and research, to help make the case for BBG on Capitol Hill, where money is tight.

Lansing talked with Multichannel News Washington bureau chief John Eggerton about BBG’s impact in the current administration and more. Here’s an edited transcript.

MCN:Can you explain the Broadcasting Board of Governors’s mission?
John Lansing: To inform, engage and connect people around the world in service to freedom and democracy. We broadcast in 61 languages in over 100 countries and parts of the world that either lack a free press or have a press that is under some control by their governments.

MCN:BBG is not a U.S. government controlled outlet, correct?
JL: It’s not, but that is a really good question and I’m glad you asked it. We are an independent agency of the federal government and by law there is a firewall that prohibits the government from interfering with the independence of any of our journalists or networks.

That firewall not only exists, but it has been my experience over two years that it is fully respected. I have never had anything come up that was even approaching related to government interference in our editorial independence.

MCN:There has been some concern outside of BBG, and some inside it, that the Trump administration could use BBG as a propaganda arm. It is not a farfetched concern in the world in which we find ourselves. Can you further assuage any concerns?
JL: I can only tell you my experience with this administration, and that is, as with all agencies of the federal government when there is a new administration, they assigned in our case two individuals for transition purposes and, on the first day they came aboard in January, I sat down and explained to them the sanctity of the firewall and I was very impressed with their understanding. They were willing not only to abide by it, but actively support it in their communications back to the White House.

So, they became advocates for the firewall. And there was never any pushback from the White House. So, notwithstanding how it might seem and what some reporters around town may have assumed, and I would be the first one to raise my hand, there has not been any attempt by the administration to put any spin of any kind on our editorial decisions.

MCN: We assume that you would not only raise your hand, but perhaps ball your fist, if that were the case?
JL: Yes, that’s my job. It’s not a hard thing to explain to you, because you get it, but it has been pretty well understood when we have explained it at the State Department and the White House that the credibility of our information is really what makes it effective and useful.
If people in, say, Cuba or North Korea or China or Venezuela or the Philippines, you name it, believe that what they are hearing from Voice of America, or Radio Free Europe in the Ukraine, or Radio Free Asia in Southeast Asia, or in the Middle East, is tainted and non-credible, then it really would have no meaning or purpose and be ineffective.

MCN:What are some of the BBG’s big current initiatives?
JL: Most significant is we launched a Russian- language cable network in Eastern Europe on the Russian periphery that is doing very well. A top priority of most everyone you meet on the Hill is, “what are you doing in response to Russian misinformation” and that is staying in our lane and doing objective journalism. It is the first substantial initiative in that regard and has gained a lot of support for us.

MCN:Are there any parts of the world you are particularly focused on?
JL: We are expanding in many areas, including the Philippines and the Middle East, of course Venezuela. Cuba continues to be a great concern of ours notwithstanding the rapprochement. Certainly North Korea right now is a key focus. We do our very best to stay in tune with U.S. foreign policy. We understand what parts of the world most need our resources.

MCN: But you are not promoting that foreign policy, correct?
JL: No. The analogy that I would use is that at a newspaper or TV network or station, you have beats that are important to your audiences. You’re on the D.C. beat, or someone is on the transportation beat. So, these organizations make judgments about where to put their resources based on the particular outcomes they hope to have and we did the same thing.

MCN:What impact does the “fake news” tag this administration keeps sticking on journalists have on your ability to maintain that credibility on the world stage?
JL: That is a fair question. I think different people and audiences hear that term and react differently. I think it is an oxymoron. There is no such thing as credible news that could be fake, and I think that credible news and information is easily discernible based on the quality of the reporting and the writing. I think in certain sectors and audiences it may resonate and call into question any publication, but I don’t know how big that receptive audience is.

MCN: How did running the Scripps Networks or CTAM prepare you for this job, or was it a leap into another dimension?
JL: Early in my career [starting at age 17] I was a news photographer and editor, then became a local news director in Kalamazoo, Minneapolis and later Chicago, WBBM, then when I joined [E.W.] Scripps my first several years as managing TV stations in Cleveland and Detroit, before I took over the broadcast group. So I began as a journalist in the field and led some very good newsrooms. We won the [Edward R.] Murrow Award for station of the year. And I have always been a journalist at heart.

To turn your question around, it was a challenge for me to move into the [Scripps Networks Interactive] cable nets. I had been so steeped in broadcast news I didn’t know whether I could transfer my skills to lifestyle programming [HGTV, Food Network, Travel Channel and others]. I think I was able to successfully do that.

MCN: Talk a little about technology. We are thinking about the aerostat used to get a TV Marti signal to Cuba, which at one point broke free and was shot down by a jet fighter as a precaution and, if memory serves, recovered by fishermen, which sounds a little like the Keystone Cops meets Rube Goldberg.
JL: My No. 1 priority coming in here two years ago was to drastically evolve all of BBG to a much more digital-first posture. And that is true with all of the services, VOA, RFE/RL. We understand now that we have a target audience just like we do in the private-sector media. And of course I come from Scripps, where targeting the audience is really the art of the business model.

And now we understand that our target is not necessarily 50-plus men listening to radio, but it’s 15-to-25-year-old future leaders, young people getting the bulk of information off digital, social, mobile platforms. So, that has been our very, very aggressive push all across the BBG for the last few years.

MCN: BBG created an office of internet freedom. What is that and why do you need it?
JL: It existed when I came and I enhanced it when I learned more about it. But it is a direct investment in tools that help citizens in repressive societies gain access to the internet and to be safe in gaining access to the Internet.
It allows them to talk to one another without being spied on, or access independent media without being persecuted.

MCN: Enhanced it how?
JL: More money. We went to Capitol Hill and demonstrated the impact we’re having. One of the things that has resonated there is my insistence that the BBG measure our impact, whether it be through digital media, or TV or radio, objectively and bring our scores, if you will, to hold ourselves accountable on Capitol Hill so we can show with some objectivity that we are having a greater impact. In this case that was true about the Internet Freedom initiative.

I was also able to show that, last year, we increased our total audience by 52 million, but also increased the impact on our audience through Gallop research around the world that measured actions people take based on the consumption of BBG media, whether it be sharing content, commenting, “liking.”

We have a whole impact model that we now hold ourselves accountable to. And that gives us credibility with Capitol Hill. It is really no different from private media, where we measured not just ratings at Scripps, but also the quality of those ratings. It is the same approach.

MCN: Why did you want this job, which would seem to us like herding multilingual cats?
JL: Jeff Shell [chairman of the BBG] two years ago called me. My contract happened to be coming up at CTAM, and he asked if I would consider taking this over as CEO. They had hired Andy Lack, but he only lasted about six weeks because of the Brian Williams situation, when they brought him back to NBC.

I said I would be willing to consider it. I became convinced that I was at a point in my career where I could invest my time and energy and experience in something that had a national service aspect to it.

I’ve never done that. My father served in World War II and I always admired that. I saw this as a chance to get involved at a senior level and really do something supportive of building and growing more free and democratic societies. If felt like a career capstone for me.

MCN: Did you advocate to Congress for concentrating the governing power in the CEO position? Congress ultimately voted to phase out the “board of governors” of the Board of Governors and concentrate that power.
JL: No, I didn’t advocate for that. That was something that was done in the House Foreign Affairs Committee. I got a phone call last May from a staffer over there that this is what the reform measure was going to do. I actually worked with my board to see what their reaction was and how they wanted me to represent them on the Hill. It really was a runaway train and happened of its own momentum.

MCN: How do you think that phasing out of the board of governors is going to change the dynamic?
JL: On Dec. 23, President Obama signed the NDAA [National Defense Authorization Act, which included the BBG restructuring]. There was a signing statement that dealt with what the Justice Department felt like was a Constitutional concern that the Congress didn’t have the authority to eliminate a presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed board of governors, and that until the CEO is nominated and confirmed by the Senate, whether that is me or someone else, the board will stay in place until the new CEO is confirmed.

So, we’re in that period where the board continues to serve and I am grandfathered in as the CEO until I am either confirmed or replaced and there has still not been any indication from me whether there was going to be any action on that from the White House one way or the other.
I expected to hear something months ago, but never had.

MCN: Is there a lame-duck quality to not knowing, or are there things you want to get done before you go?
JL: I don’t know whether I will be gone. Theoretically I could be nominated, or I could not be, but there isn’t a lame-duck feeling.
In fact, the report we are receiving through the appropriators based on the work we have been doing over the last two years indicates a lot of support, at least on Capitol Hill.

MCN: Can you give us an example of that work?
JL: Most significantly is we launched a Russian-language cable network in Eastern Europe on the Russian periphery that is doing very well. A top priority of most everyone you meet on the Hill is, “what are you doing in response to Russian misinformation” and that is staying in our lane and doing objective journalism. It is the first substantial initiative in that regard and has gained a lot of support for us.

MCN: Any final thoughts?
JL: Three key things, and I will just underscore them, are targeting audiences that we want to impact; modernizing our approach to those audiences through digital, social and mobile platforms; and holding ourselves accountable for not just reaching bigger audiences, but how much we are impacting those audiences. Those are the things we think about the most.

Scripps Networks Interactive stock rose 20% and Discovery Communications shares increased more than 7% in early trading after reports surfaced late Tuesday that the two were in early merger talks.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Discovery and Scripps have held early discussions about a possible merger. While there is no guarantee that a deal would be realized, news about further consolidation in the programming business was enough to goose the stocks. Scripps shares went as high as $80.45 each (up 20% or $13.43 per share) in early trading Wednesday and were priced at $76.64 (up 14.4%) at 10:40 a.m. Discovery shares reached $27.92 per share (up 7%) before settling down to $226.80(up 2.8%) at 10:40 a.m. It was the single highest increase for both stocks in months.

Reuters reported later that Viacom has also held informal talks with Scripps Networks, which added to the increases in the latter’s stock price. Viacom shares were up 1.5% ( 55 cents each) to $36.01 per share at 10:40 a.m.

Discovery and Scripps have been down this path before. In late 2013, the two held preliminary talks but shelved them after the Scripps family, which controls Scripps Networks, decided it didn’t want to sell.

Discovery and Scripps Networks officials declined comment.

Both companies have struggled along with the rest of the industry to address changing viewing habits and falling ratings as consumers migrate from linear television to online, SVOD and OTT offerings. Discovery's stable of channels includes the Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, ID Discovery and other networks with a focus on non-fiction programming that would appear to mesh nicely with SNI's Food Network, HGTV, Travel Channel and GAC programming assets.

Analysts were split about a possible Discovery/Scripps Networks combination, with MoffettNathanson media analyst Michael Nathanson writing in a research note that pairing the networks groups won’t solve their problems. While Scripps Networks had surprisingly strong ad revenue growth last year, one indication that it may be a good time to sell, it will be difficult to duplicate. 

“While there will likely be ample cost synergies, international revenue opportunities and improved relative scale, we don’t think this merger will fundamentally alter the long-term prospects of these companies,” Nathanson wrote.  “If anything, it does allow for a couple of years of a new narrative to form about future inorganic opportunities.”

On the other side of the spectrum, RBC Capital Markets media analyst Steven Cahall called the potential deal a “sign of the times,” adding that he saw it as one of the most logical combinations in the content space as added scale should improve the merged entity’s leverage in carriage negotiations.

“We think investors have viewed consolidation among smaller players as an eventual inevitability, but this potential deal would suggest that the corporates are more proactive than we had previously thought,” Cahall wrote. “From here, we will be looking for a better picture of the deal, assuming it's real, and contemplating what other transactions, if any, could follow. “

Credit Suisse media analyst Omar Sheik wrote in a note to clients that he believed a Discovery/Scripps Networks combination had “low credibility.”

“The report looks vague, and our initial view is that it has low credibility,” Sheikh wrote. “Combining the two portfolios of unscripted cable networks has some industrial logic, but previously reported discussions between the companies probably came to nothing because the price/structure of a transaction could not be agreed. We struggle to see what might have changed now.”

UBS Securities media analyst Doug Mitchelson wrote in a research report that while there is a strong case for the synergies in a deal – he estimated between $150 million and $250 million – pairing the two programmers may only make things worse.

“Having 18 combined networks in a world shifting towards skinnier bundles might only compound secular challenges,” Mitchelson wrote.

As part of a newly created position as general manager of U.S. programming and development for Scripps Networks Interactive, Page will add oversight of programming for Food Network and Cooking Channel to her existing responsibility for programming at HGTV, Travel Channel, DIY Network and Great American Country, said the company.

“Allison Page is one of the most accomplished programming executives working in television today, with a great track record of success in developing talent and formats across all six of our brands,” said Kathleen Finch, Scripps Networks Interactive's Chief Programming, Content & Brand Officer, in a statement. “She has been a central player in the incredible success of HGTV over the last few years, and her creativity and leadership will be key to the continued growth and development of all our networks moving forward.”

In addition, Scripps has tapped Julie Taylor as its senior vice president of program planning & strategy, U.S. Networks, overseeing the scheduling teams across all six networks. Also, Shannon Jamieson Driver, who already leads marketing efforts for all six networks, has been named general manager, U.S. Brand Marketing, and will now contribute support for Scripps Networks Interactive’s digital brands through integrated linear and experiential marketing experiences, said the company.

Some Hollywood heavy hitters want the FCC to know that they remain strongly opposed to the app-based set-top proposal FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler introduced last week.

That is according to a letter filed with the FCC in the wake of an FCC oversight hearing in the Senate Commerce Committee Thursday (Sept. 15).

"In response to testimony at [the] FCC Oversight Hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee, the undersigned collectively write to clarify for the record that the undersigned always have been – and remain – strongly opposed to any licensing construct in which the Commission has the ability to alter the provisions contained in any license that permits the distribution of copyrighted video programming," they wrote.

The undersigned being Disney, Twenty First Century Fox, Time Warner, Viacom and Scripps.

The studios did not specify what they were responding to, but in answer to a question from Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) about copyright licensing and what the FCC's authority was, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler defended the FCC’s approach to copyright protections. “What the commission is trying to do,” he said, “is not to write copyright policy, but to write a policy inside its authority which does not interfere with existing copyright authority and with the contractual terms that copyright holders do inside that authority," he said, adding: "We worked for months with the copyright holders to try and find the way to do that. We're probably 90% there."

Clearly the copyright holders are on a different page.

"[I]n order to ensure that there is no confusion about our position, the Content Companies once again urge the Commission not [underlining theirs] to adopt any proposal that includes any FCC involvement in the licensing process or that grants the FCC any ability to establish the terms and conditions of a license related to the distribution of content."

An FCC source speaking on background said that by making programmers part of the licensing body, they have a direct say in how the video navigation apps are licensed to third parties and so it would be tough to believe such a licensing body would create a process that does not protect copyrights. They said that licensees will get access to the content only after agreeing not to alter it or the advertising in it.

They said the FCC will have no role or authority over the agreements between the programmers and pay TV providers, but will only review the license to ensure it does not "unreasonable" or stifle competition.

But clearly the programmers see the authority to change those contracts based on the FCC's reading of what is reasonable or competitive as too intrusive.

Scripps Networks Interactive has notified Cox Communications of its intention to purchase the cable operator’s 35% interest in the Travel Channel it doesn’t already own.

On a conference call with analysts to discuss quarterly results, Scripps Networks chief financial officer Lori Hickok said the programmer has notified the cable operator of its intentions and the valuation process has begun. She added Scripps hoped the transaction would be completed by the end of the first quarter.

Scripps purchased a 65% interest in Travel Channel from Cox in 2009 for about $1 billion. According to the deal, Cox had the right to put its interest back to SNI on the fifth anniversary of the transaction and Scripps had the right to call Cox’s interest a year later.

On the call, Hickok said the valuation process is fairly typical of these deals – Scripps will determine what it thinks the stake is worth and Cox will make its own determination. If the two prices are within a certain range a deal will be struck; if not, a third party will be brought in to make its own valuation.

Finding a common ground may not be easy. While 65% of Travel Channel was priced at $1 billion in 2009, the value likely has changed. And though Scripps does break out revenue performance for its networks, some analysts have said it is difficult to determine how much of total programming and SG&A expense is allocated to the network to get an accurate cash flow number. According to SNI's 2015 results, Travel Channel reported revenue of $309.2 million for 2015, down about 1.6%.  

Scripps has made some recent changes to the Travel Channel -- in December it named Courtney White as senior vice president of programming, it is continuing to add original porgramming and also moved Travel Channel HQ from Chevy Chase, Md., to Knoxville, Tenn., SNI's home base. Scripps also has other partnerships for networks -- Tribune Media owns 33% of Food Network -- and the company has expressed a desire to consolidate its interest in that channel over the years. However, no deal for Food appears to be in the works.

Scripps and Time Warner Cable have quietly struck a multiyear retransmission-consent agreement for stations representing more than 3 million households in 14 markets, a source familiar with the deal said.

The agreement also covers some Bright House Networkscable systems for which TWC handles retrans negotiations.

The affected markets are Bakersfield, Calif[ Cleveland; Cincinnati; Denver; Detroit; Milwaukee and Green Bay, Wisc.; Indianapolis; Kansas City; Nashville, Tenn.; Omaha, Neb.; San Diego; and Tampa, Fla.

The agreement comes as Charter Commuications and Time Warner Cable are trying to secure regulatory approval of their proposed merger.

Overall revenue increased 20.4% to $776.1 million in the period and consolidated ad revenue was up 22% to $527.9 million. Consolidated affiliate fee revenue increased 13.5% to $224.9 million in the quarter.

At its U.S Networks, revenue was $660.9 million, up 6.2%, driven by a 5.2% increase in ad revenue and a 6.3% rise in affiliate fees, primarily driven by annual contractual rate increases, expanded distribution for DIY Network and Cooking Channel with traditional partners and additional distribution from new OTT entrants.

U.S. Networks segment profit was $330.3 million, an increase of 12.2%.

At the international networks revenue was $118.7 million compared to $23.8 million in the prior-year, primarily due to the consolidation of TVN operations.

The TVN deal also helped drive segment profit to $10.9 million in the period,  compared with a loss of $5.9 million in the third quarter of 2014.

"This has been a transformative quarter for Scripps Networks Interactive," CEO Ken Lowe said in a statement. “Our international business has been bolstered by the successful acquisition of Poland's leading multi-platform media company, TVN. Our networks continue to thrive in the United States, and their success is reflected in strong growth in both advertising and affiliate revenues. With a strategy that enables us to create deeper connections with consumers across the world, we are focused on delivering long-term growth and enhanced shareholder value."

Jablin, currently Scripps Networks president, will take over the Chief Operating Officer role for Scripps Networks Interactive, overseeing sales, distribution, programming, digital and strategic planning for the company.

“As one of the original founders of HGTV, and as someone who has played a key role in building our wider business for more than 20 years, Burton is ideally experienced to take on this expanded role,” said Scripps Networks Interactive Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Kenneth W. Lowe, to whom Jablin will report.

Finch, currently President of HGTV, DIY Network and Great American Country, has been appointed Chief Programming, Content & Brand Officer, and will take overall responsibility for content across all Scripps’ owned networks including Food Network, Cooking Channel and Travel Channel.  Finch will report to Jablin, according to the company.

“Kathleen has proven her creative acumen through strengthening HGTV’s position as a must-have network in the United States, with 14 months of consecutive growth and a 10 percent year-on-year ratings increase,” Jablin said. “I look forward to her working with teams across all of our brands to further solidify Scripps Networks’ position as the leader in lifestyle content development.”

The moves come on the heels of Food Network and Cooking Channel president Brooke Johnson’s announcement earlier this week that she will be retiring after more than 12 years leading the brand.

Scripps also announced that Travel Channel president Shannon O’Neill has been named managing director of Finance & operations for Scripps Networks Interactive’s U.S. Networks.

Food Network president Brooke Johnson will retire after more than 12 years with the Scripps Networks company.

Johnson, currently president of Food Network and Cooking Channel, will continue to serve as a consultant to Scripps Networks Interactive through the end of 2016, according to the company.

Scripps said it will announce a replacement for Johnson in the coming days.

Under Johnson’s leadership, Food Network has built on its position as the leading cable food and entertainment brand, developing popular shows such as Chopped, Cutthroat Kitchen and Food Network Star.

In addition, Johnson -- a Multichannel News Wonder Woman -- has overseen consistent year-on-year ratings for Cooking Channel.

  “Brooke Johnson has been one of the key driving forces behind the success of Food Network since she joined the company,” said Kenneth W. Lowe, chairman, president and chief executive officer, Scripps Networks Interactive. “Food Network touches hundreds of millions of consumers every month, through shows including ‘Food Network Star’ and ‘Guy’s Grocery Games’ and through its many brand extensions. We’re very grateful to Brooke for her passion and hard work in building one of the strongest media brands around, and I’m gratified that the company will continue to benefit from her expertise and insight in a consultative capacity.”

Added Johnson: “I couldn't be more proud of everything that the team and talented chefs and hosts have created and accomplished together during my time here. The timing was right for me to step back and enjoy the next phase of my life, but I leave with total confidence that Food Network and Cooking Channel will continue to grow and engage fans of these beloved brands for many years to come.”

UPDATE (via B&C):Media Stocks Continue Post-Earnings Free Fall

RELATED STORIES:

Viacom Q3 Earnings Dip on Ad Decline

BBC America Helps AMC Networks to Higher Profits

Univision Posts Q2 Loss

Media stocks took a pounding yesterday after a series of earnings calls focused investors on the risk that the pay TV bundle could be unraveling.

The wave started with Tthe Walt Disney Co. on Tuesday when CEO Bob Iger tried to address concerns that falling subscriber numbers were forcing ESPN to cut costs in order to maintain its profitability.

By Wednesday, when four big media companies reported earnings, executives were peppered with questions about the sustainability of affiliate revenue growth,

When the dust cleared, nearly every big media stock was down. Discovery -- which bragged about its new distribution pact with Comcast -- took the biggest hit, down 12%. Disney was down 9%, Time Warner off 8%, Viacom and AMC Networks fell 7%, Scripps Networks dove 5% and CBS and Comcast slid 4%. (Ominously, Netflix was up 2%.)

Read more at broadcastingcable.com.

“Part of the definition is that it is flourishing, and I certainly think that’s true, but it also says it’s a time of peace and prosperity, and I think the answer might vary from place to place,” said Brian Balthazar, VP of programming and development, HGTV, DIY Network and Great American Country.

Balthazar was joined by Rob Barnett, founder and CEO of Omnivision Entertainment & My Damn Channel; Ellen Goosenberg Kent, director/producer and president of Golden Egg Entertainment; and Damon Williams, VP programming & strategy, Music Choice, with Multichannel News editor R. Thomas Umstead moderating.

Goosenberg Kent had reservations as well. “The question is who’s buying and how much are they paying and how are people going to find the film if we don’t go to a big player with it?” she said.

Barnett saw promotion key to driving growth for on-demand content.

“The great problem online is to be lost in the sea of everything,” Barnett said. “We’ve always done something crazy like promote, which I think is another hole online, as opposed to it just happens to be up and you’re supposed to search for it.”

Balthazar said he sees social media -- and using it correctly -- as a way to cultivate a shared experience among the audience.

“There’s still a need for a shared experience, which why is everyone loves to watch the Super Bowl together, the Oscars together," he said. "It’s balancing that need for a shared experience.”

Read more at broadcastingcable.com.

As content distribution channels continue to expand in the United States and abroad, the business of formatting and delivering that content has become an increasingly complex minuet. As vice president of media and content delivery for Scripps Networks Interactive, Chuck Hurst and his team bring together broadcast operations, IT and affiliate sales, making sure Scripps’s content is delivered to the correct distributor in the correct format at the correct time. Multichannel News contributor K.C. Neel spoke with Hurst about the intricacies involved in that daily dance.

MCN: What part of the business do you oversee at Scripps?

Chuck Hurst: I am responsible for all of our enterprise media management, videos, still images, recipes, closed captions and all the distribution to our business partners for those products. That includes our own digital group, as well as external partners that we engage with to provision and display our video.

MCN: How do your distribution contracts today differ from a couple of years ago, and how is content delivered and stored through your unit?

CH: One of the biggest changes in the industry is the advent of IT-distributed content, whether that’s over-the-top, whether that’s sell-through to entities like iTunes, or whether that’s SVOD like Amazon.

That next-day demand for multiplatform distribution has forced us to increase our network. We’ve also had to increase our storage and we’ve had to go out and get transcoding resources. Even our transfer capability — the ability to push that content out to all of our providers — has forced us to increase all [our IT resources].

Let me give you an example: In 2006, we were pushing out about 200 hours of content a year. Last year, we pushed out 30,000 hours of content. And the quality of video that’s going out the door today has dramatically increased.

The other big change that has come out of that has been in our business processes. Broadcast has always been king — and it still is, by the way — but the digital side of the house has become equally mission-critical. There’s a real natural partnership between broadcast operations, IT and a content sales organization in the way we deliver that content in the timeframe we do.

MCN: How do you break down the business unit silos of IT, broadcast engineering, affiliate relations? What do have to do to make sure everyone is on the same page?

CH: Customer expectations are forcing that integration of business functions, because you can’t satisfy those expectations with a single group.

[For example] our affiliate group is responsible for content distribution deals and they deal not only with the [traditional multichannel distributor] affiliates, they deal with iTunes and Amazon and the other providers we choose to exhibit our content.

The broadcast operations group — who are really the experts on video quality, video handling and the video formats we need to have — needed to reach into the IP-delivered world. The affiliate group has done a great job of engaging with us as they get deals. They bring them in, we evaluate the technical specifications, we talk about the metadata, we talk about the video spec and we come back to them with recommendations for changes to the ways that we can make this work. And that has been a very effective cycle for us.

MCN: I get the impression the content requirements and the way content is delivered to various new distributors — Netflix, Amazon, Apple — varies. Is that the case?

CH: Yes, and in some cases, wildly. The current digital distribution market is very dynamic. The broadcast market has a relatively fixed set of deliverables, but that’s not true in the digital world. There is also a constant escalation of the quality and everyone wants a slightly different flavor of the video. So even if they all want Apple protocols, they want different features or they might have a different bumper or trailer. It’s very hard to get standards, even internally, as we look across the providers. We’ve had to stitch together commercial applications, custom applications and integrate those together to give us a very flexible, dynamic environment where we can make changes right away. We’re supporting around 22 different receivers right now. That will probably grow to be about 26 by the end of the year and each one of them will be a relatively different product.

MCN: Are there outside IT applications that you can purchase or subscribe to that help you with all of that?

CH: Certainly, there is a growing body of providers that will entirely outsource your media preparation. There is a real cost tradeoff on that because those obviously are not cheap resources to employ. Our IT group has fit in with our media operations group and our broadcast operations group to create an automated workflow while reducing the manual intervention we have to do to get content out the door.

MCN: How are you storing all this data? How many hours are you storing right now? Are you using the cloud to store your product?

CH: Well, hours and bytes are different. From an hours perspective, let’s say episodes, I think we’re about 45,000 episodes of standard def and somewhere around 20,000 hours of high-definition video. And then you add onto that some of the digital flavors that we store.

In terms of bytes, we’re sitting at about 1.3 Petabytes of digital storage for our video archive. That will probably grow this year to about 2 PB. And that’s all on an internal disk we store here inside our own data center facility.

We use cloud storage in a very limited aspect right now. We have a rotating set of assets we take up to the cloud for a particular job and then bring those down. So we really have only about 60 Terabytes of storage on the cloud right now. Cloud storage will grow, but right now, all of our storage is pretty much internal.

MCN: What will it take to transition to cloud storage and what are its advantages?

CH: We can still expand with the internal system we have in place right now. Still, the cloud and the cloud infrastructure are an integral part of what we want to do in the future. I expect we will maintain hybrid operations, meaning we’ll do operations both internally and in the cloud and then add some level of synchronization back and forth for that.

The big driver for the cloud is certainly going to be time to market. There are some things you can just do more rapidly in the cloud. We could transcode the entire archive to a new flavor that we want to use, or carve off part of that collection for a new opportunity overseas. Global access is a big driver for using the cloud.

Certainly, cost is a challenge right now. Trying to move up a 2-PB archive into the cloud is going to be expensive. And it’s going to be an operating expense, as opposed to a capital investment, which hits your bottom line in the year you spend that.

MCN: How do you measure success? What does that mean for your unit?

CH: Whether you are in broadcast operations, IT or digital, you really have to measure yourself against the business metrics that your business partner is being held to. For us, that’s been a conversation around on-time delivery, making sure that we meet all the contractual obligations. It’s also about cost: What’s the actual cost for us to deliver an hour to an end provider and end user? It’s been a refreshing conversation and it’s forced the IT team to examine their processes and the way they measure themselves.

MCN: What’s the biggest challenge for you going forward? What does your business look like in 18 months from now?

CH: The biggest challenge for any IT group right now is the tremendous amount of pressure to respond more quickly to the business opportunities coming in the door and to be able to operate more efficiently. There is continual pressure to respond to the market and deal with the changes that are needed but, at the same time, stay within your budget and head count.

So where are we going to be 18 months from now? It’s obvious viewer fragmentation is an ongoing issue in the industry. There are more ways every day for people to consume video. That means more platforms, more formats, more delivery cycles to get out there. We must also remain focused on our brand and on quality. It’s going be a real challenge to continue standing out in the market because there are so many different sources of information. And there is certainly a technology component to in the way people find us, how they see us, and what they associate us with.

The lifestyle programmer is also raising its dividend by 15%, to 23 cents psr share to holders of record on March 2.

.Before the new $1 billion stock buyback program was authorized, Scripps had $448 million remaining on its previous repurchase plan.

Last quarter, the company announced a restructuring and reduced its workforce by 5% to be more efficient in its mission of creating lifestyle content. .

A week after Sony made a splash by signing up Viacom’s 22 networks to its planned over-the-top video offering, Dish Network announced that Scripps Interactive Networks has signed a comprehensive deal to offer its suite of channels including Food Network, HGTV and Great American Country to its own service targeted at Millennials.

Dish has said that it plans to launch the service – which some believe could be  named “nuTV” – early next year.

The Scripps agreement includes over-the-top (OTT) multi-stream rights for live and Video-on-Demand content. The agreement also expands Dish’s distribution of authenticated live and Video-on-Demand Scripps Networks programming on Internet-connected devices.

Moreover, the agreement widens exposure of Scripps Networks programming to a larger swath of DISH’s traditional viewer base by opening DIY Network and Cooking Channel to the popular “America’s Top 200” programming package.

The renewal agreement applies to the entire suite of Scripps Networks channels, including: HGTV, DIY Network, Food Network, Cooking Channel, Travel Channel and Great American Country.

“DISH is delighted to add Scripps Networks’ award-winning lifestyle content to our growing library of sports, family, educational and entertainment options that will create a redefined video experience for a new type of consumer,” said Dish CEO Joseph Clayton in a statement. “This wide-ranging agreement gives DISH customers dynamic access to Scripps Networks programming today and tomorrow.”

The OTT rights allow access to Scripps Networks content through a future multi-stream subscription service of linear and Video-on-Demand content. With this capability, the content will be available to an untapped segment of customers that is seeking a flexible, content-driven, Internet-accessible service.

“This agreement demonstrates the consistent strength and popularity of our portfolio of brands, and enables even more people to enjoy DIY Network and Cooking Channel in addition to our existing offering on Dish,” said Scripps Interactive chairman and CEO Kenneth Lowe in a statement. “We are committed to making our lifestyle content available to consumers wherever and whenever they want it. This first-of-its-kind OTT deal for Scripps Networks Interactive enables us to reach even more people through Dish’s innovative services.”

The renewal also expands the authenticated Scripps Networks programming available to DISH customers at home or on-the-go via Internet-connected devices – televisions, computers, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles and other devices. Dish customers will be able to use the DISH Anywhere™ app, dishanywhere.com and Scripps Networks’ web properties and apps to view live, Video-on-Demand and full-season content.

The updated agreement follows news of Dish’s groundbreaking agreements with The Walt Disney Company, announced in March, and with A+E Networks, announced in August.

HGTV said its Sunday (July 20) premiere of new renovation-competition series Flipping The Block (pictured) was one of the best ever at the network, averaging 1.6 million viewers during its 9 p.m. time slot, part of the highest-ever rated Sunday for the Scripps Networks outlet.

Flipping the Block, produced by Authentic Entertainment and featuring HGTV and DIY Network's Josh Temple (House Crashers), Nicole Curtis (Rehab Addict) and Scott McGillivray (Income Property), also drew a 0.81 rating among viewers ages 25-54. Beachfront Bargain Hunt, with two episodes starting at 8 p.m., garnered a 0.92 rating in the 25-54 bracket, "a 'best-ever performance' for the series and a 61% increase over recent levels," HGTV said. The first episode averaged 1.9 million viewers and the second averaged 2.1 million, the network said. 

Overall, HGTV averaged a 0.73 primetime rating among viewers ages 25-54 and delivered its highest Sunday primetime rating since March 2011, the network said. On a total day basis, the network said it attracted more than 15 million viewers.  

"To launch a brand new primetime series on the most competitive night of the week and have it propel HGTV to the No. 1 spot among women and the highest rated Sunday ever in total day is exactly the kind of performance that our sponsors and partners want to see," Kathleen Finch, president, HGTV and DIY Network, said in a release. "We know what's at stake and have worked toward this outcome for months. Top 10 never gets tired." 

HGTV also said the 7:30 p.m. episode of Flip or Flop had a 1.07 rating among viewers ages 25-54. Nielsen live-plus-same-day figures report 2.035 million viewers on average for that episode.

Cooking Channel and DIY Network will be available in both standard and high definition to Optimum TV residential customers with the Optimum Preferred package and above; customers must have a digital set-top box or CableCARD to receive the channels. Cooking Channel will be on channel 166 and DIY Network will be on channel 167.

“We are pleased to announce that Cooking Channel and DIY Network will be joining the Optimum TV lineup of highly informative and enjoyable lifestyle programming,” Bradley Feldman, Cablevision’s senior vice president of product management, said in a release. “We believe that Cooking Channel and DIY Network will be very popular among our customers, who will also be able to access this programming anywhere in the home using the Optimum App and on the go with TV to Go.”

In 2010, Scripps and Cablevision had an unusual (for Scripps) contract dispute that saw Food Network and HGTV dropped for three weeks in a fee dispute before being restored to Cablevision's then 3.1 million subscribers.

“Introducing our popular lifestyle media brands DIY Network and Cooking Channel to the homes of nearly 3 million Optimum customers will satisfy the growing demand for top-notch television content in the important New York metro area,” Henry Ahn, executive vice president of content distribution and marketing for Scripps Networks Interactive, said in the release. “Viewers who love our flagship brands HGTV and Food Network will enjoy even more quality home and food programming that will inspire and inform their lives.”