Raycom, Scripps Form Creative Partnership to Develop Programming

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Raycom Media and The E.W. Scripps Company have forged a creative programming development partnership. They will bring together their local broadcast operations in order to generate and expand new and original programming for morning and afternoon as well as multiple devices.

The partnership has the combined reach of 29% of households in the U.S., including 12 of the top 40 markets.

“The strength of our two companies with a rich history in local broadcasting will bring a financial and creative strength to this development consortium,” said Paul McTear, Raycom Media president and CEO. “This will not only allow us to create programming for our broadcast platforms but provide entertaining, informative and above all engaging content for our audiences on any platform they choose to consume our content.”

The Raycom-Scripps partnership, already working on projects expected to launch in 2017, is looking out for new projects to develop in addition to local broadcasters or media companies to join the consortium.

Related: Raycom Successfully Renews 12 Retrans Agreements

“As the broadcasting industry continues to evolve, we must continue to explore new opportunities to deliver compelling content to our audiences,” said Brian Lawlor, senior VP of the Scripps broadcast division. ”We envision a flourishing partnership with Raycom Media that will lead to relevant content with mass appeal across diverging demographics. Partnering with other broadcast groups rather than competing against them is a dynamic new way to succeed in this industry, and Scripps and Raycom Media are leading the way.”

Raycom Media, Scripps and Cox Media Group have a distinct development deal for viral video syndication series RightThisMinute.