by Kayla Schultz
Scripps logo via TheLAW.TV
“Give light and the people will find their own way” [1]
The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE: SSP; Price Per Share: $10.54) is a multimedia enterprise that owns 19 television stations in major cities across the nation and serves 13 different markets with locally owned newspapers. Scripps has expanded its reach in the media universe by venturing into digital strategies and social gaming. The company is also host to the annual Scripps National Spelling Bee. [2]
The Scripps Television Group is comprised of major network affiliates as well as independently owned stations. This make up is broken down into 10 ABC affiliates, 3 NBC affiliates, 1 independent, and 5 Spanish language stations. Scripps provides television services to the following cities: Bakersfield, CA; San Diego, CA; Cincinnati, OH; Cleveland, OH; Tulsa, OK; Lawrence, KS; Tampa, FL; West Palm Beach, FL; Denver, CO; Baltimore, MD; Phoenix, AZ; Kansas City, MO; Indianapolis, IN; Detroit, MI. [3]
KEY PEOPLE
Image courtesy of Scripps. [4]
Richard A. Boehne, President and CEO
Image courtesy of Scripps. [4]
Timothy M. Wesolowski, Senior VP, CFO, and Treasurer
Image courtesy of Scripps. [4]
Brian G. Lawlor, Senior VP of Television
CONTACT [5]
Headquarters: 312 Walnut Street 2800, Scripps Center, Cincinnati, OH 45202
Phone: 513-977-3000
RECENT NEWS
September 2012
On September 3, 2012, Scripps announced an exciting new venture for its local TV programming. Rather than purchasing the popular syndicated staples Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!, the television group decided to fill the time slots with original content. The two new shows were to be called Let’s Ask America and The List. According to Broadcasting & Cable, an accredited television business website, Scripps made a “massive bet on the programs, a game show and newsmagazine, that its top execs say fit right into the company profile of educating and entertaining the public.” Though the endeavor was considered to be a long shot by most critics, Brian Lawlor, Scripps senior vice president of television, was confident in the company’s ability to produce quality content that would appeal to each of its well established, locally owned markets. The new shows were set to release on September 17th of that year, but faith in the company’s innovative new plan was hard to find. Critics of the new strategy stressed network-affiliate relations and how original creative content being aired on the affiliate station could cause even more tension to what is often considered a particularly tense relationship. Another concern was the possible failure of either program. Scripps didn’t have many syndication options to fallback on after dropping the two most popular syndicated programs in American television history from its repertoire. To make matters worse, Jim Paratore was signed on to executive produce Let’s Ask America but unexpectedly passed away in the midst of production. Scripps made the decision to forge on without the acclaimed EP and hired 60 new people to take charge of the newsmagazine show in stations all over the country. Clearly, the company believed in the project regardless of what the critics had to say; to Scripps, is was much better to own its content than to rent it. [6]
Let’s Ask America logo via newsnet5.com
On September 17, 2012, Scripps aired its two new programs to seven of its TV markets. [7]
October 2012
October 2012 was a particularly slow month for Scripps Television Group. The company operated as it normally would, with the exception of their new original programming. Despite the relative normalcy of October, Scripps made a newsworthy contribution to the mobile television discussion, which seems to constantly be preoccupying the conversations among leading TV conglomerates. Scripps made it known that they were in full support of the mobile TV movement and were willing to contribute the time and energy that its innovation requires. The Chicago Tribune reported that the E.W. Scripps Company, along with Fox, NBC, Cox Media Group, Garnett Broadcasting, and Hearst Television, partnered up with Dyle mobile TV, which offers 90 stations in 35 markets. [8]
Dyle on the Samsung Galaxy S Lightray 4G courtesy of gottabemobile.com
November 2012
While October proved to be a not-so-newsworthy month for the Scripps Television Group, November brought the company multiple headlines that highlighted its overwhelming success. Whether it was talk of the quarterly revenue report, the newly acquired financial support of Cincinnati, or the beautiful sight of a risk paying off, Scripps found itself in the news constantly and for good reasons.
On November 9, 2012, multiple television business websites reported the remarkable 79% increase in Scripps’ station revenue according to the company’s third quarter reports. The television group reported $125 million for Q3 of 2012. Apparently, the increase in earnings was “fueled by [Scripps] acquisition of McGraw-Hill stations,” as well as the unexpected success of “its two homegrown access programs, Let’s Ask America and The List.” [9] Arguably even more influential on the group’s financial gains was the money generated from local, state, and national elections in early November. Political advertisers spent $28 million to endorse their candidates on Scripps’ multiple stations. The 2011 election campaigns only brought in $2 million for the TV group, so political advertising alone made a huge contribution the company’s overall increase in revenue for the third quarter. [10]
As a contributing member of Cincinnati’s booming economy, the E.W. Scripps Company received $750,000 from the city so that it could grow its digital sector. The goal of the city was to have Scripps “create at least 112 jobs within three years and maintain 184 existing jobs.” The expansion of Scripps’ digital group could only be beneficial to the TV side of the company. With its continuing efforts to support mobile television and promote its new original programming, an expansion of the digital sphere would potentially open up an array of new possibilities for the TV group. [11]
On November 13, 2012, the E.W. Scripps Company announced a partnership with Arizona State University that will include an innovative new journalism program. Together, Scripps and ASU have formed the Scripps Cronkite Journalism Career Program that will directly connect aspiring broadcast journalists to one of the country’s leading broadcast journalism companies. Keeping with the company’s theme of educating the people of America, Brian Lawlor believes that this new partnership will “harness the creative energy, skills, and enthusiasm of recent ASU grads and channel it into shaping tomorrow’s storytellers.” [12]
The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication courtesy of Wikipedia
On November 14, 2012, the gamble that Scripps took by dropping Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! appeared to be paying off for the TV group. The new original shows were consistently exceeding the company’s ratings goals, based on the Nielsen live-plus-same-day ratings. They did particularly well among 25-54 year old women which put them ahead of the game financially according to vice president of TV content Bob Sullivan. With this newly established viewer base, Scripps will easily be able to sell more advertisements and make long-term deals with companies who wish to target that particular demographic. TVNewsCheck, a broadcasting business website, suggests that the more money that the shows rake in for the TV group, the more likely Warner Brothers, a 50-50 partner on Let’s Ask America, is to distributing the original content to multiple non-Scripps stations. The company seems to be thrilled with the current success of its new content, but so is the competition, which picked up Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! in the seven vacant markets. [13]
On November 20, 2012, Audiovox Electronics announced plans for a new mobile TV “rear-seat car entertainment system” that would be fully “Dyle-enabled.” Since Dyle is the mobile distributor of the Scripps TV Group, the new product launch would expand the company’s modest network to 35 markets and reach “approximately 55 percent of the U.S. population,” according to Broadcast Engineering. [14]
Audiovox rear-seat entertainment system courtesy of Voxx International
On November 30, 2012, Scripps announced the exciting new acquisition of Brian Bracco, former vice president of news for Hearst Television, Inc. The long-time TV executive will be leading Scripps Kansas City station, which is a place that Bracco is particularly familiar with from his work with Hearst station in KC. Brian Lawlor believes that “Bracco will provide strong leadership as KSHB” and that “he is vastly qualified to motivate and inspire his staff to become the go-to source for news and investigations in the market,” according to The Sacramento Bee. [15]
FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS
Due to Scripps enormous success in Q3, the talk of projected fourth quarter revenue has been extremely positive. The current projection is that “TV revenues will be up about 80%,” according to TVNewsCheck. The high percentage will mostly be attributed to the previously mentioned newly acquired McGraw-Hill stations. Surely the earnings won’t come close to what the TV group raked in during the third quarter, with the election providing a lot of ad revenue, but the December month is sure to provide a good look at the “first pure month without political influence,” says Brian Lawlor. Even without the boost from McGraw-Hill, Scripps’ revenue has been on a positive incline, estimating a 35-40% independent of the newly acquired stations. [16]
REFERENCES
- Scripps – Our Mission & Motto
- Scripps – About Us
- Scripps – Brands: Television
- Scripps – Our Leaders
- Scripps – Contact
- Malone, Michael (September 3, 2012). “Station Groups Spin Wheel on Homespun Shows”. Broadcasting & Cable.
- Scripps – Timeline
- Morris, Chris (October 2, 2012). “Mobile TV searches for breakthrough”. The Chicago Tribune.
- Malone, Michael (November 9, 2012). “Scripps Station Revenue Up 79%”. Broadcasting & Cable.
- Friedman, Wayne (November 9, 2012). “Election Money Fuels Big Gains For Scripps”. Media News Daily. Media Post.
- The Enquirer (November 9, 2012). “City Oks $750,000 for Scripps jobs”. The Community Press & Recorder.
- PRNewswire (November 13, 2012). “Scripps and Arizona State join forces to create innovative career initiative”. equities.com: Global Financial Network.
- Downey, Kevin (November 14, 2012). “Scripps Stations Survive Without Top Syndies”. TVNewsCheck.
- McMahon, Franklin (November 20, 2012). “Audiovox launches rear-seat Dyle Mobile TV experience”. Broadcast Engineering.
- The E.W. Scripps Company (November 30, 2012). “Bracco to lead Scripps stations in Kansas City”. The Sacramento Bee.
- Messmer, Jack (November 9, 2012). “TV Soaring For Scripps In 4Q After Record 3Q”. TVNewsCheck.