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Scripps Launches Scripps Sports Division

Y2kTheNewOldies

Y2kTheNewOldies


It will be interesting how EW Scripps will make their sports divisioj viable and which RSN's will they get if they are successful.

The E.W. Scripps Co. said today that it is launching a new Scripps Sports division to further leverage its local market depth and national broadcast reach for partnerships with sports leagues, conferences and teams. Brian Lawlor, who has led the company’s Local Media division since 2009, will assume the role of president of the new division.

Scripps said: “Already with one of the nation’s largest local television portfolios, Scripps’ acquisition of Ion Media last year positions it with unparalleled national reach through over-the-air broadcast, pay TV and connected TV. At the same time, changes in the television landscape and in the sports marketplace open opportunities for new models to partner on live sports distribution.”

Adam Symson, Scripps’ president and CEO, added: “There is no better way to reach every generation of sports fan than through live broadcast television. Scripps is working with the leagues and teams that recognize the role our assets can play in increasing reach and visibility for audience engagement.
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CaliRadioFan said:
Another article came out this morning that clarifys this: Scripps sees RSN'S as broken....and their not looking to buy or fix them. They're eyeing expiring deals with the goal of transforming ION into a TNT like channel, as well as getting live sports back on local owned stations. Uphill battle? Perhaps, but one that bears watching.
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Where does Scripps think they're going to get games from? All the major sports teams/leagues/conferences are locked up.

MLB is 99% tied to cable and has been for years, with only a very few games on local TV (not including the Saturday games and World Series on Fox). The NHL is similar. Both abandoned OTA TV many years ago.

Disney throws a few Sunday NBA games onto ABC, but beyond that, they're 100% cable. They also have little to no local TV presence, and don't seem to be interested any more than baseball and hockey are.

Only football, both college and the NFL, maintains a decent OTA presence, but the games are on the networks, not local. Plus, Disney owns the bowls (literally, in many cases), and only puts three of them (Fenway, Jimmy Kimmel, and Music City) on ABC. Add the Sun Bowl on CBS and the Holiday Bowl on Fox, that's a very thin OTA bowl presence. The Mothership airs the rest.
 
QUOTE from the article:
In the current environment, Scripps won’t be trying to pay more than the RSNs are currently paying.

"The RSNs aren’t going to pay what they used to pay," Lawlor said. "Their next deals are going to look completely different than the last ones. It’s more of a conversation about what is the value to their franchise and brand if they’re reaching 100% of the audience versus 40%."
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Rights fees will only continue to go up. The leagues/conferences call the shots, not the networks. If the RSN's won't be able to pay, neither will Scripps. But the networks can, and the networks will. Whatever it takes to secure the rights.
 
Maybe Scripps might acquire some regional sports networks and convert them to digital subchannels of TV stations.

These subchannels would he available to both cable subscribers and those without cable or satellite service.
 
Joseph_Gallant said:
Maybe Scripps might acquire some regional sports networks and convert them to digital subchannels of TV stations.

These subchannels would he available to both cable subscribers and those without cable or satellite service.
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That ship sailed prior to the end of analog TV. Very few games in any sport air on local (as opposed to network) OTA TV now.

Individual stations, or even their parent companies -- and that includes Scripps -- can afford the rights that the teams demand, and will continue to demand. In some cases, teams are forming their own channels, such as YES (Yankees) and Marquee (Cubs).

It also comes down to ratings. I'll use Phoenix as an example. KTVK aired the Diamondbacks for their first decade of existence (1998-2007), split with Fox Sports Arizona. But not only was Fox Sports Arizona (now BS Arizona) able to give the team more money in rights fees, but KTVK decided to focus on female viewers ("The place with more stuff") and let them go.

Under Meredith, and now Gray, they've tempered that attitude a bit, and have aired the very-occasional game (a few Coyotes games pre-COVID and last weekend's high school football championship). But they also air Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy between 7 and 8 PM, which I have to believe garner far better ratings than the now-woeful Diamondbacks ever could. Somehow I doubt that Gray, Scripps, Tegna, or Fox are willing to cough up the dough required to air the D'backs or Suns (the Coyotes are a possibility IMHO), and push their current programming aside, even on a subchannel.
 
KeithE4 said:
Where does Scripps think they're going to get games from? All the major sports teams/leagues/conferences are locked up.
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I'd think the most likely avenue is to bid on certain broadcast rights currently owned by the various RSNs, possibly as part of a bankruptcy.

KeithE4 said:
Rights fees will only continue to go up. The leagues/conferences call the shots, not the networks. If the RSN's won't be able to pay, neither will Scripps. But the networks can, and the networks will. Whatever it takes to secure the rights.
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Yeah, the value proposition for sports on ION isn't cash. It's theoretical reach. Or possibly an emergency landing spot if your RSN goes bankrupt and successfully petitions the bankruptcy court to end that particular contract. (Such things happened when Cumulus went bankrupt on the radio side)
 
tvnewscheck.com

With RSNs Hobbled, Scripps And Gray Take Aim At Sports

E.W. Scripps and Gray Television are taking advantage of cable and satellite’s diminished state to make a play for professional sports rights. It’s about time for broadcasting to reclaim them.
tvnewscheck.com tvnewscheck.com

Scripps, Nexstar and Gray mentioned in an op-ed over sports contracts. Note this is given that Scripps airs Sports but it is via Network contracts. Also in the case of Nexstar they were in the process to get the broadcast contracts to air Golf Via CW Network.

In Scripps’ hometown of Cincinnati, Lawlor notes that the Bally Sports RSN reaches only 46% of the homes. “That is a horrible business model for the Reds,” he says.

The broadcasters’ universal reach has real value. “Teams may have to decide whether they are better offer taking $10 million from the RSN and reaching 35% of the market or $5 million, $6 million, $7 million from the broadcasters and reaching 100%.”

Scripps can’t put games on any of its Big Four affiliates because of their contracts with the networks, Lawlor says, but the group has 10-12 markets with second stations that could accommodate them. If need be, he says, Scripps could acquire second stations or work with other broadcasters in other markets.
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Here is Gray and Nexstar plans to carry sports.
Indeed, Gray Television is interested. Through its Raycom Sports and Tupelo Honey units it has long and deep experience in sports production and distribution and it has established diginets in Memphis and Las Vegas filled with minor local sports.

Making the same case as Lawlor, CEO Pat LaPlatney told me Gray is eyeing the rights where it has second stations and the economics make sense. Two such markets are Atlanta and Phoenix, where Gray has the CBS affiliate and an independent and a weakened Bally RSN is the current rightsholder.

Another likely player would be Nexstar. KTLA Los Angeles and three other Southern California Nexstar stations began airing 15 games of the Los Angeles Clippers this season. “I think you’ll see more of this as times go on,” CEO Perry Sook told analysts on his 3Q earnings call last September.
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> The broadcasters’ universal reach has real value. “Teams may have to decide whether they are better offer taking $10 million from the RSN and reaching 35% of the market or $5 million, $6 million, $7 million from the broadcasters and reaching 100%.”

No. They can't pay Joey Votto with reach.

Also, the scale of the numbers provided by Mr. Lawlor is very wrong. The Reds are scheduled to make around $80 million this year from Bally Sports Ohio, not $10 million.

Teams may end up having to settle for what broadcasters would pony up, but they won't do it willingly.
 
Ion is considered to be a contender to air Pac-12 football games, even though Ion has no stations in three Pac-12 markets (Phoenix, Tucson, Denver). More on it here.
 
Ccook55 said:
Ion is considered to be a contender to air Pac-12 football games, even though Ion has no stations in three Pac-12 markets (Phoenix, Tucson, Denver). More on it here.
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Through the magic of holding companies (INYO Broadcast Licenses), ION is on full power major city coverage stations in Phoenix and Denver with lineups identical to the ION stations owned by Scripps. There is no reason to believe that the INYO stations wouldn't carry whatever Pac 12 games the ION stations are carrying, market appropriate if there are multiple games being covered.
In Tucson ION is on a subchannel of the ABC affiliate in HD and there is also no reason to believe that they would not carry Pac 12 games.
 
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