Scripps will launch a marketing campaign targeting cable cutters
CINCINNATI— EW Scripps reported lower fourth-quarter revenue this week, but said it expects strong political advertising for the 2022 midterms and an increase in national network viewership. The station group, which has 61 stations in 41 markets, also announced that it would launch an initiative to promote its free live shows to cord cutters.
Scripps predicts it will see about $270 million in political ad revenue this year, up about 40% from last year’s midterm election and would help drive an increase of about 50% from a year-over-year free cash flow in 2022, to a range of $400 million to $450 million.
Net income fell to $40.2 million, or 43 cents per share, in the fourth quarter from $244.7 million, or $1.35 per share, a year ago. Fourth-quarter revenue rose 5.3% to $622 million, which Scripps attributed to its acquisition of Ion Media.
CEO Adam Symson said Scripps’ five Nielsen-ranked entertainment networks grew viewership year-over-year, contributing to fourth-quarter revenue. And unlike most station groups, which have ignored promotion of their free live broadcasts (despite the growth of cordcutting over the past decade), Scripps said it would launch a campaign to promote its national networks. However, he omitted any mention of NextGen TV.
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“Scripps Networks already captures 25% of viewing in the expanding OTA market, and as we move forward into 2022, we are dedicated to continued audience and revenue growth,” Symson said. “Among our plans is a marketing campaign on how to watch live TV and the wide range of quality content you will find there.
“This campaign is part of Scripps’ efforts to carve out our own valuable corner of the TV ecosystem: free ad-supported platforms such as OTA, FAST [free, ad-supported television] and AVOD [ad-supported video-on-demand] that serve subscription-weary Americans.
