Cord-Cutting Isn’t a Dirty Word in Scripps’ Upfront Talks

Scripps’ ad sales team is aware that marketers know about the media-planning challenges posed by cord-cutting. So this upfront season, the company—which is heading into its first negotiations since acquiring Ion Media for $2.65 billion in September—is embracing the c-word. In conversations with marketers that began this month, the sales team for the national television networks arm of the business—which comprises free, over-the-air networks like Bounce, Court TV, Laff and Grit along with free digital-first brands like Newsy—is emphasizing that marketers can still find cord-cutting consumers on their channels. “The single biggest point of excitement for us this year is that we believe we can help buyers solve some of the biggest challenges they are facing—specifically, trying to reach that elusive consumer who has cut the cord,” said Michael Teicher, the chief revenue officer for Scripps’ national television networks business, which includes both Ion Media and Katz Networks. “We stand in a very unique place as leaders in free TV who can reach tens of millions of people who have cut the cord and are avid SVOD watchers.” Reaching 'self-bundlers' Those viewers who are unreachable on traditional cable, which Scripps’ team refers to as “self-bundlers,” are the white whale for advertisers, and are just the kind of audience that Scripps is serving up. The company’s message this year hinges on their large and diverse audience across that footprint, which spans 109 television stations (61 with local programming and 48 with Ion programming) and 404 Ion affiliate stations. To get that message across, Scripps created a short film with help from agency Leroy & Clarkson that introduces marketers to its bulked-up network lineup. The company enlisted recognizable actors including Tony Hale, Alyson Hannigan and Chris O’Donnell to participate in the project, to help sell Scripps’ audience to media planners and buyers in which Hale takes a media buyer through a cord-cutting crime scene, gossip-drenched nail salon and, finally, a key demo household's living room. The video is squarely aimed at helping the network attract more ad dollars and compete with bigger presenters during this virtual upfronts season. “We own this terrific network with Ion combined with these fabulous assets that we have on the Scripps networks, so it's time to level up and play in the big leagues—and because we're all presenting on Zoom, it's a level playing field," said Teicher, who joined the company in January. “When you combine the strength of Ion with the reach and the diverse reach of the different networks that we have, you put those together and we have a really solid offering on a national level that can compete with almost anybody.” Loving live viewing Part of Scripps’ pitch to marketers this year is around live, extended viewing on their networks. Live viewing makes up the bulk of viewing on Scripps stations: African-American broadcast channel Bounce sees 96% of its viewing live, and comedy-centric Laff, which airs shows like How I Met Your Mother and That '70s Show, has 98% live viewing. Grit, the company’s Western station, has 97% live viewing and is the No. 1 movie network when it comes to length of tune-in time, Teicher said. The company is adding to the mix with new stations, which it hopes will build on that live audience and long tune-in time. This summer, Scripps is planning to take the wraps off two unscripted channels centered on reality TV. TrueReal, which will air shows like Hoarders and other shows from A&E Networks’ collection of shows, will target women viewers, while Defy, which will air series like Pawn Stars and Forged in Fire, will look to attract male audiences. “By collecting this set of assets—one set targeted toward women and one set targeted to men—we are making what we believe is a fairly safe bet that this type of programming is going to resonate with consumers,” Teicher said. “And usually the dollars follow the eyeballs.”

TV Upfronts

Cord-Cutting Isn’t a Dirty Word in Scripps’ 2021 Upfront Talks

The company is embracing the 'c-word'

Kelsey Sutton

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Kelsey Sutton