The E.W. Scripps Company is launching a sports division.
The station group said the new division will be led by local media president Brian Lawlor and will look to “further leverage its local market depth and national broadcast reach for partnerships with sports leagues, conferences and teams.” Lawlor has led the company’s local media division since 2009.
“Brian Lawlor is a highly regarded broadcast executive who has transformed our local media business – building the division from 10 TV stations in 2009 to 61 today,” said Adam Symson, Scripps’ president and CEO. “For the last year, he has already been leading the Scripps sports plan, bringing the same commitment to entrepreneurship and creativity for the company.”
In addition to its 61 local stations, Scripps owned ION has the fifth-largest national broadcast viewership reaching 100% of U.S. television households through broadcast, cable/satellite and connected TV platforms.
“Sports is one of the most important content genres in television, with its consistently large and dedicated audiences,” Lawlor said. “But the sports viewing marketplace has become extremely fragmented. Cable subscriptions are down, and regional sports networks are challenged, keeping fans from watching their home teams. Between our vast number of local stations and ION, a national network that can be customized in many markets, we believe Scripps is positioned to widely showcase leagues and players that are currently limited by aging distribution deals.”
Lawlor will continue to report to Symson. He also will continue to lead Local Media while Scripps works to identify its next steps for division leadership.