E.W. SCRIPPS Co (NASDAQ: SSP)

The E. W. Scripps Company is a diverse media enterprise that serves audiences and businesses through a portfolio of more than 60 local television stations in over 40 markets and through national news and entertainment networks. The local stations maintain programming agreements with ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX, and the company also stewards the Scripps National Spelling Bee. In addition, Scripps offers the Tablo device for over the air and streaming viewing without a subscription and distributes free, ad supported content through its Scripps News, Court TV, ION, Bounce, Grit, ION Mystery, ION Plus, and Laff networks.

The company generates revenue primarily from the sale of advertising to local, national and political advertisers and from retransmission fees received from cable operators, telecommunications companies, satellite carriers, and virtual multichannel video programming distributors. Additional revenue is derived from connected television platforms and digital advertising.

The company operates through the following segments.

• Local Media: This segment includes more than 60 local television stations and their related digital operations, comprising 18 ABC affiliates, 11 NBC affiliates, 9 CBS affiliates, 4 FOX affiliates, 11 independent stations, and 10 low power stations, and earns revenue from advertising and retransmission fees while broadcasting network programming, locally produced news, syndicated content, sports events, and other programs of interest in each market.

• Scripps Networks: This segment consists of national news outlets Scripps News and Court TV and entertainment brands ION, Bounce, Grit, ION Mystery, ION Plus, and Laff, reaching nearly every U. S. television home through free over the air broadcast, cable/satellite, connected TV, and digital distribution, and generates revenue mainly from the sale of advertising while delivering news, sports, and entertainment programming, including broadcasts of Las Vegas Aces games and Tampa Bay Lightning games.

• Other: This segment aggregates smaller operations that are not reported separately, including the Tablo over the air streaming device and other miscellaneous businesses, and contributes supplemental revenue to the company.

Within the broadcasting industry, Scripps holds a leading position in free, ad supported television, competing with other major station groups such as Gray, Nexstar, Sinclair, and Tegna, as well as with cable networks and streaming platforms, and differentiates itself through its extensive local station footprint, national network portfolio, sports rights agreements, news content, the Tablo device, and its participation in the ATSC 3.0 focused joint venture EdgeBeam Wireless, LLC.

The company serves a varied customer base that includes local, national, and political advertisers, cable and telecom providers, satellite carriers, virtual MVPDs, and television viewers, with specific relationships involving sports teams such as the Las Vegas Aces and the Tampa Bay Lightning, leagues including the WNBA and the NHL, joint venture partners Gray, Nexstar, and Sinclair for EdgeBeam, and station exchange counterpart Gray in the recent transaction involving stations in Colorado Springs, Grand Junction, and Twin Falls.