Scripps CEO Adam Symson Gets New Contract

The E.W. Scripps Co. board on Tuesday approved a new contract for President and CEO Adam P. Symson that runs through Dec. 31, 2027.

The new agreement replaces a three-year contract that began Jan. 1, 2020.

Symson assumed the president and CEO role in August 2017. Since that time, the company said, “he has engineered the acquisition of Ion Media and the creation of a new, highly profitable operating division made up of nine national broadcast networks, significantly increased the durability and reach of the company’s Local Media portfolio and overseen significant improvement in the company’s short-term operating performance.”

He sold the radio station group as well as the Stitcher and Triton businesses at high returns. Symson launched company initiatives to expand its NextGen TV/ATSC 3.0 opportunity, its connected television distribution and the number of U.S. TV households using digital antennas. He also successfully steered the company through the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic standstill as well as the transition of more than 5,000 employees to remote work environments. In 2018, he appointed the company’s first chief diversity officer to accelerate its equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives.

“Adam’s vision and leadership have continually delivered shareholder value through forward-looking strategies that have transformed the company’s financial profile and positioned it for further growth and success,” said Kim Williams, board chair. “He is widely respected nationally as an accomplished media executive and a proponent of the First Amendment protections of free press and free speech, and he has fostered a mission-based, performance-focused and inclusive workplace culture. We appreciate Adam’s leadership, and we are pleased to be extending his tenure leading the company.”

Williams said the board and company’s approach to executive pay places a strong emphasis on variable compensation, in order to align management’s interest with those of its shareholders.