Newsy

E.W. Scripps, TVNewsCheck’s Station Group of the Year, has made a big gamble with Newsy, its national news network (rebranding as Scripps News on Jan. 1, 2023) that made the leap from a digital pureplay to an OTA-distributed service. Its nonpartisan, boots-on-the-ground reporting approach may offer a path back to consumer trust for TV news. Above, Alex Livingston on set. This is the third installment of a three-part series. Part one appeared Monday here and part two ran on Tuesday here.

The E.W. Scripps Co. said Thursday its Newsy brand would get a new name, Scripps News, under a newly formed national news division. Having just rebooted and widely expanded its distribution with OTA last October, is an overhaul in the offing once more for Newsy?

It will rebrand its Newsy network and combine it with the resources of the Scripps Washington Bureau and Local Media national news desk, to form a national news division.

Beginning Sept. 9 and continuing for nine weeks, Election 22: What Matters will focus on a different topic relevant to the elections, such as the economy, inflation, reproductive rights, health care and the state of democracy at large. Election 22: What Matters will air at 8:30 p.m. Fridays on Newsy, the 24/7 free over-the-air broadcast news network owned by E.W. Scripps Co.

Christian Bryant, host of Newsy’s In the Loop, explains how conversational writing, bringing one’s whole self to the job and a supportive, collaborative environment can bring new life and relevance to the anchor’s role in the newscast. This is the latest installment of How To, a TVNewsCheck original video series that solicits innovative, practical and actionable advice from TV experts in news, technology, sales and marketing. Earlier episodes: How To Animate A News Story, How To Sell Local OTT Advertising, How To Make A Better News Story Working Solo, How To Diversify Your Station’s Workforce (And Keep It That Way), How To Build A Newsletter Strategy and How To Run A Great Assignment Desk.

The veteran digital and news exec will be responsible for the overall digital and social media strategies for the E.W. Scripps news group.

Executives and on-air talent from Newsy, Hearst, Fox Owned Stations, Tegna and NBCUniversal Local say the proliferation of digital distribution channels has dramatically accelerated the shape of the news product. The upsides, they say, are many.

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with Eric Ludgood, head of E.W. Scripps-owned Newsy, which saw a major overhaul and expansion of its programming this week as it now reaches 90% of U.S. television homes with a significant OTA expansion.

The Scripps news network beefs up with 35 hires spread across Atlanta; Chicago; Dallas; Denver; Los Angeles; Missoula, Montana; Nashville, Tennessee; New York, Phoenix, Seattle, Tampa, Florida; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Washington, D.C.

The Scripps-owned news network’s programming expands to 17 hours of daily news with 14 bureaus covering the country.

While already available on nearly every major over-the-top and connected TV platform, Newsy also will launch over the air in roughly 90% of U.S. television homes — and in all major markets — on Oct. 1. It will be carried primarily over Scripps-owned broadcast stations’ spectrum as well as that of partner broadcasters.

Ethan Nelson has been appointed head of program development, and Christina Hartman has been appointed head of news standards, effective immediately.

The longtime CNN executive will be responsible for the overall leadership, editorial identity and programming for the nascent national news organization.

Kate O’Brian, E.W. Scripps’ newly-installed head of news for its national television networks, is overseeing Newsy’s HQ move to Atlanta and the addition of more than 55 new positions and nine new bureaus on the network’s trajectory to OTA distribution and a 24/7 news schedule. Note: This story is available to TVNewsCheck Premium members only. If you would like to upgrade your free TVNewsCheck membership to Premium now, you can visit your Member Home Page, available when you log in at the very top right corner of the site or in the Stay Connected Box that appears in the right column of virtually every page on the site. If you don’t see Member Home, you will need to click Log In or Subscribe.

Beginning Oct. 1, Newsy will be available over the air in at least 80% of U.S. television homes — and in all major markets — carried primarily by Scripps-owned Ion stations and select Scripps stations plus those of other station groups.

In this newly created role, the ABC News veteran will be responsible for the news and programming strategy for Scripps Networks’ news brands Newsy and Court TV.

After six years leading E.W. Scripps’ millennial-targeted news network, Blake Sabatinelli has left the company. He’ll be replaced by a yet-unnamed head of network news to oversee both Newsy and Court TV for Scripps.

In an election year when voting has never been more important — or more complex — E.W. Scripps has rolled out voter resource pages across its 42 markets aggregating local deadlines, rules and instructions, along with drawing from a well of Scripps and Newsy election coverage. Above, a Scripps voter resource page from Cincinnati, similar to ones found in each of the group’s 42 markets.

The Newsy channel will be available on Philo’s streaming TV service just in time for the highly-anticipated 2020 election.

Executives from Nexstar, Newsy, CBS Local Digital and Local Now will assess ad technology’s performance amid the pandemic’s growing streaming audience at TVNewsCheck’s virtual OTT News Summit on Sept. 24. Register here.

The RFK Journalism Grand Prize went to Newsy for its documentary, A Broken Trust. The Seigenthaler Prize, which recognizes reporting under difficult circumstances requiring great courage and commitment, was given to PBS’s Frontline / Channel 4 / ITN Productions for its film, For Sama.

As a digital-centric news organization, Newsy was better prepared than many to shift to remote working conditions. What’s changed is a tighter collaborative relationship with other E.W. Scripps-owned sister companies, including Court TV and TV stations.

He will lead and help build Scripps-owned Newsy’s newsgathering unit based out of Washington.

Adam Symson, president and CEO of The E.W. Scripps Co., says leading the company isn’t a quarter-to-quarter proposition, but rather about taking a decades-long view. From that vantage, he sees a growing marketplace for podcasts and multicasting, along with a deepening the OTT sales business and ATSC 3.0’s longer-term potential as crucial fronts to buttress the company’s core broadcast business.

Six years after acquiring the digital news upstart, E.W. Scripps is nudging Newsy closer to profitability and wider audiences. The largely millennial viewership sees Newsy’s “anti-partisan” approach as a balm to the louder polarities of its larger digital and cable peers.

With no common measurement data, OTT services are playing by multiple rule books, broadcast executives say at TVNewsCheck’s OTT News Summit.

Executives from leading local and national news players in the OTT space discuss their various options for packaging and presenting content on the platform. Also crucial is figuring out how best to differentiate one’s OTT service from the many competing options, overcoming a lack of viewing metrics and personalizing content for viewers.