Scripps Ups Wolf And Gray To National TV Networks Posts

The E.W. Scripps Co. has appointed television industry veterans Jeffrey Wolf and Mark Gray to top leadership positions for its new national television networks business.

Both will report to Lisa Knutson, who Scripps previously announced will lead the newly combined businesses of Ion Media, the Katz networks and Newsy. Both appointments will be effective upon the close of Scripps’ acquisition of Ion Media.

Wolf, who currently runs distribution for the five Katz networks and Brown Sugar, will be responsible for overseeing national distribution for the new division’s television networks, including broadcast, cable, satellite, over-the-top and streaming. He will play a large part in the strategic planning and daily operations to manage and grow all seven networks’ nationwide coverage.

In the nearly 10 years Wolf has been with Katz, he has helped to grow the networks’ reach to between 90%-97% of U.S. households. Before joining Katz, Wolf spent nearly two decades in ascending sales positions at Sony Pictures Television, ultimately directing and managing all domestic syndication sales operations for the division.

Gray, currently head of network operations for Katz, will oversee network and station operations for the new networks business. He has led network and business operations for the five Katz networks for nearly five years and has helped build high-quality systems and processes to enable the smooth delivery of content through over-the-air, cable and subscription video on demand (SVOD) as well as other delivery systems.

Gray’s nearly 40-year broadcast television career spans technical operations and production, programming, creative services, station management and more.