Updated at 2:40pm Eastern
It started off as a Generation Z and Millennial-focused news and information offering distributed strictly in the “over the top” (OTT) space. Then, it morphed into a MVPD-distributed cable channel.
Now, Newsy is headed to free-to-air television as a “DigiNet,” come this autumn.
In a major shift that is likely tied to its acquisition of the former ION Media, the E.W. Scripps Co. has set October 1 as the launch date for Newsy’s evolution as a digital multicast network.
The reason is crystal clear for Scripps: While getting cable subscribers to watch Newsy was a plan of action, the company is now positioning Newsy as an option — like its wildly popular Court TV reboot — “serving the free, growing [over-the-air] market of cord-cutting self-bundlers.”
Without noting its cable TV distribution, Scripps says Newsy’s forthcoming free-to-air distribution makes it the “only” American news television network with “ubiquitous” OTT and OTA distribution. NewsNet, another DigiNet using OTT delivery to reach markets where it has no broadcast presence, is already in this space.
When Newsy launches as a diginet, it will be found in “at least” 80% of U.S. television homes – and in all major markets. That’s because it will be carried primarily by Scripps-owned ION stations and “select” Scripps local television stations and those of other station groups, which were not immediately disclosed.
Scripps Networks President Lisa Knutson also made it clear that Newsy’s MVPD presence is being abandoned.
“As TV viewers ‘self-bundle’ by combining free television with subscription video-on-demand services, Newsy will build on its successes in OTT by joining the other Scripps Networks in the over the air marketplace to bring these viewers high-quality, free news programming,” she said in prepared comments.
In September 2017, Scripps agreed to spend up to $23 million to acquire the carriage contracts of the Retirement Living Television (RLTV) cable network. The plan was simple: to replace it with Scripps’ millennial-targeted Newsy.
At the time, Scripps President/CEO Adam Symson said, “Newsy has already made a name for itself among millennial news consumers who rely on over-the-top television. Now we’ll be reaching Americans with cable and satellite service who are looking for a fresh approach to news coverage. This expanded reach for our advertising business alongside carriage fees furthers our strategy to develop Newsy as a prominent multi-platform news network with dual revenue streams.”
Asked for comment, a Scripps spokesperson tells RBR+TVBR that an end date for cable TV distribution of Newsy has been set. It is four months before Newsy debuts as a free-to-air digiNet.
“The MVPDs have exclusivity agreements in their cable contracts, so we cannot distribute Newsy on both cable and OTA,” the Scripps spokesperson said. “We have told our cable distributors that we will be ending Newsy carriage with them as of June 30.
The push to reach viewers outside of being “only” a OTT offering was a point of concern some 3 1/2 years ago, and early into Newsy’s launch. In November 2015, RBR+TVBR reported on the health of Newsy since its January 2014 launch. The key takeaway: growth was slower than anticipated, but those were early days for OTT. And, the evolution of the over-the-top television market created a distribution platform on which Newsy gained “significant momentum.”
Indeed, the Scripps spokesperson noted that Newsy’s revenue growth “was coming almost entirely from its OTT distribution.” As such, Scripps does not expect material revenue loss. “In fact, this move is very positive for Newsy’s financials,” the Scripps representative said.
First, Scripps has decided to co-locate Scripps’ operations with Katz in Atlanta, which saves expense. “We’ll lose virtually no revenue from cable and will not pick up new expense,” the company representative said, adding that Scripps does not pay MVPDs for Newsy carriage.
Now, with ION diginets in the mix, that strategy has clearly changed for Scripps. So has its syndicated programming philosophy, with Pickler & Ben getting a much-heralded September 2017 debut in 38 markets. Hosted by country music star Kellie Pickler and Emmy-winning television personality Ben Aaron, the talk show concluded after 261 episodes, in March 2019. The reason: clearance in top markets on stations not owned by Scripps.
Newsy will join True Real (formerly Doozy) and Defy TV as three new digital multicast networks offered by Scripps. And, it will remain accessible via OTT delivery on such platforms as Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Google Chromecast; and via services including Pluto TV, Xumo, Samsung TV+ and Vizio WatchFree.
“We made this shift because we believe so much in the young, growing over the air marketplace,” the Scripps spokesperson said. “Newsy will be our ninth national OTA network – including the two that launch July 1, True Real and Defy TV. And, we still very much consider Newsy to be a multiplatform brand, and in deciding where Newsy would have the most success, over-the-air and OTT are the growth marketplaces.”
Newsy, Court TV, ION, Bounce, Laff, Grit, Court TV Mystery and the forthcoming Defy TV and TrueReal make up the Scripps Networks portfolio.
