The E. W. Scripps Company has confirmed layoffs at a handful of its local television stations across the country, a move the company said was necessary due to changes in the media landscape.
On Monday, an anonymous Scripps employee wrote in a social media post that the broadcaster had notified managers at many of its local TV stations about plans to issue a handful of pink slips and to not fill vacancies at many of its operations.
By Tuesday afternoon, a Scripps spokesperson confirmed the layoffs to The Desk, noting there were “some position eliminations across about a dozen Scripps stations.” The spokesperson did not say which stations were impacted.
“The media industry is in a state of continued disruption and, while difficult, these changes are part of Scripps’ ongoing commitment to adapt through this disruption and ensure we can continue providing our communities with essential services well into the future,” the spokesperson said.
The changes come nearly a week after Scripps delayed the release of its fourth quarter (Q4) and full-year financial earnings report, which was expected last Thursday. The company said the delay was necessary because it continued to work with some creditors about restructuring certain debt. The company will release its financial earnings report in mid-March.
Last year, Scripps laid off around 250 employees and contractors at its national news channel Scripps News. After the layoffs were finished, Scripps News ended its over-the-air broadcast and reverted to a streaming-only channel with a much smaller team of journalists and behind-the-scenes workers.
The business of local TV has been challenged in recent years as broadcasters grapple with a downturn in the traditional advertising market and lower distribution fee revenues brought on by higher cable and satellite TV churn. Other broadcasters, including Gray Media, Sinclair, Paramount, Allen Media, NBC Universal and Disney, have laid off employees in order to address specific revenue woes.
At the same time, various lobbying groups representing the interests of commercial broadcasters have pushed federal agencies to refresh various regulations with the goal of bringing greater parity between traditional TV companies and larger technology firms, many of whom operate their own streaming products.
In early February, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) urging the agency to remove a national ownership cap that limits the reach of individual broadcasters to no more than 39 percent of the American television audience. The NAB argued the cap inhibits broadcasters from scaling similarly to tech firms, which are largely unregulated, and allowing broadcasters to grow and combine would lead to greater investments in local news.
Two years ago, several independent broadcasters banded together to form the Coalition for Local News, which urged the FCC to regulate streaming cable TV alternatives under the same rules that apply to cable and satellite TV platforms. If the plan proceeds, streaming services would be required to negotiate carriage of local TV stations and their programming directly with station owners, rather than with the TV networks or another party. Advocates say the changes will allow for greater investments in local news, while opponents claim the reclassification would lead to programming blackouts and higher subscriber bills.
