Key Points
- Dozens of Court TV staff received layoff notices after Scripps sold the network to Jellysmack, with the linear channel transitioning in mid-March.
- Affected employees say they will separate from Scripps on April 10, following a handoff of Court TV to Law&Crime and Jellysmack.
- The sale supports Scripps’ debt-reduction strategy, though some staff dispute claims the Court TV brand will remain operationally distinct.
Dozens of producers, editors and other employees assigned to the E. W. Scripps Company’s legal network Court TV received layoff notices this week after the broadcaster sold the brand to Law&Crime owner Jellysmack, The Desk has learned.
The layoffs come as Scripps and Jellysmack prepare to transition Court TV’s linear television network, with affected employees initially told the channel would relaunch as a digital-only brand, multiple sources confirmed between Monday evening and Tuesday afternoon.
Affected workers began receiving layoff notices on Monday, with a planned separation date of April 10, according to two employees who received them. The notices explained that Court TV plans to shut off its linear TV feed on March 11, which will allow employees to undergo a wind-down period before their positions are eliminated on April 10, the sources said.
Some workers were told they will be offered the opportunity to apply for positions at other Scripps business units, including Scripps News and the company’s local TV stations, between March and April, though the majority of employees who received layoff notices are expected to leave the company.
The precise number of affected workers could not be determined by Tuesday evening.
A Scripps spokesperson did not initially return a request for comment and further information. On Wednesday, hours after this story was posted, Scripps and Jellysmack began pushing back on the winding down of Court TV, saying the network will not shut down and will continue to be distributed across different platforms with live coverage of court proceedings.
“To be really clear, with the acquisition of Court TV by Law&Crime Network, we are keeping the great Court TV network, keeping live courtroom programming and maintaining — and even expanding — its distribution,” Law&Crime founder Dan Abrams wrote on social media. “These will now be two distinct brands.”
Rachel Stockman, the President of Law&Crime, was also caught off guard by the report that Court TV was shutting down, according to a senior media executive who spoke with The Desk on Wednesday. The executive, who asked to remain anonymous, did not dispute that layoffs were occurring or that the Court TV brand would change from its current form.
Adam Symson, the CEO of Scripps, earlier claimed Court TV and Law&Crime would remain distinct entities, but at least one affected employee challenged this notion in an encrypted e-mail sent to The Desk late Tuesday evening.
“The ‘Court TV remains a distinctive brand/hub’ narrative is marketing,” the staffer said. “The operational capabilities that make Court TV unique — live, gavel-to-gavel coverage produced by an experienced newsroom — is being broken apart.”
The worker declined to be named because of a non-disparagement clause in agreements that allow laid-off employees to remain with the company in paid positions between now and mid-April. The non-disparagement clause says Scripps can seek repayment and legal fees if workers speak out about the matter, according to two workers who received the offers.
Scripps acquired the Court TV brand and its related intellectual property from Warner Bros Discovery (then WarnerMedia) in 2019, relaunching the channel into a 24-hour legal news and analysis network.
The surprise sale of Court TV on Monday came amid a broader effort at Scripps to part with certain media-related assets deemed non-essential to the company’s long-term success as the broadcaster works to pay down billions of dollars in debt associated with its acquisition of Katz Broadcasting and Ion Television.
“This move is consistent with the way Scripps has operated for nearly a century and a half: We identify where consumer behavior is headed, build and grow businesses that meet those evolving interests and make strategic decisions about how we unlock their greatest value – whether in our portfolio or through exits that strengthen our balance sheet and position us for the future,” Symson said on Monday.
—
Editor’s note: Hours after publication, officials at Scripps and Jellysmack offered clarifying statements that contradicted information provided by laid-off workers at present-day Court TV. Dan Abrams, the founder of Law&Crime Network, also issued a public statement on the report.
