Scripps Already Cutting Dozens of Jobs, Exiting Radio

E.W. Scripps Co. is streamlining its operations in a move that has already caused the reduction of dozens of jobs and will lead to many more job cuts across the company.

Downtown Cincinnati-based TV, radio and digital media operator Scripps said it will cut jobs, sell its 34 radio stations and restructure some operations in moves that it expects to save it more than $30 million a year.

According to the Cincinnati Business Courier, Scripps plans to use some of the proceeds, particularly from the sale of the radio stations, to acquire TV stations. In an interview, CEO Adam Syms last month said Scripps plans to add TV stations to its portfolio of 33 stations.

It’ll also invest some of the cost savings in expanding its national digital media businesses, such as news operation Newsy and podcast company Midroll.

Scripps has about 400 employees in its radio business.  It took restructuring charges of $2.4 million in the third quarter and $2 million in the fourth quarter because of those cuts.

Scripps expects to generate the $30 million in yearly cost savings through job cuts and reduced operating expenses over the next 12 to 18 months. It plans to save costs by centralizing some services and technology, sharing resources and eliminating redundant positions and services.

Scripps opted to sell its radio stations because they’re not part of Scripps’ core operations, Micheli said. It’s also difficult to operate such a small group of stations efficiently. Larger groups with hundreds of stations achieve economies of scale by consolidating sales and content. And the radio business has been disrupted by Pandora and other online music services.

Scripps acquired the 34 radio stations in the 2015 merger it completed with Milwaukee-based Journal Communications. That deal resulted in Scripps swapping its newspaper operation for Journal’s TV and radio stations. Before that deal, Scripps hadn’t owned radio stations since the early 1990s.