12:45 PM EDT, 09/27/2024 (MT Newswires) -- EW Scripps (SSP) is set to eliminate more than 200 jobs and scale back its national news programming amid a difficult linear television advertising marketplace, Chief Executive Adam Symson said in a memo to employees Friday.
Scripps News will stop its 24-hour broadcast over the air after Nov. 15 but will continue on streaming and digital platforms with weekday live coverage. A core reporting team will remain in Washington, DC to support local stations, according to the memo seen by MT Newswires.
Symson said that while Scripps News' linear television audience increased in the last two years, prospects for revenue growth did not materialize.
"Amidst an already difficult linear television advertising marketplace, many brands and agencies have decided that advertising around national news is just too risky for them given the polarized nature of this country, no matter the accolades and credentials a new organization like Scripps receives for its objectivity," Symson said in the memo.
Scripps News won on Sept. 25 a national news Emmy Award for its investigation of the Flint, Michigan, water crisis.
Shares of EW Scripps rose nearly 25% in recent trading.
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