Along with the sports investment comes an ION rebrand
The pitch deck notes that the majority of Scripps viewers watch live, with 95% of viewers watching live on linear TV and FAST viewing growing 93% in 2023.
Considering its live viewership, as well as its sports offerings, the company is rebranding ION as a sports, general entertainment and live events network.
In addition to its sports nights on Friday and Saturday, ION’s roster includes the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which airs across Scripps’ portfolio and has its 100th anniversary in 2025, as well as a bolstered lineup of drama offerings, with the newest seasons of Blue Bloods, NCIS, Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, FBI and others joining the fray later in the year.
“It was important for us to connect audiences with those powerful procedurals and sports,” Norris said. “We took a look at what ION stood for, and that’s when we came up with this community and connection theme for this year.”
The rebrand includes a new on-air look, with the branding reflected on ION Mystery, the company’s home for thrillers and docuseries, and its ION Plus FAST channel. Scripps will roll out an upcoming yearlong marketing campaign to drive awareness.
Successful multicultural audience track-record
Scripps’ upfront pitch deck also showcases the company’s multicultural reach, including its 46% multicultural audience. The company explains it has three of the top six networks for delivering African American audiences—ION at No.2, Grit at No.6 and Bounce, which Norris said was the fastest growth network in the category, at No. 3.
Looking to increase that audience, Bounce is launching a new show called Mind Your Business on June 1 and bringing its hit series Johnson back for Season 4 on Aug. 3.
An emphasis on brand safety, even in an election year
While several news networks showcase polarizing election coverage, the pitch deck notes that Scripps News received a perfect 10 rating from NewsGuard, scoring it as one of the lowest risks for advertisers and brands to be exposed to misinformation.
“When you think about the news and the way that we cover news, it is very much context-driven and fact-based news reporting,” Norris said. “I want marketers to be able to accurately distinguish between the polarizing opinion-based talking heads of the news ecosystem and what we bring to the table.”
