How Do You Get Your News?

Four quick questions to reveal what the media industry's transformation means for you personally.

Do you still pay for a traditional cable or satellite TV package?

• Yes, full cable/satellite — You're in a shrinking group. Cable TV lost roughly 4–5 million subscribers last year alone. Broadcasters like Scripps are rebuilding their model partly because of this trend.
• Streaming only (Netflix, Hulu, etc.) — You're the viewer every broadcaster is chasing. Free ad-supported networks like Scripps News are built specifically for people like you — no subscription required.
• Over-the-air antenna — You're ahead of the curve. Free over-the-air TV is experiencing a quiet renaissance, and Scripps News broadcasts on 60+ OTA channels nationwide.
• Mostly social media and online — You're not alone — but local broadcasters worry about reaching you. Scripps and competitors are racing to meet digital-first audiences where they already are.

How important is local TV news to you?

• Essential — I watch it daily — Daily local news viewers are the core audience Scripps stations depend on. Your viewership directly supports advertising revenue that funds the newsroom.
• Somewhat important — a few times a week — Occasional viewers like you represent a huge opportunity for broadcasters — but also a challenge. Habit-building is one of the biggest struggles local stations face.
• Rarely — I get news elsewhere — This shift away from local TV news is exactly the financial pressure driving Scripps' transformation. Finding viewers like you — digitally — is now a survival strategy.
• I don't watch local news at all — You represent the industry's biggest challenge. Local journalists covering your city council, schools, and emergencies depend on an audience to exist. No viewers, no newsroom.

Did you know you can watch a 24/7 national news network completely free — no subscription, no login?

• Yes, I already use free streaming news — Scripps News, Tubi News, and others are part of the fast-growing FAST (Free Ad-Supported Television) category — one of the few bright spots in broadcast media right now.
• I knew it existed but haven't tried it — Scripps News is available on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Samsung TV Plus, and 60+ over-the-air channels. No account required.
• No — I had no idea — You're not alone. One of the media industry's biggest challenges is awareness: millions of Americans don't realize free, professional news streaming exists.

Who do you think should fund local journalism?

• Advertisers (keep it free to viewers) — The traditional broadcast model — and still the dominant one. But automotive, retail, and political ad revenue are all volatile, as Scripps has learned firsthand.
• Subscribers (pay for quality) — The New York Times model. Works for national outlets with scale, but most local markets can't support paywalls — audiences are too small and too price-sensitive.
• Nonprofits and foundations — A growing movement. Scripps itself supports journalism through the Scripps Howard Fund, which funds scholarships and education programs tied to the company's 130-year legacy.
• Government or public funding — The PBS/NPR model. Controversial in today's political environment, but public media remains one of the most trusted news sources in the country.

For more than a century, local television was a reliable money machine. Viewers tuned in at 6 and 11. Advertisers paid premium rates to reach them. Local stations hired reporters, photographers, and editors who covered city hall, school boards, and neighborhood emergencies that national networks would never touch.

That model is cracking. Not breaking overnight — but cracking in ways that are forcing every major broadcaster, including Scripps, to make bets that would have seemed radical just five years ago.

How the Broadcast Business Has Changed

The Old Model (Pre-2020)

• Cable Dominant Distribution Guaranteed carriage fees + advertising
• Automotive Top Ad Category Dealerships spent heavily on local TV
• Stable Revenue Outlook Predictable political + local ad cycles
• Viewers watched on schedules, not on demand

The New Reality (2025)

• Streaming Dominant Distribution FAST platforms, OTA, apps — no carriage fees
• Digital Top Ad Category Google and Meta now capture most local ad dollars
• Volatile Revenue Outlook $2.9B in debt demands urgent cost discipline
• Viewers expect free, on-demand, everywhere access

Adam Symson, who became Scripps CEO in 2017, made a defining call: bet on over-the-air broadcasting as cord-cutting accelerated. The company acquired dozens of local television stations from Nexstar, Ion Media, and others — a consolidation play that gave Scripps enormous reach but also saddled it with approximately $2.9 billion in long-term debt.

The logic was sound: if millions of Americans were abandoning cable, they still needed somewhere to go for live, local news. Over-the-air antennas — free, legal, and remarkably high-quality — were the answer. Scripps wanted to own that audience.

The transformation of the media landscape is real, and every traditional broadcaster is being asked to reinvent themselves simultaneously. Scripps has made bold bets — but the debt burden creates urgency around execution.Media Industry Analyst

Scripps' Transformation Timeline

• 1878 — Edward Willis Scripps founds the first Scripps newspaper, beginning a journalism legacy
• 2017 — Adam Symson becomes President & CEO, begins strategic repositioning
• 2019–2021 — Aggressive acquisition of local TV stations from Nexstar, Ion Media, and others
• 2021 — Scripps stock peaks above $20/share on Nasdaq (ticker: SSP)
• Sept. 2022 — Newsy rebranded as Scripps News — a 24/7 free national news network launches
• 2024 — Stock faces significant pressure; debt scrutiny intensifies; workforce reductions at several properties
• 2025 — Leadership team navigates $2.9B debt load while expanding streaming reach across 60+ OTA channels

The crown jewel of that streaming bet is Scripps News — the national network that replaced the Newsy brand in September 2022. Built for cord-cutters and antenna users, it's available on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Samsung TV Plus, among others. No subscription. No login. No cost to viewers.

It's a direct play for the growing Free Ad-Supported Television market — a category that barely existed five years ago but now attracts tens of millions of viewers monthly. The theory: if you can aggregate a large enough audience watching free TV, advertisers will follow.

Free Streaming News: How Scripps Stacks Up

Behind the business strategy sits something older and harder to quantify: a 130-year legacy of journalism in the public interest. The Scripps Howard Fund — the company's charitable foundation — supports journalism scholarships, education programs, and community initiatives in markets where Scripps operates.

It's a reminder that for all the debt restructuring and platform pivots, this is a company whose founder, Edward Willis Scripps, believed that a free press was essential to a functioning democracy. Whether that mission survives the current financial pressure is the question hanging over every decision the leadership team makes.

The Scripps Company by the Numbers

• 61 — TV Stations Owned
• 41 — Markets Served
• $2.9B — Long-Term Debt
• 36M — Households Reached
• 2017 — Symson Became CEO
• 130+ — Years of Journalism

What's True About the Local News Crisis

Local TV news is dying and will disappear within a decade.

Verdict: mostly false

Local TV is under severe pressure — but 'dying' overstates it. Scripps alone reaches 36 million households and is actively investing in free streaming distribution. The business model is changing, not disappearing.

You need a cable subscription to watch quality news in 2025.

Verdict: false

Scripps News, PBS NewsHour, ABC News Live, and dozens of other professional news networks are available entirely free via streaming apps or over-the-air antennas. No subscription required.

Scripps' debt load is a serious threat to its newsrooms.

Verdict: true

Approximately $2.9 billion in long-term debt has drawn scrutiny from investors and rating agencies. The company has already made workforce reductions. Financial pressure on a media company directly affects the journalists and communities it serves.

Cord-cutting is slowing down and cable will stabilize.

Verdict: false

The industry has consistently lost 4 to 5 million cable and satellite subscribers annually. There is no credible forecast showing this trend reversing — which is precisely why Scripps and its peers are restructuring aggressively.

How to Support Local Journalism in Your Community

1. Get a free antenna — A $25–$40 indoor antenna gives you access to Scripps News and local broadcast stations in HD — no monthly fees, ever.
2. Add free streaming news apps — Download Scripps News on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, or Samsung TV Plus. It's free, and your viewership generates ad revenue that funds journalists.
3. Engage with your local Scripps station — Local stations in Scripps' 41 markets have digital platforms and apps. Comments, shares, and tips help newsrooms understand what communities actually need covered.
4. Support journalism education — The Scripps Howard Fund funds the next generation of local journalists. Visit scripps.com to learn about scholarships and education programs in your area.
5. Stay informed on company developments — Scripps trades publicly on Nasdaq (SSP). Their investor relations page at scripps.com publishes financial updates that directly affect the newsrooms serving your city.

The FAST TV Revolution — What It Actually Means

FAST stands for Free Ad-Supported Television — a distribution model that lets viewers watch live and on-demand content at no cost, funded by advertising running during programming. Think of it like old-fashioned broadcast TV, but delivered over the internet.

Platforms like Pluto TV, Tubi, and Peacock's free tier pioneered the model. Now traditional broadcasters like Scripps are building their own FAST presence, recognizing that the audience that left cable didn't stop watching TV — they just stopped paying for it.

The business challenge is real: FAST advertising rates are lower than traditional cable CPMs (cost per thousand viewers). But the reach is enormous and growing. For a company like Scripps, betting on FAST is essentially betting that scale compensates for lower per-viewer economics — and that the audience only gets bigger from here.

Watch Scripps News — Free, Right Now

• Stream on Any Device: Scripps News is live 24/7 on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Samsung TV Plus. Download the app and start watching immediately.
• Find Your Local OTA Channel: Over 60 over-the-air channels nationwide carry Scripps News in HD. A basic indoor antenna is all you need.
• Support Journalism Education: The Scripps Howard Fund has invested in journalism education and community programs for decades — tied to a 130-year legacy of public interest journalism.
• Follow the Financial Story: Scripps trades on Nasdaq under SSP. Investor relations updates at scripps.com track how leadership is managing the company's debt and transformation.

Sources & References

• Primary source: scripps.com
• The E.W. Scripps Company — Investor Relations — Long-term debt figures, station count, market reach, and Nasdaq trading data (ticker: SSP)
• Leichtman Research Group — Annual cord-cutting rate estimates (4–5 million cable/satellite subscriber losses per year)
• Scripps Howard Fund — Journalism education programs, scholarships, and the company's 130-year public interest mission
• Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism — Free Ad-Supported Television (FAST) platform growth trends and viewer migration patterns