Despite being both a broadcaster and a publisher, The E.W. Scripps Co.
executives aren't expecting to pounce if the Federal Communications Commission
relaxes TV-newspaper cross-ownership rules.
Speaking at Bear Stearns & Co.'s annual media-investor conference in Boca
Raton, Fla., executive vice president Rich Boehne said the company had done a
lot of work studying how it might buy stations in markets where it owns
newspapers or newspapers where it owns stations.
'Clearly, there's a lot of value there, but it's not easily defined,' Boehne
said. 'We have a pretty sober approach. If a frenzy gets going, we will be
pretty cautions in how we're putting these things together.'
CEO Ken Lowe said the company is not particularly interested in selling its
TV stations, which reach about 10 percent of all TV households. He noted that
they've been handy in cross-promoting Scripps' cable networks, including Home
& Garden Television and Food Network.
Lowe added that he is contemplating localized versions of the cable networks,
which operators would be able to pull from video servers rather than satellite
feeds.
The first tests are in Knoxville, Tenn., where the network group is based and
where Scripps owns the local newspaper.
