Nine Scripps stations have signed up to affiliate with ABC's Live Well Network, a digital "home, health and lifestyle" channel that's programmed by the ABC-owned stations.
The Scripps stations included in the new agreement are ABC affiliates in Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Phoenix, Tampa and Baltimore, and NBC affiliates in Kansas City, West Palm Beach and Tulsa.
Not part of the deal is Scripps' independent KMCI Lawrence (KS).
"Scripps creates vibrant, multiplatform marketplaces for advertisers by delivering large and engaged audiences that are attracted to our high-quality programming," said Brian Lawlor, senior vice president of the Scripps television division. "Live Well Network reinforces our commitment to meaningful content with its compelling array of original TV series about beauty, fashion, health, home, personal finance and other lifestyle topics."
The Scripps batch joins 16 other affiliates of Live Well: eight ABC-owned, five Belo stations, two from Lilly Broadcasting and one from LKK Group. The announcement extends Live Well Network's reach to 40% of U.S. television households, said ABC in a statement.
ABC said Live Well "expects additional affiliation agreements to be announced shortly."
The deal with Belo, involving five stations, was announced in September.
Rebecca Campbell, president of the ABC Owned Television Stations Group, said the Scripps pact gives Live Well considerable momentum. "We look forward to working closely with these community-spirited stations committed to providing top quality programming that is attractive to local advertisers," she said.
