After signing its first sports partnership agreement with the Women’s National Basketball Association (WBNA) last week, Scripps CEO Adam Symson is “ready to deal” with Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. He aims to bring a new model to the sports marketplace to the benefit of both teams and their fans.
“If we found another league that was the right fit and intersected so well with the demographics that we have on ION, there’s room for more. But we’re not looking for partnerships with any sports. Clearly, the WNBA is a premier league and that’s what we set out to do was make partnerships with premier partners of the highest kind,” Scripps CEO Adam Symson said in an interview with Broadcasting+Cable.
This is great timing for the MLB to join Scripps Sports, as the league is looking to other networks since Bally Sports RSNs entered bankruptcy and ceased payments to several teams. When the MLB teams get their rights back, the legue is primed for success as Scripps already has local stations in many of the cities with teams in need of a new network with high viewership.
According to PR Newswire, Scripps launched the Scripps Sports division shortly after acquiring ION Media Network in 2021 “to further leverage its local market depth and national broadcast reach for partnerships with sports leagues, conferences and teams.”
With the addition of ION, Scripps Sports plan to launch a network primed for success with a more expansive reach to all sports fans. Already, the network reaches millions of households across the United States through both cable and streaming platforms. Adding more leagues to their portfolio along with regional games is likely to entice many viewers to catch their favorite teams on Scripps Sports.
There are currently no details into the potential upcoming agreement, so check back with Cord Cutters News for future updates.