E.W. Scripps Co., publisher of 20 daily newspapers, will divide its holdings to create two publicly traded companies.
The company’s newspapers, which include the Cincinnati Post and the Knoxville News Sentinel, will be part of the E.W. Scripps Co. The company’s local television stations will join the newspapers in this first arm. E.W. Scripps Co., a publisher of 20 daily newspapers, will divide its holdings to create two publicly traded companies.
The company’s newspapers, which include the Cincinnati Post and the Knoxville News Sentinel, will be part of the E.W. Scripps Co. The company’s local television stations will join the newspapers in this first arm.
The second company created in the division will contain Home & Garden Television, Food Network and online shopping site Shopzilla. This company will be called Scripps Networks Interactive.
The division, enacted by a stock divided in Scripps Network Interactive, will be finalized in the second quarter of next year.
Ken Lowe, CEO of Scripps, will now act as president and CEO of Scripps Networks Interactive. The E.W. Scripps Co. will be under the supervision of COO Richard Boehne.
Scripps’ split echoes a move made earlier this month by Belo Co., which divided the company into a newspaper group and a group of television stations and Web sites.
Some analysts posit that the spin-offs are an attempt to shunt off newspapers in favor of the more lucrative interactive businesses. Shares of E.W. Scripps Co, based in Cincinnati, rose 8% with the announcement of the split.
