| Type | Public (NYSE: SNI) S&P 500 Component |
|---|---|
| Industry | Cable Television Interactive Media |
| Founded | July 1, 2008 |
| Headquarters | Knoxville, Tennessee, USA |
| Key people | Kenneth W. Lowe (Chairman & CEO) John Lansing (President & COO) |
| Employees | 2,000 |
| Website | http://www.scrippsnetworks.com |
Scripps Networks Interactive (NYSE: SNI) is an American media company formed on July 1, 2008 as a spin out of the E.W. Scripps Company[1]. Since launching HGTV in 1994, Scripps has become a leader in lifestyle media, developing relevant content for television, the Internet satellite radio, books, magazines, and on emerging media platforms. In addition to HGTV, its lifestyle media brands include Food Network, DIY Network, Cooking Channel, Travel Channel and Great American Country (GAC).
Scripps is headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee. On February 8, 2011, the company's headquarters facility was awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification, established by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI).
The company has additional office locations in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, Nashville and San Francisco.
Scripps' Chairman, President and CEO is Kenneth W. Lowe, who founded HGTV in 1994.
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Scripps Networks Interactive’s roots began with the E.W. Scripps Company in 1993. The company had announced that year the launch of a 24-hour cable network in the fall of 1994. On December 30, 1994 HGTV went on the air to 6.5 million homes in 50 markets.
In 1995, the official grand opening for HGTV’s new headquarters in Knoxville, Tenn. took place. The network reached into 10 million homes on November 1 of that year, launched in Canada and online with HGTV.com in 1996, and hit the 25 million subscriber mark in 1997.
Also in 1997, Scripps added its second network with the acquisition of Food Network. The year also saw HGTV execute its first HGTV Dream Home Giveaway, which received more than 1.2 million entries from across the country. By 2011, the number of entries had grown to nearly 80 million.[2]
In 1999 Scripps launched DIY Network, described as the "go-to destination for rip-up, knock-out home improvement television." With three brands now under the Scripps umbrella, a $12 million addition was made to the company’s headquarters in Knoxville to provide the infrastructure and technology to support the networks’ continuing growth.
This growth continued well into the new millennium. Both HGTV (in November 2002) and Food Network (in September 2003) reached full distribution with 80 million subscribers apiece, while Food Network followed HGTV’s footprint into Canada by launching Food Network Canada at the end of 2002.
The first half of the decade also saw Scripps add its fourth and fifth networks to its mix, Fine Living Network (2002) and Great American Country (GAC-2004). A few months after the GAC acquisition, Scripps announced the move of the network’s headquarters from Denver, Colorado to Nashville, Tennessee.
In 2008, Scripps Networks Interactive split from the E.W. Scripps Company and received its own listing on the NYSE as tickert symbol SNI. The year also saw GAC reach 50 million subscribers, with DIY Network reaching the 50 million subscriber mark in 2009.
Scripps acquired a majoritiy interest in the Travel Channel from Cox Communications for a reported $975 million [3]in late 2009, and the following year rebranded Fine Living Network as Cooking Channel.
In April 2011, Scripps announced the purchase of Shopzilla for $165 million. Scripps, from within its Travel Channel unit also invested in Oyster.com -- a hotel research and booking site.[4]
On 15 August 2011, Virgin Media agreed to sell its 50% stake UKTV to Scripps Networks Interactive in a deal worth £339m. Scripps paid £239m in cash, and about £100m to acquire the outstanding preferred stock and debt owed by UKTV to Virgin Media.[5] Completion of the transaction was contingent on regulatory approvals in Ireland and Jersey, which as received on 3 October 2011.[6] Related to the transaction, Scripps Networks Interactive and BBC Worldwide are negotiating an agreement whereby, after completion, BBC Worldwide would have the option, via a combination of cash and a package of digital rights for UKTV, to increase its shareholding from 50 percent to a maximum of 60 percent. Scripps Networks Interactive’s existing voting rights and Board representation would be unaffected by this proposed arrangement, which would be subject to BBC Executive and BBC Trust approvals.
After years of distributing its lifestyle programming to more than 170 countries on every continent around the globe, Scripps Networks Interactive turned an eye toward renewed global expansion. The company aims to take greater advantage of the new wave of media growth that is occurring today in the international marketplace, as many countries rebuild their telecommunications infrastructures. The rise of Asia and other emerging economies offers remarkable opportunities to create culturally relevant lifestyle networks in many places around the world.
In January 2009, the company tapped industry veteran Greg Moyer[7] to lead the revitalized international division. As chief creative officer of Scripps Networks International, Moyer guides global business opportunities and takes advantage of untapped promise on the international front. Moyer seeks to exploit Scripps' quality content beyond third-party sales to broadcasters as joint ventures or wholly owned operations.
Taking advantage of this key growth opportunity, Scripps has launched Food Network Asia, distributed through MEASAT Satellite Systems and Ascent Media, as well as Food Network Africa. The company also launched Food Network in Europe and the Middle East through a joint venture with Chello Zone. Scripps' brands collectively are available in more than 170 countries and territories on all seven continents. They also are distributed to more than 1,000 outlets on U.S. military bases and U.S. embassies around the world via the American Forces Network.
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