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THE E.W. SCRIPPS COMPANY | |||
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• | Restructuring and reorganizing our businesses according to the markets they serve, bolstering the performance of our broadcast television station portfolio in our Local Media segment, and in our National Media segment, appropriately cultivating our fast-growing businesses; |
• | Streamlining our Local Media segment and corporate cost structures to yield more than $30 million in annual savings, enhancing broadcast cash flow; |
• | Strengthening our broadcast television portfolio through a buy-sell-swap station acquisition strategy that takes advantage of ownership regulation changes and allows us to assemble the best-performing portfolio possible; in the last five years we’ve added TV stations in a number of lucrative markets, including Nashville, Denver and Las Vegas; |
• | Pursuing a sale of our radio business to further optimize our asset portfolio and allow us to focus on our core businesses, and; |
• | Investing in our national brands to fully capture the potential in our National Media business, which we see as a long-term growth engine with significant opportunity for value creation. |
• | In the Local Media segment, we anticipate margin and broadcast cash flow growth fueled by retransmission revenue and political advertising in 2018. We expect retransmission revenue to see growth in the mid-teens, and our television stations are well-positioned to play a leading role in the advertising spend associated with the 2018 elections. |
• | Our National Media brands are continuing to gain scale and profitability and are well-positioned for margin expansion and long-term growth. |
◦ | We are attracting national advertising revenue, and our National Media segment saw its first profitable quarter in Q4 2017. |
◦ | Newsy grew revenue well over 100 percent in 2017 and finished the year with contracts covering carriage into 26 million cable households, significantly broadening its distribution. By the end of 2018, we expect Newsy to reach 40 million subscribers, and we expect a similar rate of revenue growth. |
◦ | Our fast-growing Katz networks, acquired in October 2017, are capitalizing on the resurgence of over-the-air viewership and their 90 percent national household reach. We intend to continue to expand |
◦ | Midroll, a leader in podcasts, achieved 30 percent revenue growth in 2017. Midroll has recently formed content partnerships with the NFL, Oprah Winfrey Network and Marvel Studios. Going forward, we plan to expand our leadership position in the podcast industry by strengthening our presence along the entire podcast supply chain (content creation, monetization and distribution to the listener). We expect revenue growth for 2018 to continue at a similar pace to 2017. |
• | Lauren R. Fine: Formerly one of Merrill Lynch’s longest-tenured analysts, Ms. Fine covered the media industry for more than two decades as a sell-side analyst. During that time, she earned a reputation as an out-spoken authority on the media and news industry. Institutional Investor magazine named her to its All-America Research Team from 1994 to 2007 and as the #1 media analyst for eleven of those years. Currently a Partner at wealth management firm Gries Financial LLC., Ms. Fine provides a strong shareholder’s viewpoint to the Board. |
• | Roger L. Ogden: Mr. Ogden is a leader in the strategy development and operation of broadcast television stations. During his tenure as President and CEO of Gannett Broadcasting, Mr. Ogden also led strategy related to digital platforms and mobile technologies. While at Gannett, he was named Broadcaster of the Year by Broadcasting & Cable Magazine. Today he is president of Krystal Broadcasting, a radio broadcasting company. He has served on the Scripps board since 2008. |
• | Kim Williams: Having spent 26 years at Wellington Management, Ms. Williams brings to the Board a shareholder’s perspective and a thorough understanding of how companies in and beyond the media industry shape their operational profile, enhancing value for shareholders. During her career at Wellington, Institutional Investor magazine repeatedly recognized Ms. Williams as a "Best of the Buy Side" analyst. While at Wellington, she was responsible for managing $1 billion in client assets. She is a director on the boards of public companies, including Weyerhaueser Company and Xcel Energy, Inc., and has been a director on the Scripps Board since 2008. |
(1) | Net leverage defined as the ratio of the company’s net debt to a two-year average of its EBITDA, to account for political advertising revenue in election years |
(2) | Liquidity defined as revolver availability, plus cash, less outstanding letters of credit |
(3) | Figures as of 12/31/2017 |
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