Scripps

Scripps Pivots to 24/7 Local Streaming, Cuts 268 Jobs

The E.W. Scripps Company will cut 268 positions and restructure its local news operations to prioritize continuous 24/7 local streaming. The company plans to launch nonstop local news streams in roughly a dozen smaller markets before expanding across its station group, while maintaining linear broadcasts for traditional viewers. Non-local digital work will be centralized into hub teams, and Scripps will accelerate use of internal AI and automation to streamline production workflows. Leadership will provide further details on the upcoming quarterly earnings call and an all-employee town hall on August 7, 2026. The strategy aims to reduce duplicated effort, reallocate resources to field reporting, and adapt to shifting audience habits toward streaming and social platforms.

Universal Ads Adds Audience and Mobile Measurement Partners

Universal Ads announced two new partner categories in its Business Partners Program: Audience Partners and Mobile Measurement Partners. Inaugural Audience partners include Klaviyo, LiveRamp, and TransUnion; Mobile Measurement Partners integrated directly are Adjust, AppsFlyer, Branch, Kochava, and Singular. The additions let advertisers bring first- and third-party customer segments and established mobile attribution workflows into Universal Ads’ self-serve premium TV buying platform, aligning TV campaigns with existing digital measurement and activation processes. Universal Ads said the changes aim to make television advertising feel as familiar and integrated as other digital channels, and highlighted a broad roster of publisher partners including NBCUniversal, Roku, Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery and others.

14 Cable Networks Shut Down from 2021–2026

Fourteen cable and broadcast networks ceased operations between 2021 and 2026 amid accelerating cord cutting, corporate consolidation, financial pressures, shifting viewer habits, and college sports conference realignments. Major media owners such as NBCUniversal and E.W. Scripps shuttered or folded niche channels, redistributed content to broader linear channels or streaming platforms, and redirected resources toward digital and multicast initiatives. Sports networks were particularly affected by conference realignment, while children's and niche cultural networks struggled to compete with on-demand streaming. The closures illustrate ongoing rationalization in the traditional linear-TV ecosystem and a migration of content and ad inventory toward streaming and consolidated outlets.