Observed Signal · Dec 22, 2025 · Partnership · Source: State of Streaming · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Scripps Secures Pro Cheer and NWSL Denver Rights
Scripps has secured multi-year broadcast rights to the new Pro Cheer League (in partnership with Varsity Spirit) and local rights for the NWSL expansion team Denver Summit FC. ION will exclusively air the five-event inaugural Pro Cheer season in early 2026, featuring four teams, and Scripps will carry all non-national Denver Summit FC matches on its local Denver stations when the team launches in 2026. The deals expand Scripps’s portfolio of women’s and emerging sports—alongside existing rights such as the WNBA and Major League Volleyball—and are positioned as a national, free over‑the‑air alternative to the struggling regional sports network (RSN) model.
Expands free over‑the‑air sports inventory and offers an alternative distribution path to RSNs, which matters for TV ad inventory and sports media distribution but is not a major industry‑shifting policy or platform change.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Scripps secured multi-year rights for the new Pro Cheer League in partnership with Varsity Spirit.
- ION will exclusively air the five-event inaugural Pro Cheer season in early 2026, featuring four teams.
- Scripps obtained local broadcast rights for the NWSL expansion team Denver Summit FC and will air all non-national matches on its Denver stations when the team launches in 2026.
- Scripps’s sports portfolio also includes rights to the WNBA and Major League Volleyball.
- Scripps is positioning ION and its local station footprint as a national broadcast alternative to the regional sports network (RSN) model.
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Scripps announces new regional leadership structure for Local Media
Scripps announces new regional leadership structure for Local Media (Sept. 9, 2026); PWHL and Scripps Sports announce national U.S. television partnership for 2026-27 season (Sept. 9, 2026); ESPN & ION to bring WTGL, the new women's team golf league from TMRW Sports and LPGA, to fans across the U.S. (Sept. 2, 2026); Scripps taps NBCU sales veteran to lead small and medium business growth and direct response advertising (Aug. 27, 2026); Inaugural Scripps Sports Women's Basketball Showcase headed to Mortgage Matchup Center on December 16 (Aug. 14, 2026); Scripps' KRTV wins National Murrow Award for 'Excellence in Innovation' (Aug. 14, 2026); Scripps reports Q2 2026 financial results (Aug. 6, 2026); Scripps completes acquisition of WTVQ in Lexington (Aug. 1, 2026); Scripps unites television operations under Dean Littleton's leadership (July 22, 2026); Scripps to release second-quarter 2026 operating results on Aug. 6 (July 15, 2026); Scripps Sports and ION score U.S. media rights for the 2027 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Cup (July 14, 2026); Scripps reaches third major retransmission deal of 2026 with DIRECTV renewal (July 13, 2026).
Scripps Doubles Down on Women’s and Local Sports
The E.W. Scripps Company is strategically expanding its sports programming and streaming inventory to prioritize women’s and local sports across its ION network, local TV stations and new FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) channels. In an AdExchanger Talks interview, CRO Brian Norris described initiatives including WNBA franchise nights, National Women’s Soccer League matches and Professional Women’s Hockey League games on ION, plus a FAST channel that streams live events and original athlete-focused content. Scripps is packaging national, local and CTV inventory flexibly to meet advertiser objectives—reach, regional targeting or performance—and plans to present its sports portfolio during this year’s upfronts. The company frames the FAST channel as an alternative to subscription fatigue and paywalls, aiming to attract advertisers and audiences with free live sports and storytelling formats.
Scripps Launches Women's Sports FAST Network
E.W. Scripps launched Scripps Sports Network (SSN), a 24/7 free ad‑supported streaming television (FAST) channel, on March 25, 2026. SSN is distributed across major CTV platforms including Roku Channel, Samsung TV Plus, Prime Video and Google TV Freeplay and is positioned as the FAST ecosystem’s first dedicated women’s sports network. The channel’s first‑year slate features 100+ live events (including PWHL, NWSL, MLV and WNBA encore telecasts), 10 original series (fronted by Suzy Kolber and Sanya Richards‑Ross), and acquired programming. State Farm signed on as SSN’s founding advertising partner. Scripps positions SSN as a development tier feeding ION’s national broadcast footprint and as part of a broader strategy to own scaled reach for premium sports inventory in FAST.
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