Business
Scripps board extends employment agreement for CEO Adam Symson
CINCINNATI, Feb. 25, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The board of directors of The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) has approved a new contract for Scripps
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[{"type":"text","content":"CINCINNATI, Feb. 25, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The board of directors of The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) has approved a new contract for Scripps President and CEO Adam P. Symson that runs through Dec. 31, 2029. The new agreement replaces a five-year contract that began Aug. 2, 2022, and was set to expire at the end of 2027. Symson has served as Scripps’ president and CEO since August 2017, building enterprise value through key acquisitions and divestitures as well as organic growth. Symson foresaw the decline of the cable regional sports networks and launched Scripps Sports in December 2022 to help local sports teams reach their fans using the company’s many distribution platforms, and today revenue from that effort is helping drive Scripps’ core advertising market overperformance. He also saw the opportunity to acquire the ION Network, completed in 2021 and combined with the former Katz Networks to create a wholly new, high-margin operating division, Scripps Networks. Within a year, the company was able to begin gaining carriage of those networks on key streaming services, and today its ubiquitous connected TV reach garners well over $100 million a year with double-digit annual growth. Symson also engineered the partnership with the WNBA in 2023 and later the National Women’s Soccer League to create fan-friendly “franchise nights” on ION, growing the network’s women’s sports programming even more in 2025. On Feb. 11, the company announced a transformation plan under Symson’s leadership that will grow annualized enterprise EBITDA by $125-$150 million by 2028 through growth initiatives, technology including AI and automation and operating efficiencies. In that announcement, Symson said the transformation plan was a proactive move to best position the company to compete in the changing media industry. “Adam has led this company through a challenging broadcast industry landscape by repeatedly identifying new opportunities to position it for success,” said Scripps Board Chair Kim Williams. “He has a bold vision for the role the company can play in our democracy by connecting its communities and audiences through their common interests and passions while at the same time creating business value. “He is widely respected in the industry for his advocacy of the First Amendment, and he fosters a mission-based and performance-focuse...