The E.W. Scripps Company has crossed the TV upfront finish line, and women's sports scored big.
Brian Norris, the company's chief revenue officer, told ADWEEK that Scripps saw low single-digit growth in volume, which was largely "due in part to our commitment to women's sports."
Norris said it was "no secret" that Scripps was all in on women's sports, offering Friday night WNBA games, Saturday night NWSL doubleheaders, and even showcasing its Caitlin Clark-led Indiana Fever games in its upfront pitch deck. And though this year's marketplace was expected to be down for publishers of Scripps' size, sports helped differentiate the brand and buoy its upfront sales.
"We got to the point where there was almost more demand than we had supply," Norris said. "I think we did a really good job of accommodating every advertiser that wanted to be part of it. However, the demand was a bit overwhelming, which was a good thing."
Like other publishers this upfront season, Scripps didn't share specific numbers around total volume or overall CPMs (cost per thousand viewers reached); however, Norris said the company's CPMs for sports were up in the low-to-mid single digits.
In addition to the company's women's sports portfolio, Norris added that Scripps' ability to put advertisers within the programming itself strengthened its upfront.
"Whether that is including in-game features within both WNBA and the National Women's Soccer League, but also the ability to sponsor the clock in soccer, giving them the ability to sponsor virtual signage within soccer, all of those things," Norris said. "It served as a differentiating point between us and many others."
Norris added that the company brought more than two dozen new advertisers to the Scripps platform, with 25% representing direct-to-consumer brands.
Categories included automotive, alcohol, insurance, travel, and telco. The company also started to build its small and medium-sized business team.
Overall, CTV revenue grew by more than 70% in the upfront year over year.
The demand for women's sports is showing up in the ratings, with viewership growing faster than Caitlin Clark's WNBA Rookie of the Year odds.
For instance, Scripps recently announced its broadcast of the Indiana Fever's 100-81 victory over the Chicago Sky reaching an average of 1.6 million viewers, the fifth time in 2024 that ION eclipsed more than a million average viewers. It was also the network's most-watched WNBA telecast in the two years since acquiring rights.
Speaking with ADWEEK about this year's upfront talks, several buyers noted that women's sports saw an increase in demand, with Scripps notably standing out as a publisher that saw benefits outside the top conglomerates.
And according to Norris, that increased demand helped boost the network's other offerings.
In addition to women's sports, Scripps' upfront pitch touted an ION rebrand, as the company made the network more focused on sports, general entertainment, and live events. The rebrand included a new on-air look, with the branding reflected on ION Mystery, the company's home for thrillers and docuseries, and its ION Plus FAST channel.
The company also showcased its multicultural reach, including its 46% multicultural audience, and new offerings across its networks, such as Bounce.
"All of these outcomes are a direct result of the commitment that we've made to women's sports because we're now giving advertisers the ability to discover everything else within the portfolio," Norris said. "Whether it's the general entertainment programming on ION, whether it's our multicultural programming on Bounce, these advertisers are coming to us."