Cincinnati-based E.W. Scripps Company raised its expectations for full-year 2026 midterm political advertising revenue on Wednesday and said it has completed its planned 2026 workforce reductions, in a company release issued Oct. 28 via Globe Newswire.
Scripps now expects full-year 2026 Local Media political advertising revenue of about $275 million, about 40 percent above its 2022 midterm election revenue, according to the company release. In August, the company had guided to a range of $225 million to $250 million, the release said.
For the third quarter, Scripps’ Local Media political revenue was nearly $81 million, driven by strong candidate, issue and advocacy spending across Scripps markets in Michigan and Ohio as well as Arizona, Florida, Wisconsin, Tennessee and Virginia, according to the release.
On Tuesday, the company completed 431 workforce reductions, bringing the total number of employees impacted in 2026 to about 850 — nearly 20 percent of its employee count from the beginning of the year, according to the release. The reductions are part of Scripps’ transformation plan to generate $125 million to $150 million of enterprise EBITDA growth by 2028, the company said.
The company expects the impact of the transformation work to become most evident beginning in its fourth-quarter results, and expects to have implemented about $100 million in annual run-rate savings by year end, according to the release.
At the end of the third quarter, Scripps had $83 million in cash and will use that cash and proceeds from fourth-quarter political advertising revenue to pay down at least $150 million of debt in the fourth quarter, according to the release.
Scripps, founded in 1878 and headquartered in Cincinnati, describes itself in the release as one of the nation’s largest local TV broadcasters, operating a portfolio of about 60 stations in 40 markets, along with Scripps News and entertainment brands including ION and Bounce. The company said it will release its full third-quarter 2026 results after the market closes Thursday, Nov. 5.
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