 | |
| Launched | December 15, 2022; 2 years ago (2022-12-15) |
|---|---|
| Division of | E. W. Scripps Company |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Key people | Brian Lawlor (President)[1] |
| Major broadcasting contracts |
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| Official website | scrippssports |
Scripps Sports is thesports division of theE. W. Scripps Company; it is responsible for the broadcasting of sporting events across itsbroadcast television portfolio, including local stations and co-owned networks (such asIon Television).
Prior to the formation of Scripps Sports, in May 2022, The E.W. Scripps Company reached an agreement with theBig Sky Conference to air 14 conference football games and as many as eight women's or men's basketball games involvingMontana State University andUniversity of Montana on the Scripps ownedMontana Television Network.[2] In 2025, Scripps Sports and the Big Sky extended their agreement through the 2029–30 season.[3]
The formation of Scripps Sports was announced in December 2022. Company presidentAdam P. Symson stated that the division planned to compete withregional sports networks to pursue local rights to professional sports teams for its stations, and pursue national broadcasting contracts for itsIon Media division (includingIon Television). He argued that the pay television RSN industry was an "old model" that is "not set up to move forward", and that "we are really well-situated to participate in future models with sports teams, leagues, and conferences."[4]
In April 2023, Scripps Sports announced its first broadcast contract, a regular season package of Friday-nightWNBA basketball games for Ion.[5][6] In March 2025, Scripps announced it had acquired the local rights to the WNBA'sLas Vegas Aces.[7]
The following month, withAT&T SportsNet winding down, Scripps Sports reached an agreement for regional rights to theVegas Golden Knights of theNHL. The games would be syndicated to stations within the team's designated market (withKMCC as flagship; the station moved Ion to a digital subchannel and became anindependent station), and offered via the subscription-based over-the-top service KnightTime+.[8][9][10] In October 2023, it also reached an agreement with theArizona Coyotes, afterBally Sports Arizona rejected its contract with the team[11] and subsequently shut down not long afterward.[12] After initially airing on theAntenna TV-affiliatedKNXV-DT2,[11]KASW moved itsThe CW affiliation to that channel and similarly converted to an independent station to accommodate Coyotes games (Scripps would later relinquish its CW affiliation entirely, with majority ownerNexstar Media Group taking overKAZT-TV under a time brokerage agreement, and moving The CW to it in February 2024).[13][14][15]
On November 9, 2023, theNational Women's Soccer League announced Scripps Sports as a rightsholder beginning in the 2024 season, with Ion to air Saturday night doubleheaders. Ion also aired the2024 NWSL Draft.[16][17]
In April 2024, the NHL deactivated the Coyotes franchise, and their players and personnel were acquired by a new Salt Lake City-basedexpansion team owned byRyan Smith. Scripps'KUPX-TV in Salt Lake City, which had been televising Coyotes and Golden Knights games, will continue to carry the former's games, but now as theUtah Hockey Club'sflagship station.[18] The team's telecasts are produced in-house by SEG Media, a unit of team owner Smith Entertainment Group that also producesUtah JazzNBA games forKJZZ-TV via a similar arrangement.[19][20]
In July 2024, theFlorida Panthers announced a deal with Scripps Sports to move its games fromBally Sports Florida, withWSFL-TV in Miami as flagship station.[21]
On August 18, 2024, Ion aired the finals of theManhattan Beach Openbeach volleyball tournament as part of a one-off deal with theAssociation of Volleyball Professionals.[22]
In April 2025, Scripps Sports announced a five-year agreement to broadcast the women'sFort Myers Tip Off on Ion. Scripps also announced an agreement withSports Illustrated to launch theSI Women's Games. The games will feature women, representing "Team America" and "Team World", competing in basketball, gymnastics, tennis, flag football, volleyball, and combat sports.[23]
| Team | League | Flagship station | Affiliates | OTT subscription outlet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montana andMontana State (2022–present) (Football, Men's Basketball and Women's Basketball) | Big Sky Conference | Montana Television Network[2] |
| |
| Florida Panthers (2024–present) | NHL | WSFL-TV/Miami, Florida | ||
| Utah Hockey Club (2024–present)[27] | NHL | KUPX-TV/Provo, Utah |
| |
| Vegas Golden Knights (2023–present) | NHL | KMCC/Laughlin, Nevada[29] |
| |
| Las Vegas Aces (2025–present) | WNBA | KMCC/Laughlin, Nevada |
| Team | League | Flagship station | Affiliates | OTT subscription outlet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona Coyotes (2023–2024) | NHL | KASW/Phoenix, Arizona KNXV-TV/Phoenix, Arizona (former) |
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Scripps stations in markets with Big Sky schools will broadcast football games and men's and women's basketball games ... The Big Sky Conference will retain rights to digitally distribute and stream programming via the ESPN+ app both within and outside the league's footprint, and these broadcasts on Scripps will not be subject to any blackout restrictions.