The news last week that E.W. Scripps was very likely to unload all or part of its recently acquired Shop At Home cable operation tarnished what was otherwise a rather bright, upbeat quarterly report
by a company best known for its old-media properties. In particular, most everyone failed to take proper notice of Scripps' solid performance as a provider of TV content for niche markets. Its HGTV,
Food Network, DIY Network, Fine Living, and Great American Country channels are all thriving. Revenues in this category increased 21 percent in the fourth quarter to $247 million. Profits were up 34
percent, to $122 million, mostly on the strength of advertising revenues. Another strong performer for Scripps was the Shopzilla service, which is accessed via the Internet. Acquired only a year
ago, Shopzilla, a shopping-comparison Web site, delivered more than $20 million in profits in Q4, a marked increase over previous performance. Says Tom Hull of The Motley Fool, "The Shopzilla
acquisition may be a rare example of traditional media leveraging growth from New Media. Basically, Scripps' advertisers are looking for more channels for their advertising dollars--and this means
going online." Scripps' newspapers in mostly medium-size markets around the U.S. are struggling, like newspapers everywhere, to survive in an increasingly Net-centric economy.
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