Court TV is adjourned for Cincinnati’s E.W. Scripps Company. The owners of WCPO-TV are selling its Court TV network after six years to the Law&Crime legal content operation headed by Dan Abrams, chief legal analyst for ABC News.
Scripps revived Court TV — seen in Cincinnati on WCPO-TV’s Channel 9.2 — in 2019, a year after acquiring its intellectual property from Turner Broadcasting. The courtroom cable channel premiered in 1991, and gained an audience by televising the murder trials of the Menendez brothers (1993) and O.J. Simpson (1995) in California, which both allowed cameras in the courtroom.
Abrams, who started his career at Court TV, plans to lay off most of the 50 employees, as he transforms “what is a legacy media company into a YouTube and digital-media-first business,” he told the New York Times. He plans to keep "about a dozen" Court TV staffers, he says.
Law&Crime is the “leading multi-content destination for true crime and legal content,” with live trials, crime documentaries, legal reporting and commentary, according to the Scripps announcement. The company has 25 YouTube channels, including a flagship one with 7 million subscribers, Deadline reports. Former WKRC-TV reporter Angenette Levy is a reporter-producer for Law&Crime.
Scripps operates more than 60 TV stations in 40-plus markets, plus the ION, Laff, Bounce and Grit digital multicast networks, as well as Scripps News.
Adam Symson, Scripps president and CEO, described the sale as “consistent” with Scripps’ plan to “strengthen our balance sheet and position us for the future,” in the company's announcement. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
In September, Scripps sold WFTX-TV in Ft. Myers/Naples to Sun Broadcasting, and sold WRTV-TV in Indianapolis to Circle City Broadcasting, which owns WISH-TV and WNDY-TV a month later.
In November and December, Scripps rejected efforts to be purchased by Sinclair Inc., which operates WKRC-TV and WSTR-TV in Cincinnati.
Abrams says that “there is no better partner than Law&Crime to continue the distinctive Court TV brand and network. I began my career at Court TV, and we look forward to continuing its important tradition of giving viewers an inside look at some of the most fascinating and important trials. Court TV will become our hub for all trial content and coverage as its own standalone channel and brand.”
The TV legal analyst hosted and produced Live PD on A&E. Law & Crime also produces On Patrol: Live on Reelz, which succeeded Live PD, according to Deadline. Law&Crime’s YouTube channels have had more than 4.7 billion video views, says the Scripps media release.
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