Scripps Networks Interactive - Company History

Company History

Scripps Networks Interactive’s roots began with the E.W. Scripps Company in 1993. The company had announced that year the launch of a 24-hour cable network in the fall of 1994. On December 30, 1994 HGTV went on the air to 6.5 million homes in 50 markets.

In 1995, the official grand opening for HGTV’s new headquarters in Knoxville, Tenn. took place. The network reached into 10 million homes on November 1 of that year, launched in Canada and online with HGTV.com in 1996, and hit the 25 million subscriber mark in 1997.

Also in 1997, Scripps added its second network with the acquisition of Food Network. The year also saw HGTV execute its first HGTV Dream Home Giveaway, which received more than 1.2 million entries from across the country. By 2011, the number of entries had grown to nearly 80 million.

In 1999 Scripps launched DIY Network, described as the "go-to destination for rip-up, knock-out home improvement television." With three brands now under the Scripps umbrella, a $12 million addition was made to the company’s headquarters in Knoxville to provide the infrastructure and technology to support the networks’ continuing growth.

This growth continued well into the new millennium. Both HGTV (in November 2002) and Food Network (in September 2003) reached full distribution with 80 million subscribers apiece, while Food Network followed HGTV’s footprint into Canada by launching Food Network Canada at the end of 2002.

The first half of the decade also saw Scripps add its fourth and fifth networks to its mix, Fine Living Network (2002) and Great American Country (GAC-2004). A few months after the GAC acquisition, Scripps announced the move of the network’s headquarters from Denver, Colorado to Nashville, Tennessee.

In 2008, Scripps Networks Interactive split from the E.W. Scripps Company and received its own listing on the NYSE as ticker symbol SNI. The year also saw GAC reach 50 million subscribers, with DIY Network reaching the 50 million subscriber mark in 2009.

Scripps acquired a majority interest in the Travel Channel from Cox Communications for a reported $975 million in late 2009, and the following year rebranded Fine Living Network as Cooking Channel.

In April 2011, Scripps announced the sale of Shopzilla to Symphony Technology Group for $165 million. Scripps, from within its Travel Channel unit also invested in Oyster.com—a hotel research and booking site.

On August 15, 2011, Virgin Media agreed to sell its 50% stake in UKTV to Scripps Networks Interactive in a deal worth £339m. Scripps paid £239m in cash, and about £100m to acquire the outstanding preferred stock and debt owed by UKTV to Virgin Media. Completion of the transaction was contingent on regulatory approvals in Ireland and Jersey, which as received on October 3, 2011. Related to the transaction, Scripps Networks Interactive and BBC Worldwide are negotiating an agreement whereby, after completion, BBC Worldwide would have the option, via a combination of cash and a package of digital rights for UKTV, to increase its shareholding from 50 percent to a maximum of 60 percent. Scripps Networks Interactive’s existing voting rights and Board representation would be unaffected by this proposed arrangement, which would be subject to BBC Executive and BBC Trust approvals.

On March 22, 2012, Scripps Networks Interactive announced that it had agreed to pay £65m (US$102.7m) to acquire Travel Channel International Limited, the UK-based distributor of the Travel Channel brand across the Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific markets. The deal was completed on May 1, 2012 following regulatory approval. The international channel will be integrated with Scripps' own Travel Channel.

On December 11, 2012 One Kings Lane, a home decor website, announced that Scripps Networks Interactive had invested in its Series D financing. Scripps invested $15M in exchange for a 3% equity stake in the company.