Scripps to Move Forward With 4th Cable Channel

A decline in advertising revenue and an uncertain economy are not deterring E.W. Scripps Co. from pushing ahead with its launch of Fine Living, its fourth cable channel and the first to be based in Los Angeles.

At an investor conference in New York today, Kenneth W. Lowe, the president and chief executive of the Cincinnati-based newspaper, broadcasting and cable company, is expected to announce the senior management team to run the new channel under Ken Solomon, who was appointed president of Fine Living earlier this year.

The channel, which is scheduled to be launched early next year, will focus on the accouterments of affluent lifestyles. Like its sister Scripps cable channels--Food Network, Home & Garden Television and Do It Yourself--Fine Living will attempt to integrate television, wireless and online strategies into one. Lowe said he envisions a world in which consumers order recipes on demand over TV or the Internet or learn how to build a backyard jungle gym with the flick of a remote control.

Joining Solomon at Fine Living as senior vice president of programming is Charles Segars, a former CBS, E Entertainment Television and most recently DreamWorks SKG television executive. John MacDonald, who worked in television at News Corp. before entering the new-media business, will be senior vice president of business operations and acquisitions. Robyn Miller is leaving a 16-year career at Walt Disney Co. to become senior vice president of marketing.

Fine Living is expected to share sales and distribution executives with Scripps’ other cable networks, which are based in New York and Knoxville, Tenn.

Launching cable channels is an expensive proposition because most operators lack space on their analog systems and can offer only limited digital carriage. Securing distribution often requires programmers to pay for carriage.

Despite its late entry into the cable business, Scripps has had remarkable success with its networks, which are the fastest-growing segment of the company, propelling the stock to a high of $68.89 last month, up from $50 a year ago. On Friday, shares closed at $64.88, up 58 cents, on the New York Stock Exchange.

In addition, Scripps’ stock has been soaring even amid a Wall Street retrenchment because of takeover speculation. Disney is considered the most suitable buyer because of the compatibility of the two companies’ cable and TV station groups. Provisions in a family trust that controls Scripps have prevented a takeover, but analysts predict possible changes in the trust because of the company’s aging heirs.

Short of a takeover, Lowe is eager to expand Scripps’ cable portfolio and has indicated over the last year a willingness to trade any or all of the company’s 10 television stations for cable networks.