E.W. Scripps Company (The) SSP

Competitive advantage analysis · communication-services

Corporate Default
Overall moat score
52/100
Moderate

Ranked against 17 peers in Broadcasting

About E.W. Scripps Company (The)

The E.W. Scripps Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a media enterprise through a portfolio of local television stations, national news, and entertainment networks in the United States. It operates through Local Media and Scripps Networks segments. The Local Media segment operates broadcast television stations, which produce over-the-air news, information, sports, entertainment content, and related digital operations; runs network, … Full SSP analysis →

Key strengths

  • Cost Leadership Position Operating margin at 76.5th percentile with strong OpEx control demonstrates cost leadership.
  • Operating Expense Control OpEx growth is controlled (score 0.77), demonstrating operating leverage.

Key risks

  • Inconsistent Cash Generation Cash generation is inconsistent (score 0.44), indicating operational challenges.

The dashed ring is the peer median. Defense scores are percentile ranks against peers, so 50 is roughly the typical company in this group.

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Pricing Power

Developing
49
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Signals, strengths and risks for Pricing Power

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Signals, strengths and risks for Cost Advantage

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Signals, strengths and risks for Customer Stickiness

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Signals, strengths and risks for Capital Efficiency

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Signals, strengths and risks for Resilience

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Signals, strengths and risks for Scale & Market Position

Where SSP ranks in Broadcasting

E.W. Scripps Company (The) ranks #7 of 18 scored companies in Broadcasting by moat score — the top 39%. The widest moat in the group is TEGNA Inc (TGNA) at 84/100.

# Company Moat score Rating
3 Gray Media, Inc. GTN 69/100 Moderate
4 Gray Media, Inc. GTN-A 68/100 Moderate
5 Scienjoy Holding Corporation SJ 55/100 Moderate
6 Saga Communications, Inc. SGA 54/100 Moderate
7 E.W. Scripps Company (The) SSP 52/100 Moderate
8 iHeartMedia, Inc. IHRT 52/100 Moderate
9 CuriosityStream Inc. CURIW 49/100 Developing
10 CuriosityStream Inc. CURI 46/100 Developing
11 Sinclair, Inc. SBGI 44/100 Developing

See every General Corporate company ranked by moat score →

How SSP scores on the Corporate Default defenses

Pricing Power

Score 49 · 20% of the moat score

Pricing power is the ability to raise prices without losing volume.

Cost Advantage

Score 62 · 15% of the moat score

A cost advantage means delivering the same product for structurally less — better purchasing, denser distribution, a more automated process.

Customer Stickiness

Score 52 · 15% of the moat score

Stickiness is what makes revenue repeat without being re-won every year.

Capital Efficiency

Score 46 · 18% of the moat score

Capital efficiency asks what the company earns on the money tied up in the business.

Resilience

Score 49 · 17% of the moat score

Resilience is the capacity to get through a bad year on its own terms — enough liquidity, enough interest cover, and enough cash generation to avoid a rescue financing or a forced sale.

Scale & Market Position

Score 59 · 15% of the moat score

Scale matters only when it converts into economics.

How each Corporate Default defense is measured, in full →

Understanding SSP's moat

What is E.W. Scripps Company (The)'s moat score?

E.W. Scripps Company (The) (SSP) scores 52 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #7 of 18 scored companies in Broadcasting, the top 39%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 17 companies in Broadcasting. Its strongest defense is Cost Advantage (62/100) and its weakest is Capital Efficiency (46/100).

How does E.W. Scripps Company (The) compare with other Broadcasting companies?

E.W. Scripps Company (The) ranks #7 of 18 scored companies in Broadcasting by moat score. The widest moat in Broadcasting is TEGNA Inc (TGNA) at 84/100. The companies ranked closest are Saga Communications, Inc. (SGA) at 54 just above it and iHeartMedia, Inc. (IHRT) at 52 just below it.

How is the moat score calculated?

Each company is scored with an industry-specific template — Corporate Default in this case, chosen because the defenses that matter to a bank are not the ones that matter to a software company. Every defense combines several financial signals, and each signal is measured as a percentile against a peer group of 17 companies in Broadcasting. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.

Why is E.W. Scripps Company (The) scored with the Corporate Default template?

Most public companies sell a product or a service at a margin, so the moat question is whether that margin survives contact with competitors. The Corporate template scores the six defenses that show up in a general operating company's financial signature: whether it can hold price, produce more cheaply than rivals, keep its customers, earn a return above its cost of capital, withstand a downturn, and turn size into economics.

Which competitive defenses are measured for E.W. Scripps Company (The)?

The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and SSP scores: Pricing Power (49), Cost Advantage (62), Customer Stickiness (52), Capital Efficiency (46), Resilience (49), Scale & Market Position (59). Each is scored independently as a percentile against peers, so a company can be strong on one and weak on another — the overall score reflects how those defenses are weighted for this industry.

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