Discovery Comm possible purchase of Scripps Network (Knoxville, Kingsport: how much, unemployment)

[onetoughkitty]

What do you guys think? I'm always weary of merger/acquisitions when a non-local company is involved.

Discovery in the lead to acquire Scripps Networks

[Brian]

This could be a very bad news for the region if Discovery Comm acquired Scripps Network. They will probably move the corporate headquarters to Silver Spring, MD. (Washington, DC suburb).

Couple of months ago, Scripps Networks moved its Travel Channel headquarters to Knoxville from nearby Chevy Chase, MD.

[Brian]

Discovery Comm is buying Scripps Networks out - Discovery buying Scripps Networks in $14.6B deal

[hiknapster]

Don't get me started on corporate media buyouts.

[danielj72]

I saw this story about a week ago and it is a reason for concern. All those good jobs being shipped to MD would be a nightmare for this region and for those forced to choose between unemployment and moving up there. The one thing in our favor is the fact that Maryland is famous for being a high tax, high regulation kind of place. I hope that works in our favor.

[Serious Conversation]

I feel sorry for the people impacted. They're going to be hard-pressed to find something probably paying as well as what they had in the local market.

Unfortunately, the trend seems to be for white collar office jobs to be consolidating into ever fewer metros. My aunt has worked for Charter Communications for nearly thirty years, and her team here in Kingsport is being told to relocate to NYC or lose their jobs. I think we're coming to a day where big companies are not going to have much presence in smaller metros, except for services that must be rendered onsite.

[geranium]

Do you know anyone who works at Scripps? The one behind-the-scenes tech person I know who works there says that their pay scale is lower than the industry average....even low for Knoxville.

[Serious Conversation]

I'm in IT and tried to get on there years ago and was never able to. Ballpark salaries are often posted on Glassdoor and I've generally seen them to be pretty accurate.

[ThatTNGuy]

I've been at Scripps for over three years. I really can't overstate how much I love working there - can't believe I get paid to do it!

Nobody knows what's going to happen at this point, so I wouldn't believe any rumors you hear. The reasons the deal got the green light make sense (check out the falling subscriber numbers for Dish, DirecTV, Charter and Comcast), but it's still difficult going through change.

Hoping for the best!

[onetoughkitty]

Well... Scripps was high on my list to work for when I first moved here and still was until I heard this news. It would be nice if the folks there do a high profile campaign to get Discovery to move their HQ here instead. If I was a betting person, Discovery would be more likely to wind down the Knox location vs Scripps' NYC operations.

Unfortunately, Serious Convo is right especially when it comes to media and the trend in M&A's involves a lot of sacrifices of the company being bought out: "consolidation" and "streamlining".

I'd hate to see that lovely campus go to waste though.