Hasta La Creative!

New York City was blanketed in snow as more than 100 Scripps Networks staffers arrived at the Helen Mills event space March 5. They were there to serve as a faux audience for the company’s final dress rehearsal before embarking on its seven-city upfront tour.

At a time when other network groups are scaling back their upfront presentations, forsaking the glitz and glitter for one-on-one meetings, Scripps still firmly believes in the big show. The company continues to host such presentations across the country, flying top executives and its most prestigious stars to make its pitch in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles and Minneapolis, in addition to New York.

Scripps isn’t impervious to the challenges facing the rest of the industry; it too has gone through layoffs and staff reductions and has seen its fair share of ratings erosion. But in spite of this — or perhaps even because of it — Steve Gigliotti, chief revenue officer, and Jon Steinlauf, exec VP-ad sales and marketing, are adamant about sticking to the company’s tradition.

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