Who owns ION?
ION, a media brand, is owned by Scripps (the United States, NASDAQ: SSP), which has owned the brand since 2021.[1]
Evidence: The E.W. Scripps Company Annual Report on Form 10-K filed 2026-02-27, SEC EDGAR, 27 February 2026. Verified from filings; last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- The E.W. Scripps Company verified
- Owned since
- Owner HQ
- 🇺🇸 United States, Cincinnati
- Origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Category
- Media & entertainment › Film & television › Television networks
- Parent ticker
- NASDAQ: SSP
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About ION
ION is a national broadcast network owned by Scripps, which acquired it in December 2021. Scripps' 2025 10-K says it is available in nearly 99% of U.S. television broadcast homes and features crime procedurals, with the fifth-largest prime-time audience among broadcast networks. ION Mystery and ION Plus are companion networks.
What Scripps's annual report says about ION
Sentences about ION from Scripps's latest annual filing[1], copied word for word.
On June 13, 2025, we announced a new, multi-year agreement with the Women's National Basketball Association ("WNBA") to continue airing regular season Friday night matchups on ION as part of its WNBA Fright Night Spotlight series.
Upon our acquisition of ION Media in 2021, we simultaneously sold 23 ION television stations to INYO Broadcast Holdings ("INYO") to comply with ownership rules of the FCC.
These divested stations became independent affiliates of ION pursuant to long-term affiliation agreements.
How often Scripps names ION in its annual report
A plain count of the times the name appears in the text of each annual report, not counting the start of a sentence. A brand that an owner writes about more is usually one it treats as central. The brand is named less often than it was three years earlier.
Ownership timeline of ION
Where ION sits in Scripps
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Scripps ownership tree →
See the full Scripps brand portfolio (7) →
Other brands owned by Scripps
Scripps controls 7 brands on Brandtree, 7 of them in media & entertainment.
Also in media & entertainment
Other brands in television networks, and who owns them
The 86 brands in television networks on Brandtree belong to 27 owners. The largest is Sun TV Network, with 7; Scripps has 6.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Gemini TV | Sun TV Network | 🇮🇳 India |
| Global Television | Corus | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| BET | Paramount Skydance | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Cartoon Network | Warner Bros. Discovery | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Canal+ | Canal+ | 🇫🇷 France |
| AMC | AMC Networks | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Astro | Astro | 🇲🇾 Malaysia |
| Mnet | CJ ENM | 🇰🇷 South Korea |
About the owner: Scripps
Scripps is a publicly listed company headquartered in Cincinnati, United States. Brandtree records 7 brands under its control, and it is listed as NASDAQ: SSP.
The E.W. Scripps Company is an Ohio corporation headquartered at 312 Walnut Street, Cincinnati, and files with the SEC under SIC code television broadcasting stations. Its 10-K for 2025 describes local television stations plus national networks including ION, Bounce, Grit, ION Mystery, ION Plus, Laff and Scripps News. It reports that the sale of Court TV closed on February 9, 2026, so Court TV is not included here.
🇺🇸 ION and other American brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 2,399 brands that began in the United States. 461 of them (19%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country; ION is not one of them.
- 20th Century Studios — Disney 🇺🇸
- AMC — AMC Networks 🇺🇸
- AMC Theatres — AMC Theatres 🇺🇸
- AMF — Lucky Strike Entertainment 🇺🇸
- Adventure Island — United Parks 🇺🇸
- Antenna TV — Nexstar 🇺🇸
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of ION?
The parent company of ION is Scripps, a publicly listed company headquartered in the United States.
Is ION American?
Yes. ION originated in the United States and its owner, Scripps, is also headquartered in the United States.
Since when has Scripps owned ION?
Scripps has owned ION since 2021.
Is ION still owned by Scripps?
Yes. As of 9 October 2026, ION is still owned by Scripps. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] The E.W. Scripps Company Annual Report on Form 10-K filed 2026-02-27 — SEC EDGAR, SEC Form 10-K, published 27 February 2026; retrieved 4 October 2026.
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