It’s a situation we may see happening more and more as YouTube channels become full-fledged media brands: Law&Crime Network, which has 7.4 million subscribers and brings around 80 million views per month, has acquired legacy broadcast channel Court TV.
The deal reportedly valued Court TV at less than $125 million, and transferred ownership of the channel from the E.W. Scripps Company to Law&Crime’s parent Jellysmack–which, ironically, paid $125 million to acquire Law&Crime in 2023.
There’s some history here. Law&Crime founder Dan Abrams started his career in television at Court TV in the late 90s before becoming a legal correspondent and analyst at NBC, then ABC, respectively. He went on to launch Law&Crime in 2015.
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In 2021, Law&Crime sued Court TV for advertising itself as the only media outlet that offers live court coverage, when Law&Crime offers the same thing. Court TV issued an apology, saying it “incorrectly stated that Court TV is the only multi-platform network devoted to live, gavel-to-gavel coverage, legal reporting, and analysis of trial.” The lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed.
Now Abrams will control the network that gave him his first platform.
Under the acquisition agreement, Court TV has a three-year distribution deal with Scripps and will continue airing its usual programming on basic cable, The New York Times reports. However, Law&Crime plans to develop additional Court TV content for YouTube and/or other digital platforms.
“The goal is going to be to try to transform what is a legacy media company into a YouTube and digital-media-first business,” Abrams told NYT.
“The Court TV brand we’ve built is a natural complement to Law&Crime’s existing library of crime and trial coverage,” Adam Symson, Scripps’ President and CEO, added in a statement. He noted the sale “is consistent with the way Scripps has operated for nearly a century and a half: We identify where consumer behavior is headed, build and grow businesses that meet those evolving interests and make strategic decisions about how we unlock their greatest value–whether in our portfolio or through exits that strengthen our balance sheet and position us for the future.”
Law&Crime is bringing on about a dozen of Court TV’s 50+ employees, sources familiar with the matter said.
Abrams said Law&Crime and Court TV will differ in their primary focuses, with the former dealing more with true crime and the latter continuing to cover trials in real time.
“Fifteen, 20 years ago, it was legacy media companies that would acquire a digital first,” Abrams said. “And here we are as a YouTube-first and digital-first true-crime company acquiring a legacy media.”
