Court TV, Known for Live Trial Coverage, Is Getting a New Owner

Court TV, which brings viewers into courtrooms for everything from murder trials to defamation cases, has been a staple of cable television for decades. Now, it’s getting a new owner that wants to go bigger on streaming.

On Monday, E.W. Scripps announced that it had reached a deal to sell the channel to the parent company of Law&Crime. That network, which was created by the ABC legal analyst Dan Abrams, has more than eight million YouTube subscribers and offers programming that includes live trials, commentary and crime documentaries.

Court TV will maintain its programming on basic cable and has signed a three-year distribution deal with Scripps. But some content may be developed for YouTube or social media platforms, Mr. Abrams said in an interview.

The deal values Court TV at less than $125 million, according to two people familiar with the talks, who requested anonymity because the figure is confidential.

“The goal is going to be to try to transform what is a legacy media company into a YouTube and digital-media-first business,” Mr. Abrams said.

Law&Crime will retain about a dozen of Court TV’s employees, Mr. Abrams said. Court TV currently has more than 50 employees, according to one of the people familiar with the talks.

Scripps owns 60 stations in more than 40 markets, including ION, a general entertainment and sports network, and Bounce, which describes itself as the first African American broadcast network. Its shares are down about 95 percent over the past year as more customers cut the cable cord in favor of streaming and as it grapples with debt of about $2.7 billion. Scripps has also been fending off a takeover attempt by Sinclair, a rival broadcaster.

Scripps acquired the rights to Court TV from Turner Broadcasting in 2018, in an attempt to retain cable viewers. It has since covered high-profile trials including the defamation case that the actor Johnny Depp brought against Amber Heard and her countersuit, as well as the murder trial for Alex Murdaugh.

Adam Symson, the Scripps president and chief executive, said in a statement that the sale was “consistent” with the company’s business strategy of making moves that “strengthen our balance sheet and position us for the future.”

Mr. Abrams, who rose to fame covering the O.J. Simpson trial for Court TV, founded Law&Crime in 2015. (The studio sued Court TV in 2021 for advertising itself as the only destination to watch live court coverage.) Mr. Abrams sold Law&Crime to the media company Jellysmack in 2023 for around $125 million. He remains the brand’s chief executive.

Law&Crime will focus more on true-crime dramas and Court TV will focus more on trials, Mr. Abrams said.

“Fifteen, 20 years ago, it was legacy media companies that would acquire a digital first,” Mr. Abrams said. “And here we are as a YouTube-first and digital-first true-crime company acquiring a legacy media.”