Keisha Taylor Starr’s Audience‑Centric Strategy Drives Sports Programming Growth
Apply Keisha Taylor Starr’s audience‑centric strategy to broaden sports programming and link marketing spend to business value.
Apply Keisha Taylor Starr’s audience‑centric strategy to broaden sports programming and link marketing spend to business value.
Summary
Keisha Taylor Starr, EVP, CMO, and GM of Scripps Networks, shares how a focus on audience connection and diverse programming can elevate engagement.
Starr’s leadership at ION rebranded the network into a general‑entertainment channel, adding women’s sports programming that earned Google TV’s most‑watched free live channel title in 2024. The network’s WNBA broadcasts averaged over one million viewers, and NWSL games were added to the lineup. She emphasizes linking every marketing investment to tangible business value, using P&L ownership to balance creative ambition with financial rigor.
Starr’s approach expands the definition of sport to include cheerleading, women’s college basketball, and other emerging categories, positioning Scripps as a pioneer in inclusive programming and audience‑centric strategy.
Key changes
- Keisha Taylor Starr moved from CMO to EVP/CMO/GM at Scripps Networks.
- Rebranded ION into a general‑entertainment network with women’s sports programming.
- WNBA broadcasts averaged over 1 million viewers, a first for the network.
- Added NWSL games to the schedule, expanding sports coverage.
- Linked marketing investment to business value through P&L ownership.
- Broadened definition of sport to include cheerleading and women’s college basketball.