Document

Exhibit 10.3


THE E.W. SCRIPPS COMPANY 
RESTRICTED SHARE UNIT AGREEMENT 
(Time-Based Vesting)


Summary of Restricted Share Unit Award


The E.W. Scripps Company (the “Company”) grants to the Grantee named below, in accordance with the terms of The E.W. Scripps Company 2010 Long-Term Incentive Plan, as amended and restated as of May 6, 2019 and as further amended from time to time (the “Plan”) and this Restricted Share Unit Agreement (the “Agreement”), the following number of Restricted Share Units on the Date of Grant set forth below:


						
	Name of Grantee:	Adam P. Symson
		
	Number of Restricted Share Units:	180,045
		
	Date of Grant:	August 2, 2022
		
	Vesting Date:	December 31, 2027




Terms of Agreement


1.Grant of Restricted Share Units. Subject to and upon the terms, conditions, and restrictions set forth in this Agreement and in the Plan, the Company hereby grants to the Grantee as of the Date of Grant, the total number of share units (the “Restricted Share Units”) set forth above.  Each Restricted Share Unit shall represent the contingent right to receive one Class A Common Share of the Company (“Share”) and shall at all times be equal in value to one Share.  The Restricted Share Units shall be credited in a book entry account established for the Grantee until payment in accordance with Section 4 hereof.  


2.Vesting of Restricted Share Units.   


(a)The Restricted Share Units shall vest in full on the Vesting Date set forth above (the “Vesting Date”), provided that the Grantee shall have remained in the continuous employ of the Company or a Subsidiary through the Vesting Date.  Except as provided in Section 2(b) below, vesting of the Restricted Share Units requires continued active employment through the Vesting Date, and employment for only a portion of the vesting period, even if a substantial portion, will not entitle the Grantee to any proportionate or pro-rata vesting of the Restricted Share Units. 


(b)Notwithstanding Section 2(a) above, if, prior to the Vesting Date and prior to a Change in Control, the Grantee’s employment with the Company is terminated (i) by the Company without Cause or by reason of the Grantee’s Disability, (ii) by the Grantee for Good Reason, or (iii) as a result of the Grantee’s death, then provided that, within sixty (60) calendar days after such termination, the Grantee (or the Grantee’s estate, beneficiary or other successor) shall have executed and delivered a release of claims (the “Release”) in the form attached to the Grantee’s employment agreement with the Company dated as of the Date of Grant, as amended from time-to-time (the “Employment Agreement”) and such Release shall have become effective and irrevocable in accordance with its terms, the Grantee shall become vested in a prorated portion of the Restricted Share Units equal to (x) the number of Restricted Share Units that would have become vested under this Agreement had the Grantee remained continuously employed with the Company or a Subsidiary through the Vesting Date, multiplied by (y) a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of days during the period commencing on (and including) the Date of Grant and ending on (and including) the Grantee’s date of termination, and the denominator of which is the number of days during the period commencing on (and including) the Date of Grant and ending on (and including) the Vesting Date.  For purposes of this Section 2(b), the terms “Cause”, “Good Reason” and “Disability” shall have the meanings provided those terms in the Employment Agreement and shall not be defined by reference to the Plan.    


(c)In the event that, prior to the Vesting Date, a Change in Control occurs while the Grantee is employed by the Company or any Subsidiary, then the Restricted Stock Units shall immediately vest in full (without pro-ration).      


(d)For purposes of this Section 2, the continuous employment of the Grantee with the Company and its Subsidiaries shall not be deemed to have been interrupted, and the Grantee shall not be deemed to have ceased to be an employee of the Company and its Subsidiaries, by reason of the transfer of his employment among the Company and its Subsidiaries.










3.Forfeiture of Restricted Share Units. 


(a)    The Restricted Share Units (including without limitation any right to dividend equivalents described in Section 7 hereof relating to dividends payable on or after the date of forfeiture) shall be forfeited automatically, without payment of any consideration and without further action or notice, if the Grantee ceases to be employed by the Company or a Subsidiary prior to the Vesting Date, unless specifically provided otherwise in Section 2(b) above.


(b)    Notwithstanding any provision contained herein to the contrary, this Agreement, and any amounts that the Grantee may receive pursuant to this Agreement, are subject to the forfeiture and repayment provisions of Section 23 of the Plan (Detrimental Activity; Forfeiture and Recoupment). This Section 3(b) shall survive and continue in full force in accordance with its terms notwithstanding any termination of the Grantee’s employment or the payment of the Award as provided herein.     


4.Payment.  Except as may be otherwise provided in Section 11 below, the Company shall deliver to the Grantee (or the Grantee’s estate in the event of death) the Shares underlying the vested Restricted Share Units within ten (10) calendar days following the date that the Restricted Share Units become vested in accordance with Section 2 (or, if later, within ten (10) calendar days after the date that the Release described in Section 2(b) above becomes effective and irrevocable in accordance with its terms). The Company’s obligations with respect to the Restricted Share Units shall be satisfied in full upon the delivery of the Shares underlying the vested Restricted Share Units. 


5.Transferability. The Restricted Share Units may not be transferred, assigned, pledged or hypothecated in any manner, or be subject to execution, attachment or similar process, by operation of law or otherwise, unless otherwise provided under the Plan.  Any purported transfer or encumbrance in violation of the provisions of this Section 5 shall be void, and the other party to any such purported transaction shall not obtain any rights to or interest in such Restricted Share Units.   


6.Dividend, Voting and Other Rights.  The Grantee shall not possess any incidents of ownership (including, without limitation, dividend and voting rights) in the Shares underlying the Restricted Share Units until such Shares have been delivered to the Grantee in accordance with Section 4 hereof.  This Agreement represents an unfunded and unsecured promise of the Company to deliver Shares (and pay cash dividend equivalents) in the future, subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the Plan, and the rights of the Grantee will be no greater than those of an unsecured general creditor. No assets of the Company will be held or set aside as security for the obligations of the Company under this Agreement.  


7.Payment of Dividend Equivalents.  From and after the Date of Grant and until the earlier of (a) the time when the Restricted Share Units are paid in accordance with Section 4 hereof or (b) the time when the Grantee’s right to payment of the Restricted Share Units is forfeited in accordance with Section 3 hereof, on the date that the Company pays a cash dividend (if any) to holders of Shares generally, the Grantee shall be entitled to a cash amount equal to the product of (i) the dollar amount of the cash dividend paid per Share on such date and (ii) the total number of unpaid Restricted Share Units credited to the Grantee as of such date (the “Dividend Equivalent”).  The Dividend Equivalent shall be paid to the Grantee at the same time that the related dividend is paid to the holders of Shares. Dividend Equivalents will be subject to any required withholding for federal, state, local, foreign or other taxes.


8.No Employment Contract.  Nothing contained in this Agreement shall confer upon the Grantee any right with respect to continuance of employment by the Company and its Subsidiaries, nor limit or affect in any manner the right of the Company and its Subsidiaries to terminate the employment or adjust the compensation of the Grantee.


9.Relation to Other Benefits.  Any economic or other benefit to the Grantee under this Agreement or the Plan shall not be taken into account in determining any benefits to which the Grantee may be entitled under any profit-sharing, retirement or other benefit or compensation plan maintained by the Company or a Subsidiary and shall not affect the amount of any life insurance coverage available to any beneficiary under any life insurance plan covering employees of the Company or a Subsidiary.   


10.Taxes and Withholding.  To the extent the Company or any Subsidiary is required to withhold any federal, state, local, foreign or other taxes in connection with the delivery of Shares under this Agreement, then the Company or Subsidiary (as applicable) shall retain a number of Shares otherwise deliverable hereunder with a value equal to the applicable tax withholding (based on the Fair Market Value of the Shares on the date of delivery); provided that in no event shall the value of the Shares retained exceed the amount of taxes required to be withheld based on the maximum statutory tax rates in the Grantee’s applicable taxing jurisdictions. 


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11.Section 409A.  The intent of the parties is that payments and benefits under this Agreement comply with Section 409A of the Code (“Section 409A”) or are exempt therefrom and, accordingly, to the maximum extent permitted, this Agreement shall be interpreted and administered so as to be in compliance therewith. In this regard, notwithstanding anything contained herein to the contrary:


(a)    For purposes of this Agreement, to the extent required to comply with Section 409A, references to a “termination,” “termination of employment” or like terms shall mean “separation from service” within the meaning of Section 409A. 


(b)    If the Restricted Share Units become payable as a result of the Grantee’s “separation from service” within the meaning of Section 409A, and the Grantee is a “specified employee” at that time within the meaning of Section 409A (as determined pursuant to the Company’s policy for identifying specified employees), then to the extent required to comply with Section 409A, the vested Shares shall be delivered to the Grantee within ten (10) calendar days after the first business day that is more than six months after the date of his separation from service (or, if the Grantee dies during such six-month period, delivered to his estate within thirty (30) calendar days after the Grantee’s death).


(c)    If the Restricted Share Units becomes payable as a result of a Change in Control, then to the extent required to comply with Section 409A, the vested Shares shall be delivered to the Grantee within ten (10) calendar days after (i) the date of a Change in Control that also satisfies the definition of a “change in the ownership,” a “change in the effective control” or a “change in the ownership of a substantial portion of the assets”, as each of those terms is defined in Section 409A, (ii) the Grantee’s “separation from service”, subject to the 6-month delay requirement in Section 11(b) above, or (iii) the Vesting Date.      


12.Adjustments.  The number and kind of Shares deliverable pursuant to the Restricted Share Units are subject to adjustment as provided in Section 18 of the Plan.   


13.Compliance with Law.  The Company shall make reasonable efforts to comply with all applicable federal and state securities laws and listing requirements with respect to the Restricted Share Units; provided, however, notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, and only to the extent permitted under Section 409A, the Company shall not be obligated to deliver any Shares pursuant to this Agreement if the delivery thereof would result in a violation of any such law or listing requirement.  


14.Amendments.  Subject to the terms of the Plan, the Committee may modify this Agreement upon written notice to the Grantee.  Any amendment to the Plan shall be deemed to be an amendment to this Agreement to the extent that the amendment is applicable hereto.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, no amendment of the Plan or this Agreement shall adversely affect the rights of the Grantee under this Agreement without the Grantee’s consent unless the Committee determines, in good faith, that such amendment is required for the Agreement to either be exempt from the application of, or comply with, the requirements of Section 409A, or as otherwise may be provided in the Plan.  


15.Severability.  In the event that one or more of the provisions of this Agreement shall be invalidated for any reason by a court of competent jurisdiction, any provision so invalidated shall be deemed to be separable from the other provisions hereof, and the remaining provisions hereof shall continue to be valid and fully enforceable.


16.Relation to Plan.  This Agreement is subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan.  This Agreement and the Plan contain the entire agreement and understanding of the parties with respect to the subject matter contained in this Agreement, and supersede all prior written or oral communications, representations and negotiations in respect thereto.  Except to the extent expressly provided herein, in the event of any inconsistency between the provisions of this Agreement and the Plan, the Plan shall govern.  Capitalized terms used herein without definition shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Plan.  The Committee acting pursuant to the Plan, as constituted from time to time, shall, except as expressly provided otherwise herein, have the right to determine any questions which arise in connection with the grant of the Restricted Share Units.


17.Successors and Assigns.  Without limiting Section 5 above, the provisions of this Agreement shall inure to the benefit of, and be binding upon, the permitted successors, administrators, heirs, legal representatives and assigns of the Grantee, and the successors and assigns of the Company.


18.Governing Law.  The interpretation, performance, and enforcement of this Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of Ohio, without giving effect to the principles of conflict of laws thereof.


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19.Use of Grantee’s Information.  Information about the Grantee and the Grantee’s participation in the Plan may be collected, recorded and held, used and disclosed for any purpose related to the administration of the Plan.  The Grantee understands that such processing of this information may need to be carried out by the Company and its Subsidiaries and by third party administrators whether such persons are located within the Grantee’s country or elsewhere, including the United States of America.  The Grantee consents to the processing of information relating to the Grantee and the Grantee’s participation in the Plan in any one or more of the ways referred to above.


20.Electronic Delivery.  The Grantee hereby consents and agrees to electronic delivery of any documents that the Company may elect to deliver (including, but not limited to, prospectuses, prospectus supplements, grant or award notifications and agreements, account statements, annual and quarterly reports, and all other forms of communications) in connection with this and any other award made or offered under the Plan. The Grantee understands that, unless earlier revoked by the Grantee by giving written notice to the Secretary of the Company, this consent shall be effective for the duration of the Agreement.  The Grantee also understands that he or she shall have the right at any time to request that the Company deliver written copies of any and all materials referred to above at no charge. The Grantee hereby consents to any and all procedures the Company has established or may establish for an electronic signature system for delivery and acceptance of any such documents that the Company may elect to deliver, and agrees that his or her electronic signature is the same as, and shall have the same force and effect as, his or her manual signature. The Grantee consents and agrees that any such procedures and delivery may be effected by a third party engaged by the Company to provide administrative services related to the Plan.  


    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company has caused this Agreement to be executed on its behalf by its duly authorized officer and the Grantee has also executed this Agreement, as of the Date of Grant.


THE E.W. SCRIPPS COMPANY    


                
_/s/ Kim Williams  _____________________
By: Kim Williams
Its:  Chairman of the Board
    
Please note that you must accept the award set forth in this Agreement online in accordance with the procedures established by the Company and the Plan administrator.   By accepting your award in accordance with these procedures, you acknowledge that a copy of the Plan, Plan Summary and Prospectus, and the Company’s most recent Annual Report and Proxy Statement (the “Prospectus Information”) either have been received by you or are available for viewing at the Corporate Office, and consent to receiving this Prospectus Information electronically, or, in the alternative, agree to contact Julie L. McGehee, Vice President, ESG and Corporate Secretary, The E. W. Scripps Company, 312 Walnut Street, Suite 2800, Cincinnati, OH  45202; 513-898-4075 (telephone); 513-977-3720 (facsimile), to request a paper copy of the Prospectus Information at no charge.  You also represent that you are familiar with the terms and provisions of the Prospectus Information and hereby accept the award on the terms, and subject to the conditions, set forth herein and in the Plan.  Specifically:


You acknowledge that you have read the forfeiture and repayment provisions of Section 23 of the Plan (the “Restrictive Covenants”).  


You understand that as a condition to receiving the award set forth in this Agreement that you must agree to be bound by and comply with the terms and conditions of the Restrictive Covenants.  


You agree to notify the Company in writing if you have, or reasonably should have, any questions regarding the applicability of the Restrictive Covenants.  


The terms and conditions of the Plan and this Agreement constitute a legal contract that will bind both you and the Company as soon as you accept the award.  






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