Somewhere today, Bill Haslam is smiling.
Last yesterday, news broke that Discovery Communications (soon to purchase Knoxville-based Scripps Networks Interactive) will move its Maryland headquarters to New York, while locating its national operations unit in Knoxville.
In a Washington Post story, the chair of the Montgomery (Md.) Economic Development Corporation, said the county had little chance of retaining the headquarters after the merger. The county had hoped to keep several hundred back-office jobs, but “lost them to Tennessee where costs were lower.”
Discovery’s press release said: “Featuring a compelling environment and infrastructure, Knoxville is a self-contained campus with many amenities and benefits for a national operations headquarters, including a low cost of living, and built-in facilities and operational capabilities. It will continue to house the major Scripps brands and creative digital teams along with corporate functions.”
Maryland’s Republican governor, Larry Hogan, reacted strangely: “In the grand scheme of things, it’s not the end of the world.”
Post writer Abha Bhattarai said the company’s decision could have political repercussions.
You reckon?