Nexstar Media, the newly formed broadcast group following the completed merger of Nexstar and Media General, is making some management changes.
At Nexstar Media, Elizabeth Ryder has been promoted to executive vice president and General Counsel after serving in the same position for the Nexstar Broadcasting Group. Brett Jenkins will assume the newly created position of chief technology officer at Nexstar Media. Jenkins previously worked as CTO for both Media General and LIN Media, prior to that company’s merger with Media General.
At Nexstar Broadcasting, Timothy Busch has been promoted to president after serving since 2008 as co-chief operating officer at Nexstar. The other co-COO, Brian Jones, has been named executive vice president and COO of Nexstar Broadcasting. In addition, Nexstar Broadcasting has promoted Diane Kniowski, Doug Davis and Mike Vaughn to three new regional management positions.
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With its revamped management team in place, Nexstar Media is set to begin its tenure as a much larger broadcast group.
After completing the divestitures of 13 television stations, which netted the group $548 million in considerations, Nexstar Media now owns 171 stations in 100 markets. According to a news release, the Media General transaction increased Nexstar’s broadcast portfolio by approximately two thirds and more than doubled the company’s audience reach. The deal also provided Nexstar with entrance into 15 new top-50 markets.
The newly combined company is expecting annual revenue of more than $2.3 billion.
“Our increased scale will allow us to create news bureaus in more state capitals than any other broadcaster, and Nexstar Media Group will produce over 3,500 hours a week of local news for medium and small markets while employing almost 10,000 people. Our teams consistently leverage localism to bring news, entertainment, information, services and value to consumers and advertisers through Nexstar’s television, digital and mobile media platforms, and their dedication is reflected in our strong standings in the local communities where we operate. The focus of our corporate, station-level and digital teams on local leadership, local vision and local targeting is the foundation of our positive near- and long-term financial outlook,” said Nexstar Media CEO Perry Sook in a statement.