Radio+Television Business Report

New York, NY – Nexstar Inc., America’s largest local broadcasting company, is seeking an experienced and dynamic Vice President/General Manager to oversee its operational agreement with Mission Broadcasting, providing services to WPIX-TV in New York City, the #1-ranked market in the country.

In this role, the Vice President/General Manager will have full oversight over Nexstar’s operations at WPIX-TV (CW), as well as the station’s digital, mobile and social media assets. WPIX-TV is owned by Mission Broadcasting and Nexstar Inc. provides operational support under the terms of a Local Programming and Marketing Agreement.

Nexstar seeks a proven leader to join the ranks of the country’s largest local broadcast company in the largest DMA in the United States. Proven skillsets and demonstrable experience in leading broadcast operational teams with sales-driven organizations, developing locally originated content, and a commitment to community service are fundamental requirements of this position.

Additionally, the successful candidate will have demonstrated results in developing revenue across multiple platforms, promoting teamwork within all station departments and a track record of success in maintaining a focus on operational efficiencies and growth in programming performance and new local revenue generation.

Essential Duties and Requirements

Ideal candidates will have a minimum of five years of general management experience at a commercial broadcast television station with accompanying digital assets. The right fit for this position will be a seasoned and knowledgeable professional who is a driven advocate of local broadcasting and digital service to the community in which they have previously served. This position requires a leader with exemplary strategic vision, focused execution, and a verified understanding of local outreach and thoughtful community involvement. In addition to having a proven track record of managing high-performing sales, and news teams, the successful candidate must be effective in collaborating with department heads, staff members and promoting teamwork within all areas of station operations, preferably with oversight of a large staff. The ability to engage local community leaders and develop long-term relationships with key station clients is essential.

If you are interested in joining the executive ranks of Nexstar Inc.’s operational leadership team, and making an impact in the nation’s largest DMA, you are encouraged to apply online at www.nexstar.tv/careers/

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Leadership Foundation is now accepting entries for the 2021 Celebration of Service to America Awards, recognizing outstanding community service by local broadcasters.

Following the pattern of the 2020 Celebration of Service to America Awards, winners and finalists will again be honored during a special televised event, available for stations to air next summer.

The one-hour program will feature celebrity guests, past honorees and D.C. policymakers commending local radio and television stations from across the country for their commitment to public service and the measures taken throughout 2020 to keep communities informed, supported and safe.

Eight Service to Community Awards will be presented, with one radio and one television honoree in each of the following categories:

• Broadcast Ownership Group
• Large/Major Market (TV DMAs 1-50, Radio Markets 1-50)
• Medium Market (TV DMAs 51-100, Radio Markets 51-150)
• Small Market (TV DMAs 101-210, Radio Markets 151-300)

Radio and television stations, as well as broadcast groups, are encouraged to enter their best community service efforts from the past year. Both NAB members and non-members are eligible to enter.

Entries must be submitted by Friday, March 5, 2021 at 11:59 PST.

Additional information on the awards entry rules is available at ServiceToAmericaAwards.org.

New research released Monday (1/11) by groupM finds that more than half of its respondents believe it is important to be equipped with the latest technology.

An even greater percentage of respondents think that either they or a family member should be the only ones with access to health and fitness tracker data — an interesting privacy concern that media may wish to take note of when seeking to build their consumer databases based on opt-out criteria some may not be aware of.

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In January 2015, she joined conservative Talk station WIND-AM 560 in Chicago as a Senior Account Executive. In August 2018, she rose to GSM.

Now, she’s been promoted to Director of Sales for Salem Media Group‘s entire Windy City operations.

Earning the bump up in responsibilities is  Angenette Natkowski. It’s a newly created position, one that sees her add duties for Salem Surround Chicago and sales leadership for Christian Talk & Teaching WYLL-AM 1160.

“As a salesperson, she not only had success selling AM 560, Angenette was instrumental with the launch of Salem Chicago’s digital division,” said Salem Media Group Chicago VP/GM Jeff Reisman. “Over the past two plus years, Angenette has proven herself to be a strategic sales manager and a strong leader. She is a seasoned marketing and communications professional. I am thrilled to put Angenette’s creativity and expertise to work on AM 1160 and have her lead Chicago’s talented sales team.”

On Wednesday (1/6), Cox Media Group lit the PR cannons and lobbed a cannonball in the direction of Suddenlink, in the form of a warning to subscribers that its broadcast TV channels were in danger of being “blocked” in lieu of a fresh retransmission consent agreement.

Suddenlink responded. But, talks didn’t progress since a day that will be long remembered for a Capitol Hill insurrection. As such, Suddenlink, by law, has prevented its paying subscribers from getting any CMG-owned station.

At 6:30pm PT on Friday (1/8), FOX affiliates KAYU-28 in Spokane, WHBQ-13 in Memphis and KOKI-23 in Tulsa; ABC affiliate KLAX-31 in Alexandria; the CBS and NBC affiliates serving Eureka-Arcata, Calif.; and the ABC, FOX, NBC and CBS stations serving Greenwood and Greenville, Miss., are now being blocked from viewers.

The blame game is on.

On Friday, Cox beat Suddenlink to the PR punch, pointing fingers that the Altice USA-owned MVPD for making “an anti-consumer decision to drop Cox Media Group (CMG) TV stations.”

Rather than reach a fair market deal with the Apollo Global Management-controlled CMG, Suddenlink “unfortunately opted to place their customers in the middle of their negotiations.”

Is that true, or a one-sided opinion?

Less than one hour later, Suddenlink issued a statement “related to Cox Media Group pulling its networks” from its TV lineups in six markets.

Intriguingly, Suddenlink used the word “networks” instead of “channels,” although none of the Big Four networks are involved in the negotiations.

“Despite being in the midst of a pandemic when access to affordable news is incredibly critical, Cox Media Group has pulled its channels from Suddenlink TV lineups in certain markets in an effort to extract an exorbitant increase in fees from us and our customers,” Suddenlink claims. “With so many households across the nation struggling, we call on Cox Media Group to stop holding our customers hostage, return the channels to our lineups, and focus on working with us to negotiate a new deal that is fair to our customers.”

To its defense, Cox points out that it has “over 100 agreements in place, including those with every other major cable and satellite provider in the markets we serve.”

Suddenlink responds that through parent company Altice USA in recent months, it has reached “dozens of deals with programmers, including many broadcasters in just the last several weeks, with no disruption to our customers.” Further, it assails CMG in asking for higher rates than what it pays “any other broadcaster.”

And, Cox EVP/Television Paul Curran took note of the pandemic while insisting that CMG stations get what they deserve in the way of retrans compensation.

“Our country continues to navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic and, during these uncertain times, it is more important than ever that our viewers know their trusted local stations are there for them, providing the news and information they need to make decisions for their families,” Curran said. “CMG stations take pride in being trusted and vital resources for our communities, and we will fight to continue to fulfill this responsibility.”

The Humboldt County, Calif., stations present an ironic twist for Cox. Fifteen years ago, it owned the MVPD. The stations it owns today, dominant NBC affiliate KIEM-3 in Eureka and CBS sibling KVIQ-LP 14, came to CMG in late 2019 after Brian Brady’s Northwest Broadcasting was sold to Apollo, ahead of its Cox deal. In 2005, KVIQ was a Clear Channel-owned property using Channel 6, picked up in 2002 from Ackerley Group. KIEM was owned by Pollack/Belz Broadcasting.

An Class D AM in Barstow, Calif., in November with well-remembered call letters for Los Angeles radio listeners of the past was acquired in mid-November 2020 by The Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council.

What wasn’t immediately known was that the MMTC had an immediate buyer. Now, paperwork filed with the Commission shows the little AM known as KIQQ is being spun to a new operator.

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On the north shore of pristine Lake Tahoe is Incline Village, Nev.

It’s a part of the Reno, Nev., DMA. That’s key to understanding why Gray Television just agreed to purchase a couple of low-powered TV stations serving a town along Route 28 known for a nearby ski resort.

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SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIF. — Drive past Paso Robles from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on U.S. 101, and you’ll reach the agricultural hub of King City.

Here, a big Class B FM with a signal covering northern San Luis Obispo County and southern Monterey County has offered Hot Adult Contemporary music along with Classic Hits as “KC102” since owner Bill Gittler and his wife, Marianne, purchased the station in 1982.

Now, nearly three years after Marianne’s passing, Gittler is selling the station. The buyer has a big group of radio stations in San Luis Obispo.

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GOLDEN VALLEY, MINN. — After 32 years at the now-Entercom Communications-owned News/Talk station serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul market, the man behind the mic for the Morning News at WCCO-AM is hanging it up.

An April 30 retirement date was revealed Friday morning (1/8) by Dave Lee.

“In this business there are legends, there are icons, and then there is Dave Lee,” said Shannon Knoepke, Entercom/Minneapolis’ SVP/Market Manager. “It’s hard to imagine radio without him.”

While younger audiences may be more familiar with The Dave Ryan Show on Top 40 KDWB-FM, it is Dave Lee who has been an award-winning morning personality for WCCO-M since 1989.

Lee’s career in radio began in Fargo, N.D., where he served as PD/afternoon hot for big Talker KFGO-AM “The Mighty 790.”

“His credibility and sincere approach are unsurpassed,” Knoepke said.

His charitable side includes getting national recognition from The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, among other organizations.

Knoepke concluded, “We’re going to miss Dave Lee. He has had the responsibility of picking up for legends he’s replaced. Now we have to replace the legend of Dave Lee which feels impossible as we today celebrate his years of entertaining and informing us on WCCO.”

WCCO is the market’s highest-rated AM radio station.

In October, a partisan furor erupted in Washington, D.C., as FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said he would initiate a “Section 230” rulemaking process, in the wake of a censorship vs. “fake news” firestorm involving Twitter, Facebook and the New York Post.

Frank Pallone Jr., the House Energy and Commerce Chairman, and Mike Doyle, the Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman, blasted Pai, calling it “a blatant attempt to help a flailing President Trump.”

Much has changed since then. The president’s days are numbered — and his ouster ahead of Inauguration Day is being discussed by many on Capitol Hill, the scene of a January 6 insurrection by Trump supporters.

As such, Pai is standing down. But, he believes a rule rewrite is needed, and is the job of Congress.

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The quest to get the nation’s highest court to reverse a remand of the FCC’s cross-ownership rule rewrite by the Third Circuit Federal Appeals Court in Philadelphia has continued with the submission on Friday (1/8) of a reply brief to the Supreme Court by the NAB.

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In just days, Ajit Pai will become a former Chairman of the FCC, as Joe Biden is sworn in as the next President of the United States.

On Friday, he addressed the Free State Foundation — a group he last addressed one month before ascending to the top spot at the Commission. His focus was on how reforms made since 2017 bettered the FCC for good.

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In late August, RBR+TVBR first reported on the reemergence of a Hispanic media company founder who lost control of the entity that wound up in bankruptcy protection, only to reemerge under a new name under CEO Peter Markham.

LBI Media founder Lenard Liberman, for a song, was snagging required divestitures tied to the arrangement that gave majority ownership of Univision Communications to private investment firm SearchLight Capital Partners and ForgeLight, an operating and investment company focused on media and consumer technology.

That spinoff deal, brokered by Kalil & Co., has now closed.

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LOS ANGELES — The National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE), the association representing content producers, distributors, streamers and buyers that stages the annual NATPE Miami conference and expo, has selected its opening keynoter.

It’s the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming Chairman, and he’ll be joined by a popular TODAY anchor.

Mark Lazarus will be joined on the virtual stage by Hoda Kotb, co-anchor of NBC News’ TODAY and co-host of TODAY with Hoda & Jenna.

Kotb will moderate the “fireside conversation” as the all-online NATPE Virtual Miami 2021 event begins on January 19. Sessions conclude Jan. 22; the marketplace is open through Jan. 29.

Attendees to the conference can expect four days of programming channels each with a different theme (Business, Audience, Content, Production). On each of those days, there will be programming blocks with different tracks. Every day will commence with The Big Opening, which includes the conversation with Lazarus, followed by Station Groups, Streaming, and Series.

The line-up includes top content industry executives from AMC, A+E, Avalon, Canal+, CW, DirecTV, DMR, Eccho Rights, Endemol Shine, Entertainment Studios, FilmRise, FOX, Hearst Television Group, ITV Studios, LiveLike, Neilsen, Netflix, Premiere Digital, PBS, StudioCanal, Telemundo, Tubi, RMVISTAR, Starz, Universal Television, Univision, ViacomCBS, Vrio, The Walt Disney Company, and Whip Media.

For more details on the executives speaking and for a look at the programming agenda, please visit www.natpe.com/miami/agenda.

Hearst Television’s Senior Director of Digital Content has been promoted to VP of Digital News.

He’ll continue to lead the digital strategy for the station group while also leading Hearst Television’s central news team, which publishes national and feature news content, produces original video for company franchises including “Stitch” and “Dispatches from the Middle,” and manages the company’s digital copy desk.

Taking the role is Ernesto Mourelo, who has led the digital strategy and social media efforts for Hearst Television’s local TV news websites.

“Ernie is an outstanding journalist who has elevated our digital news product in every assignment he has had with Hearst Television,” said Hearst Television President Jordan Wertlieb. “In addition to his unwavering advocacy of local journalism, Ernie has been an exceptional mentor to many within the company and the industry. His commitment and leadership have contributed to the development of many multi-platform journalists, and will continue to do so.”

Mourelo moved to Hearst Television’s New York headquarters in 2012 as Executive Digital Media Manager of Editorial Operations, tasked with coordinating the efforts of the digital media resources at the company’s TV stations; he was shortly thereafter promoted to Director of Digital Content.

Before that, he was Director of Digital Media at Hearst Television’s WLWT-5, the NBC affiliate serving the Cincinnati market.

Before joining Hearst at WLWT, Mourelo was assistant news director at KVEA-52 and KWHY-22, at the time NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises siblings serving Los Angeles. There, he ran all TV and digital content production. Previously, he was a producer and, later, executive producer at San Diego’s KNSD-39/7, the NBC affiliate.

Mourelo is an active member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the Online News Association, and currently serves as president of the New York chapter of NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists.

On a busy news day, there was a hot rumor catching fire among media brokers and analysts early Thursday: a major TV industry deal was about to transpire.

By mid-afternoon, the news was confirmed. Quincy Media Inc., owner of 24 broadcast TV stations, is “considering” a sale of all of its assets.

In a statement posted early afternoon Thursday (1/7) on its flagship NBC property, WGEM-10 in Quincy, Ill., QMI confirmed that its Board of Directors “had begun marketing the company for sale.”

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One week into 2021, all eyes are on Washington, D.C. It was called an “insurrection” by former President George W. Bush and by former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, now the junior Senator from Utah.

As supporters of the president forcefully entered the buildings of Congress, forcing all staff and Members into a lockdown, the WTOP news team sprung into action.

In this exclusive interview for the InFOCUS Podcast, presented by DOT.FM, WTOP General Manager Joel Oxley shares with RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson how the station covered all of the events — including the 4am Eastern certification of the electoral college votes that seals the victory of Joe Biden as the next president of the U.S.

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Joel Oxley, WTOP” on Spreaker.

WEST PALM BEACH — The E.W. Scripps Company and Black Diamond Capital Management LLC have closed Scripps’ acquisition of ION Media Networks.

With the deal, Scripps is, as expected, combining ION’s assets with the Katz networks and Newsy to create “a full-scale national television networks business.” Together, the national networks will reach nearly every American through free over-the-air broadcast, cable/satellite, over-the-top and digital distribution, with multiple advertising-supported programming streams.

Scripps President/CEO Adam Symson calls the ION merger “a historic and transformational moment” for Scripps, one that strengthens its leadership position in broadcasting and accelerates the media company’s multiplatform strategy “to serve diverse audiences everywhere they seek to be informed and entertained.”

And, with the closing of Scripps’ purchase of ION, Black Diamond has completed what it is calling an 11-year turnaround of ION.

“We are extremely proud of ION’s transformation from $33 million of EBITDA in 2009 to $300 million plus during our ownership,” said Christopher W. Parker, Senior Managing Director of Black Diamond and an ION Director. “This sale brings to a conclusion a successful investment for all of ION’s shareholders. We thank ION’s management team and wish Scripps well with its acquisition.”

Scripps believes “the highly accretive acquisition” will yield $500 million in synergies, most of which are contractually based, over the next six years, reaching a $120 million run rate.

Concurrent with Scripps’ merger with ION, the sale of 23 ION affiliated TV stations to INYO Broadcast Holdings, a Salt Lake City–based operator of stations, has also closed.

Scripps is the No. 4 broadcast TV station owner in the U.S.

However, this deal makes Scripps the nation’s largest holder of broadcast spectrum — a potentially valuable situation given the rollout of ATSC 3.0 and its data capabilities.

The transaction was financed with $800 million in term loans, $550 million of secured notes and $500 million of unsecured notes; a $600 million investment from Berkshire Hathaway in preferred stock; and cash from the balance sheet. The debt financing was led by Morgan Stanley Senior Funding Inc. with BofA Securities, Trust Securities, J.P. Morgan and Wells Fargo as joint book runners.

Methuselah Advisors and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC acted as financial advisors to Scripps and arranged the preferred equity investment by Berkshire Hathaway. Morgan Stanley Senior Funding Inc. provided the financing commitments for the secured and unsecured debt. Ernst & Young Capital Advisors, LLC served as debt advisor.

BakerHostetler and Brooks Pierce served as Scripps’ legal co-counsel for the acquisition, and Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Dickinson Wright PLLC served as Scripps’ legal co-counsel for the committed financing. Evercore served as exclusive advisor to the Scripps family, and Kirkland & Ellis served as its legal counsel.

Black Diamond was advised by Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld on FCC legal matters. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Cooley LLP served as legal counsel for ION Media.

A “seasoned broadcast media legal executive” has joined the C-Suite at the broadcast media company superserving Hispanics that one year ago emerged from bankruptcy protection — and shed all vestiges of its founders by changing the company name.

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In the Pacific Northwest, the Iglesia Pentecostal Víspera Del Fin has emerged as a broadcast ministry dedicated to serving Hispanic evangelicals.

Now, it is gaining some broadcast power by striking deals with both Amador Bustos and Ed Distell.

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