TYSONS, Va.—Tegna has announced that its shareholders have voted overwhelmingly to approve the proposed $6.2 billion merger with Nexstar Media Group.

In August, the station groups entered into a definitive agreement for Nexstar to buy Tegna for about $6.2 billion. The deal would create a behemoth in the local broadcasting industry with 265 full-power television stations in 44 states and the District of Columbia, with stations in 132 of the country’s 210 television DMAs.

The Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated Aug. 18, was approved by holders of 98% of Tegna’s common stock who voted at a Nov. 18 special meeting, Tegna said.

The Federal Communications Commission still must approve the deal, which will require it to relax existing ownership caps.

The deal is expected to close by the second half of next year, Tegna said, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Upon closing, Tegna will become a subsidiary of Nexstar Media Group and its shares will no longer be traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the company said.

IRVING, Texas—Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has inked a multi-year time brokerage agreement with KAZT-TV in Phoenix, Arizona, the nation’s 11th largest television market. 

Nextstar also announced that KAZT-TV will become an affiliate of The CW Network on February 1. 

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.  

Under terms of the agreement, Nexstar will provide KAZT-TV with programming and other services, including management of its sales,  promotion, marketing, and technical operations. 

As a result of the agreement, Nexstar will own or provide services to local television stations in ten of the 15 largest TV markets in the U.S., and 18 of the top 25.  

“We’re pleased to enter into this agreement with KAZT-TV, especially since Arizona will once again be a  battleground state in this year’s Presidential election,” said Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division. “We’re looking forward to helping KAZT-TV expand its service to Phoenix-area  viewers and forge an even deeper connection to the community. We know that adding the live sports and  entertainment programming of The CW Network will enable KAZT-TV to establish new and meaningful relationships with a variety of advertising and marketing clients.”  

DAYTON, Ohio—TV broadcasters in Dayton, Ohio have launched NextGen TV broadcasts (aka ATSC 3.0). Stations include: WKEF (Sinclair/ABC and Fox), WHIO-TV (Cox/CBS), WDTN (Nexstar/NBC), WPTD (PBS) and WRGT-TV (Cunningham Broadcasting/Dabl). 

Based on the same fundamental technology as the internet and digital apps, NextGen TV can support a wide range of features that are currently in development. In addition to providing a new, improved way for broadcasters to reach viewers with advanced emergency alerts, NextGen TV features stunning video with brilliant color, sharper images and deeper contrast to create a more life-like experience. 

This month’s launch in Dayton follows a decade of development and months of planning and preparation by the local stations. WRGT-TV, the lighthouse station in the market, has converted to ATSC 3.0 and along with its own programming, will broadcast the programming of the other participating stations in NextGen TV format. All programming of all participating stations will continue to be available in the existing ATSC 1.0 DTV format. BitPath, which is developing new data broadcasting services, led the planning process and coordinated efforts across the five television stations. 

At midnight on Friday night, Verizon Fios removed  from its lineup 13 TV stations owned by Nexstar Media in 10 markets including New York City, Philadelphia, Providence, and Buffalo, impacting more than 2.3 million subscribers in the latest battle over carriage fees. It also removed Nexstar’s national cable news network, NewsNation,  

The two companies had warned subscribers earlier last week with Fios claiming that Nexstar was demanding a 64% increase in fees. At issue is the extension of a contract for Fios to carry Nexstar stations and comes during the height of several sports seasons including the NFL, college football and the MLB post-season.

Fios accused Nexstar of not putting its subscribers first.

"Unfortunately, Nexstar has a reputation for this type of practice with providers, which ultimately results in viewers losing out on their content," Verizon said. "We are disappointed that Nexstar was unwilling to enter into a fair agreement, leaving Verizon customers without access to programming that they value. It’s time for our leaders at the FCC and in Congress to protect consumers by holding them – and other broadcasters who frequently use this tactic – accountable. We will continue to work hard to put our customers first and come to a fair agreement with Nexstar on their behalf."

The FCC requires broadcasters and cable operators to negotiate in good faith, but has been reluctant to step in at the behest of either side of such impasses when they claim the other side is guilty of bad faith.

In response, Nexstar said it “has been negotiating tirelessly and in good faith in an attempt to reach a mutually agreeable multi-year contract with Verizon FiOS, offering the same fair market rates it offered to other large distribution partners with whom it completed successful negotiations in earlier this year.  Nexstar routinely reaches amicable retransmission and carriage agreements with its cable, satellite, and telco partners—in the last three years alone, the company has successfully completed agreements with more than 500 distribution partners.”

Fios had a similar dispute with Tegna earlier this year. 

A recent analysis from SP Global based on MediaCensus video subscriber estimates predicts that such a disruption cost Nexstar between $118.1 million to $173.6 million annually.

IRVING, Texas & Los Angeles—Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has announced that it has closed its previously announced acquisition of a 75% ownership  interest in The CW Network, LLC from co-owners Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global. 

Warner Bros Discovery and Paramount each retain a 12.5% ownership  interest in The CW. 

Nexstar also announced that Dennis Miller has been named president of The CW,  effective immediately and that Mark Pedowitz is stepping down as chairman/CEO after 11-year tenure.

Miller has served as a member of Nexstar’s Board of Directors since 2014 and  has stepped down from the Board in connection with his appointment. Nexstar has initiated a search for  a new member of its Board of Directors. 

Miller is assuming leadership of The CW from Mark Pedowitz, who, after serving as chairman and CEO  of The CW for the past 11 years, has announced his intention to revive his successful production company. Pedowitz will provide support to The CW, Nexstar, and Mr. Miller in a streamlined transition. 

Throughout his tenure, Pedowitz was instrumental in charting the expansion of The CW and bringing  some of the most groundbreaking and generation-defining programming in television to millions of  viewers, the company said. 

“Dennis Miller brings a unique skill set of proven television, media, and technology industry expertise, as  well as venture capital experience to the role of president at The CW. His understanding and ability to  unlock value from media assets by delivering high-quality, profitable entertainment, will serve the  network, its viewers, its partners and CW affiliates around the country extremely well. We are confident  his background, experience and relationships will allow Nexstar to deliver on the value of this transaction  for our shareholders,” said Perry Sook, Nexstar’s chairman and CEO. “I look forward to  working with Dennis and Sean Compton, Nexstar’s President of Networks, to build on the foundation that  Mark Pedowitz and his team have established at both the CW Network and the CW App. We sincerely  thank Mark for his many years of service to The CW and wish him the very best in his future endeavors.” 

Miller is a seasoned television executive who has held senior executive positions at Sony Pictures Entertainment, Lionsgate Television and Turner Network Television. 

He most recently served as Chairman of Industrial Media until  its sale to Sony Pictures Television earlier this year. Industrial Media is an independent production group  whose companies collectively produce more than 94 television shows airing across 34 networks, including  some of the most popular shows on television including “American Idol” on ABC; the “Matchmaker” series  on Netflix; the Selena Gomez cooking show, the upcoming “The Climb” with Jason Momoa and other programming. 

Miller also has significant experience as an investor, having  spent several years as a General Partner at Spark Capital and a Managing Director at Bear Stearns’ venture  arm, Constellation Ventures. He began his career in the entertainment and tax department of the law firm of Manatt, Phelps, Rothenberg and Tunney. 

“It’s been an honor to serve as the Chairman and CEO of The CW Network for the last 11 years and I am  very proud of what our exceptional teams have accomplished together over that time,” said Pedowitz.  “It was the right moment for me to hand over the leadership baton and I am excited to move on to the  next chapter of my professional career where I can pursue a different set of interests. I am confident  Perry, Sean, Dennis and the Nexstar team’s ability to usher in the next phase of growth and success for  the CW Network and look forward to supporting them during the transition period.” 

DAYTON, Ohio & IRVING, Texas—Nexstar Media Inc. has announced the promotion of Melissa Jones to vice president  and general manager of its broadcasting and digital operations in Dayton, Ohio (DMA #64), including  WDTN-TV (NBC), wdtn.com, and its related digital and social media channels. 

In this new role, she will also be responsible for overseeing Nexstar’s relationship with Vaughn Media’s WBDT, Dayton’s CW, under two joint operating agreements. 

Jones assumes the position from Joe Abouzeid, who was named vice president and general manager of Nexstar’s Buffalo media operations in May. She will begin her duties on July 20, and report to Doug Davis, senior vice president and regional manager for the broadcasting division of Nexstar Media Inc. 

“Melissa’s success and commitment make her the ideal choice to lead our media businesses in Dayton,”  said Davis. “She is an innovative and experienced executive who understands how to connect with  local viewers and advertisers and build community relationships. Importantly, Melissa is an engaged  leader who enjoys and is adept at collaborating with all departments in achieving strategic goals. This has  led to her superb tenure in Albany and I look forward to continued successes under Melissa’s leadership  with our terrific team in Dayton.” 

Jones brings nearly 15 years of local broadcast management, sales and marketing experience to her new role at Nexstar. 

Since 2019, she has served as director of sales for Nexstar’s WTEN-TV (ABC) and for Mission Broadcasting’s WXXA-TV (FOX), in Albany, New York (DMA #59), overseeing long-term sales and  marketing strategy, day-to-day sales operations and client relationships. 

Jones began her career in  local broadcasting at WTEN-TV in 2008 as an assistant assignment editor, moving into sales the following  year, and rising through the ranks to lead all broadcast and digital sales efforts for WTEN-TV and WXXA TV. 

During her tenure, Jones and her team consistently demonstrated the ability to grow annual sales  revenue for both television stations through a variety of unique, innovative, cross-platform solutions for  advertisers. She has a proven record of success, driving significant increases in local, national and digital  sales over the last eleven years, while generating significant local market share growth from 2011 to 2019, Under Mrs. Jones’ leadership, WTEN-TV and WXXA-TV have expanded their local and regional client  relationships and grown new direct advertising business by more than 300 percent since 2017, Nexstar reported. 

Jones also spearheaded the creation and development of several important community sponsorships  during her time at WTEN-TV and WXXA-TV, including the annual Fall “Coats for Kids” campaign and the  “News10 Backpack Giveaway,” which distributes more than 1,500 backpacks filled with school supplies each school year. Jones also played a key role in deepening the existing exclusive partnership  between WTEN-TV, the New York Racing Association, and Saratoga Race Course, raising awareness for  one of the region’s most important commercial enterprises and resulting in substantial broadcast and  digital advertising revenue. 

Commenting on her promotion, Jones said, “I am honored to be assuming this new role in Dayton,  and extremely grateful to Nexstar for giving me this opportunity. I appreciate the legacy of service  established by WDTN-TV and Vaughn Media’s WBDT, and the important role they play in the community.  The strength of WDTN-TV, Dayton’s CW, and their digital and social media channels, combined with  Nexstar’s commitment to hyper-local content and the unique and customized advertising and marketing  solutions we can offer, give us a distinct advantage in meeting the needs of the area’s viewers and  advertisers. I look forward to working with our dedicated team in Dayton and quickly connecting with the  Dayton regional community.” 

Jones is a member of The Alliance for Women in Media and serves on the Futures Committee of the  New York State Broadcasters Association, which actively seeks to bring new and emerging talent into the  broadcasting industry. Jones earned her Bachelor’s degree in TV, Radio and Film Communications  from Marist College, where she also minored in Business Administration. She and her husband, Jonathan,  have been married for eight years and have two children; they will be relocating to Dayton immediately. 

CHICAGO, Ill.—Nexstar Media has announced that its NewsNation news and entertainment cable network is significantly expanding its live news programming and that by early June the network will have added 12 hours of live news programming each week. 

Once the expansion is complete, the network, which reaches about 75 million U.S. television households, will have increased its weekly original programming from 21 hours at its launch in September 2020, to a total of 61 hours of live news, analysis, and talk every week.

“NewsNation is well down the path to becoming a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week cable news network, and this latest expansion is a clear demonstration of our commitment to making that a reality,” said Sean Compton, president of the networks division of Nexstar Media Inc.  “The appetite for balanced, unbiased news has never been greater, especially in light of the war in Ukraine.”

As part of the expansion, NewsNation’s live late evening national newscast, which debuted with the outbreak of war in Ukraine, will permanently join the network’s programming line-up weeknights from 11 p.m. to 12 a.m. ET.  

In addition, in June, NewsNation’s live, national morning news programming will expand to four hours each weekday. 

Beginning Monday, March 28, “Rush Hour,” NewsNation’s early evening newscast anchored by Nichole Berlie, will expand one hour and air weeknights from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET. 

Joe Donlon, who has anchored “The Donlon Report” since spring of 2021, has decided to leave NewsNation; his last show will be Friday, March 25. 

IRVING, TX—Nexstar Media Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Nexstar Media Group, has acquired The Hill for $130 million in a deal that the company hopes will create synergies between The Hill’s popular digital political news offerings and Nexstar’s extensive news operations. 

In announcing the deal, Nexstar noted that Hill had more than 48 million average monthly users and 2.2 billion total pageviews in 2020. The Hill also attracted more than 4 million followers and 914 million video views on  Twitter and received five times more Facebook interactions than other political news website. 

That complements Nexstar’s own digital platform, which delivered record growth and audience engagement in 2020, ranking #1 in local news for every month of the year and reaching record key performance indicators, including average monthly users of 91 million and 7.8 billion pageviews, Nexstar reported. 

Combined, The Hill and Nexstar are used by a third of all U.S. digital media viewers, Nexstar said.  

The Hill has more than 100 journalists who cover political news and events, creating potential synergies between The Hill and Nexstar’s  cable news network, NewsNation, and its local news gathering operations, which has 5,500 journalists producing over 275,000 hours of local and national news annually.  

“The  accretive acquisition of The Hill’s independent, political digital media platform marks continued progress with Nexstar’s ‘content-first strategy’ and reflects our organization-wide commitment to deliver trusted, unbiased, fact-based journalism that engages and informs our audiences across all screens and devices,” explained Tom Carter, Nexstar president and chief operating officer. “The Hill has a nationally recognized brand known for delivering balanced political reporting, as well as  authentic opinions and perspectives, and is highly complementary to Nexstar’s national cable news  network, NewsNation. According to the January 2021 Ad Fontes Media Bias Chart, The Hill and  NewsNation are two of the most centrist of leading news outlets in the U.S.”

Carter also noted that The Hill was “a  national brand with strong profitability” and that “The Hill marks the second digital transaction under our ‘content  first’ strategy, following the December 2020 acquisition of BestReviews, which is already benefiting from  its incorporation into Nexstar’s digital network. Going forward, Nexstar will continue to focus on select  strategic, accretive digital investments to complement, leverage and scale our content offerings.”  

IRVING, Texas—Nexstar has announced that Lee Ann Gliha has been hired as the company's executive vice president and chief financial officer. 

When she assumes her new job on August 9, Gliha will oversee all financial aspects of the company’s business, including internal and external financial  reporting, internal audit, compliance and controls, investor relations, and treasury and capital markets  functions, and will take a prominent role in strategic planning, business development, and mergers and  acquisitions. 

Gliha is stepping into the CFO role from Thomas E. Carter, who was named president and  chief operating officer in October 2020 and has served as the company’s executive vice president and  chief financial officer since joining the Company in 2009.  

Gliha brings more than 20 years of experience in media, broadcasting, and entertainment investment  banking to her new role at Nexstar, serving most recently as a managing director at Jefferies LLC., since 2016. 

Over the course of her career, she has advised a wide range of clients and structured transactions  worth more than $90 billion, primarily in the technology, media, and telecommunications sector,  including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and debt and equity financings. 

“Lee Ann is an accomplished finance leader who understands the rapidly evolving media ecosystem and  brings extensive industry relationships to her new role at Nexstar,” said Carter. “This background will  be invaluable to Nexstar’s senior management team, Board of Directors, and our experienced finance  team, and will be instrumental in advancing our strategic objectives with the goal of further enhancing  shareholder value.” 

IRVING, Texas—The Nexstar Media Group has named Courtney Williams to the newly created position of chief diversity officer where she will lead the company’s efforts to expand the diversity of its workforce in hiring, promotion, and retention. 

Williams currently serves as vice president of human resources. She will continue to report to Terri Bush, senior vice president of human resources and associate counsel and will assume her additional duties immediately, the company reported. 

“Courtney has a deep understanding of and commitment to Nexstar’s ongoing diversity and inclusion efforts and has helped spearhead some of the Diversity and Inclusion Council’s key initiatives, including the introduction of several employee resource groups and our recently launched mentorship program,” said Bush in a statement. “Her leadership and experience make her the ideal person for this critically important position.”

Williams is an experienced human resources executive who joined Nexstar in late-2019, after serving in a variety of human resources leadership positions at such companies as General Electric, Coca-Cola Refreshments, Gannett (now Tegna) and Tribune Media.  

She was promoted to vice president of human resources for Nexstar in September 2020. 

As Nexstar’s chief diversity officer, Williams will oversee the creation and development, and execution of a comprehensive strategic plan to expand the Company’s diversity and serve as the chairperson of Nexstar’s Diversity and Inclusion Council.

In a statement, Williams noted: “Diversity is one of Nexstar’s core values and I am looking forward to helping the Company identify, recruit and promote employees of diverse backgrounds and life experiences and to develop a systematic process for continuing to enrich our workplace culture with a wide variety of viewpoints and beliefs. The work of Nexstar’s Diversity and Inclusion Council has made significant progress during the past 18 months and I am confident that future initiatives will continue to make a significant impact on the 13,000 employees across the Nexstar Nation.”

IRVING, Texas—Nexstar Media Inc., a subsidiary of Nexstar Media Group Inc., announced the promotion of Andrew (Andy) Alford to president of the Broadcasting Division effective June 1. He will oversee Nexstar’s 198 owned and operated television stations across the country and their related digital properties, and report to Nexstar President, COO and CFO Tom Carter.  Alford replaces Tim Busch, who is retiring on May 31 after more than 20 years with Nexstar.

Alford joined Nexstar in 2017, with the company’s acquisition of Media General Inc., and has served as senior vice president and regional manager for Nexstar’s Broadcasting Division, overseeing the company’s television stations and digital properties in Chicago, Tampa, Indianapolis, St. Louis, and multiple stations in the Southeastern area of the United States.

Carter said in a press statement, “Andy is an accomplished leader who brings more than thirty years of experience in broadcast management, sales, local news and programming to his new role at Nexstar. … We are confident in Andy’s ability to further advance the growth of our Broadcast Division, while extending our legacy of delivering exceptional service to the local communities where we operate and value to our shareholders.”

Prior to joining Nexstar, Alford held several positions with Media General including vice president and general manager of WFLA-TV and WTTA-TV, Media General’s NBC and MyNet affiliates serving the Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg/Sarasota, Fla. area; and vice president of sales, where he was responsible for sales strategies and operation.

“I’m fortunate to be working with a skillful and experienced management team dedicated to growing ratings, revenue and profitability, while providing outstanding journalism and serving the local communities in which we operate,” said Alford. “I look forward to working with the incredible group of broadcast professionals that comprise the Nexstar Nation and I’m confident we will build on the solid foundation we have established to achieve even greater success.”

BOSTON & BALTIMORE—The Dallas Designated Market Area is taking its first step toward Next Gen TV with the construction of single frequency network sites to broadcast ATSC 3.0 signals via a partnership between Sinclair Broadcast Group, Nexstar Media Group, Univision Local Media and American Tower Corporation.

The agreement between the broadcasters and American Tower will create a SFN for the testing, validation and deployment of ATSC 3.0. The goal is to develop a roadmap for broadcasters and increase the speed in which Next Gen TV services can be provided to consumers. Some of the services that ATSC 3.0 is expected to bring to consumers includes improved over-the-air reception, immersive audio, deep-indoor reception, mobile reception, zoned programming/advertising, automotive services and advanced emergency alerting.

The FCC gave its approval for broadcasters to voluntarily start rolling out ATSC 3.0 in November 2017 and other cities have begun to plan deployments to test the standard, most notably Phoenix.

“With the FCC’s approval of the ATSC 3.0 standard, broadcasters are eager and ready to demonstrate its many capabilities, business opportunities and consumer benefits,” said Chris Ripley, president and CEO of Sinclair.

Speaking on the Dallas partnership, American Tower’s Steven Marshall said: “The combination of our broadcast and wireless assets, industry expertise, coupled with these three television broadcaster leaders will help to make ATSC 3.0 a reality for broadcasters.”

No timetable for the construction of these single frequency networks was given.

For a comprehensive list of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see our ATSC3 silo.