Nexstar Media Group Names Richard Graziano Vice President And General Manager of Hartford-New Haven, Connecticut Television and Digital Operations
Proven Broadcast Executive with Large Market Expertise Returns to Hartford-New Haven to Lead WTNH-TV (ABC), WCTX-TV (MyNetworkTV) and WTNH.com
NEW HAVEN, Connecticut and IRVING, Texas – Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXST) announced today that Richard Graziano has been named Vice President and General Manager of WTNH-TV (ABC), WCTX-TV (MyNetworkTV) and associated digital services, including WTNH.com, serving Hartford-New Haven, CT (DMA #30). Mr. Graziano will immediately assume his new responsibilities and report to Doug Davis, Senior Vice President and Regional Manager of Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.
An accomplished industry executive, Richard Graziano’s broadcast career spans over 26 years with expertise in station and sales management, local content development, and strategic planning across multiple media platforms. Before joining Nexstar, Mr. Graziano held various executive management roles, most recently, where he served as President and General Manager of WPIX-TV (CW) in New York, NY (DMA #1). During his tenure at WPIX-TV, Mr. Graziano developed and led highly effective teams and implemented sales, marketing and digital media initiatives that drove increased audience, market share and profitability at the station. In addition, he was responsible for negotiating broadcast rights for marquee sporting events, including the NY Yankees and NY Mets, while also developing unique content partnerships with Sports Illustrated among many other entertainment and media properties.
Prior to WPIX-TV, Mr. Graziano was the CEO of CT1 Media in Hartford, CT where he was responsible for overseeing WTIC-TV (FOX), WCCT-TV (CW), in addition to serving as Publisher of The Hartford Courant newspaper and associated print and web properties. During his tenure, he successfully merged and integrated the broadcast and publishing properties into “CT1,” a single local media business, resulting in the largest multi-platform newsroom in New England with over 700 employees providing the most local broadcast news in Connecticut. Mr. Graziano previously was a Senior Vice President for Tribune Broadcasting with regional broadcast operational oversight of WPHL-TV, in Philadelphia, PA (DMA #4) and WDCW-TV (formerly WBDC-TV), in Washington DC (DMA #7). He also held various sales management and local account development positions at broadcast properties in the Boston, MA (DMA #9) and Atlanta, GA (DMA #10) markets.
Commenting on the appointment, Doug Davis, Senior Vice President and Regional Manager of Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. stated, “Richard Graziano brings to his new role at Nexstar over two decades of broadcasting sales and management experience, including ten years of service in the Hartford-New Haven, Connecticut market. A well-respected leader, Richard has a record of building deeply engaged sales teams that have established enduring partnerships with local advertisers, sports franchises, businesses and community organizations by providing effective cross-platform marketing solutions and unique content partnerships. Importantly, he has diverse local media experience and an intimate understanding of critical business functions including exclusive local news and content production, digital and social media integration, strategic planning, inventory management and new business development. With a results-oriented focus and entrepreneurial approach, throughout his career Richard has successfully exceeded economic goals while growing digital revenues, improving customer retention and creating new local direct business partnerships. The core tenet of Nexstar Media Group is our organization-wide commitment to localism and with Richard’s extensive local broadcast background, broad market experience and strong client and community relationships in South Central Connecticut, we are confident in his ability to continue enhancing the effectiveness and value of our broadcast, digital and mobile services in Hartford-New Haven.”
Commenting on his new role, Richard Graziano stated, “Nexstar’s long-term success is a result of its deep commitment to the local communities it serves across the United States. I am excited to return to the wonderful Hartford-New Haven community and reconnect with my personal friends and long-standing business contacts. In this role, I will leverage the management experience and relationships built over my career as well as Nexstar’s extensive local broadcast and digital resources to grow the operations and generate results while providing superior service to our clients, advertisers, and local viewers. I look forward to taking on this new opportunity at Nexstar and working alongside the exceptional local media teams at WTNH-TV, WCTX-TV and WTNH.com, as we work to expand our marketing solutions across multiple platforms for our advertising partners, while also building continued viewership growth through the delivery of enhanced local news content and entertainment programming for our local viewers.”
Richard Graziano earned his B.S. in Business Management with a concentration in Marketing from Boston College. He is a current Advisory Board Member of Jebbit, Burst.com, Zazoom Media and FitWorx. He also previously served on the Boards of Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York State Broadcasters Association, Connecticut Association of Broadcasters, Interval House, Camp Courant, Connecticut MDA Association and The Hartford Courant Foundation (currently The Fund for Greater Hartford).
About Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
Nexstar Media Group is a leading diversified media company that leverages localism to bring new services and value to consumers and advertisers through its traditional media, digital and mobile media platforms. Nexstar owns, operates, programs or provides sales and other services to 171 television stations and related digital multicast signals reaching 100 markets or approximately 39% of all U.S. television households. Nexstar’s portfolio includes primary affiliates of NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, MyNetworkTV and The CW. Nexstar’s community portal websites offer additional hyper-local content and verticals for consumers and advertisers, allowing audiences to choose where, when and how they access content while creating new revenue opportunities. For more information please visit www.nexstar.tv.
Forward-Looking Statements
This communication includes forward-looking statements. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events. Forward-looking statements include information preceded by, followed by, or that includes the words “guidance,” “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “could,” or similar expressions. For these statements, Nexstar and Media General claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements contained in this communication, concerning, among other things, the ultimate outcome and benefits of a transaction between Nexstar and Media General and timing thereof, and future financial performance, including changes in net revenue, cash flow and operating expenses, involve risks and uncertainties, and are subject to change based on various important factors, including the timing to consummate the proposed transaction; the risk that a condition to closing of the proposed transaction may not be satisfied and the transaction may not close; the risk that a regulatory approval that may be required for the proposed transaction is delayed, is not obtained or is obtained subject to conditions that are not anticipated, the impact of changes in national and regional economies, the ability to service and refinance our outstanding debt, successful integration of Media General (including achievement of synergies and cost reductions), pricing fluctuations in local and national advertising, future regulatory actions and conditions in the television stations’ operating areas, competition from others in the broadcast television markets, volatility in programming costs, the effects of governmental regulation of broadcasting, industry consolidation, technological developments and major world news events. Nexstar and Media General undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events discussed in this communication might not occur. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. For more details on factors that could affect these expectations, please see the definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus of Nexstar and Media General and Media General’s and Nexstar’s other filings with the SEC.
Contact:
Doug Davis
Senior Vice President and Regional Manager
Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.
757-393-1010 or ddavis@nexstar.tv
Joseph Jaffoni, Jennifer Neuman
JCIR
212/835-8500 or nxst@jcir.com