Nexstar Media Group Names Chris Cook as Vice President and General Manager of its Broadcasting and Digital Operations in Lafayette, Louisiana

Broadcasting Executive with 20+ Years of In-Market Experience Will Lead KLFY-TV and klfy.com

LAFAYETTE, LA and IRVING, TX – Nexstar Media Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of  Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXST), has appointed Chris Cook as Vice President and General Manager of its broadcasting and digital operations in Lafayette, LA (DMA #122), including KLFY-TV (CBS) and klfy.com and their related digital and social media channels.  Mr. Cook will begin his duties immediately and report to Mike Vaughn, Senior Vice President and Regional Manager for the broadcasting division of Nexstar Media Inc.

Throughout his more than 20-year career in broadcasting, Mr. Cook has consistently demonstrated the ability to grow ratings, revenue, and profitability, as well as build highly effective sales teams and forge deep relationships with the community.  Mr. Cook is extremely familiar with the Lafayette market and KLFY-TV, having worked previously in a variety of roles at the television station from 1997 to 2014, starting as a videographer for the news department before moving on to become promotions coordinator, marketing director, digital sales manager, and local sales manager.  His appointment as Vice President and General Manager of KLFY-TV is a fitting capstone to his years of service to the station and the Lafayette community.

During his tenure in sales at KLFY-TV, Mr. Cook was responsible for negotiating both national and local advertising buys, developing new advertising revenue streams, and driving substantial advertising growth.  While serving as digital sales director, Mr. Cook created and developed two new mobile applications focused on news and weather and implemented an innovative “rewards” program for klfy.com, including graphic design, site layout and promotion that resulted in a significant increase in traffic to the station’s website.

Mr. Cook joins Nexstar from WISH-TV in Indianapolis, Indiana (DMA# 25), where he most recently was Director of Sales.  During his tenure at WISH-TV, Mr. Cook and his team devised and implemented the sales strategy behind the launch of two new hour-long programs: “All Indiana Politics,” a weekly news and political talk show airing Sundays, and “All Indiana Bets,” a weekly sports betting show airing Saturdays and Sundays.  Mr. Cook was also instrumental in driving a renewed emphasis on delivering relevant digital content on the station’s website and social media channels, helping increase the number of unique visitors to wishtv.com to more than two million per month.

Prior to joining WISH-TV in 2020, Mr. Cook served as General Sales Manager for KLAF-TV and KADN-TV in Lafayette, overseeing sales strategy and operations for both television stations and their digital operations.  Mr. Cook has lived and worked in Lafayette for more than 25 years.

“Chris is an excellent choice to lead Nexstar’s Lafayette media businesses,” said Mr. Vaughn.  “He’s intimately familiar with the market, and understands well the expectations of its viewers, advertisers and marketers.  He’s thoughtful, innovative, and dedicated to delivering outstanding local content and service to the greater Lafayette area.  His long track-record of success, broad experience, and ability to deliver exceptional ratings and sales results through unique local partnerships and superior customer service will serve him and the team at KLFY-TV well.  I am looking forward to working with Chris as he assumes his new duties and expect much success in the future.”

Commenting on his appointment, Mr. Cook said: “I am extremely grateful to Nexstar for giving me the opportunity to return to KLFY-TV and Lafayette, a community in which I have spent many, many years of my broadcasting career.  This is like coming home.  Plus, when you combine Nexstar’s commitment to hyper-local content and the unique and innovative cross-platform advertising solutions we offer to our viewers and clients, the result gives us a distinct advantage over our competitors.  I am confident that my experience has prepared me well to take on this new role and I am pleased to be re-joining the talented team of broadcast, digital, and sales professionals at KLFY-TV and klfy.com.”

Mr. Cook has been very involved in the Lafayette community throughout his life, working with The Boys & Girls Clubs of Acadiana on their annual fundraiser, the “Food for Families” food drive benefiting FoodNet, and The Knights of Columbus “Coats for Kids” drive.  Mr. Cook attended the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana/Lafayette) and he has stayed involved with the school of Mass Communication, working with their internship program and serving as a guest lecturer.  He and his wife, Jaime, have been married for 10 years and they will be relocating to the Lafayette area immediately.

About Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXST) 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. Its wholly owned operating subsidiary, Nexstar Media Inc., consists of three divisions: Broadcasting, Digital, and Networks.  The Broadcasting Division operates, programs, or provides sales and other services to 199 television stations and related digital multicast signals reaching 116 markets or approximately 39% of all U.S. television households (reflecting the FCC’s UHF discount). The division’s portfolio includes primary affiliates of NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, MyNetworkTV and The CW. The Digital Division operates 120 local websites and 284 mobile apps offering hyper-local content and verticals for consumers and advertisers, allowing audiences to choose where, when and how they access content and creating new revenue opportunities for the company. The Networks Division operates NewsNation, formerly WGN America, a national news and entertainment cable network reaching 75 million television homes, multicast networks Antenna TV and Rewind TV, and WGN Radio in Chicago. Nexstar also owns a 31.3% ownership stake in TV Food Network, a top tier cable asset.  For more information, please visit www.nexstar.tv.

Media Contact:
Gary Weitman
EVP & Chief Communication Officer
Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
312/222-3394 or gweitman@nexstar.tv

Investor Contact:
Joseph Jaffoni or Jennifer Neuman
JCIR
212/835-8500 or nxst@jcir.com

Click here for the PDF version of the release and here for his headshot.