KARK Parent Company Chief Named Broadcaster of the Year
By: KARK 4 News
Updated: September 10, 2009
The recession has dealt a big blow to many broadcasting companies who've had to layoff staff or shutdown entire stations.
But one company that's keeping its head above water is KARK 4's parent company Nexstar Broadcasting Group.
That's one reason why Nexstar chairman, president and chief executive officer Perry Sook has been named 2009 Broadcaster of the Year by Broadcasting & Cable magazine.
Sook was presented with the honor today during the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) forecasting conference at the McGraw-Hill Conference Center in New York.
"B&C has made an outstanding choice," said TVB President Chris Rohrs. "Perry pioneered the retransmission-consent revenue stream and has been a staunch advocate of multiplatform development. He is one of the industry's great innovators and visionaries."
Sook is hailed as a pioneer who fought cable operators for retransmission-consent cash back when nearly all in broadcasting were content to sit on the sidelines.
This year, Nexstar added CW affiliate WCWJ in Jacksonville, the group's first station in Florida.
Under Sook, the company also cut a deal this year to provide management services for the seven stations owned by Four Points Media Group, an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management.
Sook currently serves as a director of the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters, the Television Bureau of Advertising and as a trustee for the Ohio University Foundation.
In addition to KARK 4 and sister station KARZ 42, Nexstar Broadcasting Group owns, operates, programs or provides sales and other services to 61 television stations in 34 markets in 14 states.
But one company that's keeping its head above water is KARK 4's parent company Nexstar Broadcasting Group.
That's one reason why Nexstar chairman, president and chief executive officer Perry Sook has been named 2009 Broadcaster of the Year by Broadcasting & Cable magazine.
Sook was presented with the honor today during the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) forecasting conference at the McGraw-Hill Conference Center in New York.
"B&C has made an outstanding choice," said TVB President Chris Rohrs. "Perry pioneered the retransmission-consent revenue stream and has been a staunch advocate of multiplatform development. He is one of the industry's great innovators and visionaries."
Sook is hailed as a pioneer who fought cable operators for retransmission-consent cash back when nearly all in broadcasting were content to sit on the sidelines.
This year, Nexstar added CW affiliate WCWJ in Jacksonville, the group's first station in Florida.
Under Sook, the company also cut a deal this year to provide management services for the seven stations owned by Four Points Media Group, an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management.
Sook currently serves as a director of the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters, the Television Bureau of Advertising and as a trustee for the Ohio University Foundation.
In addition to KARK 4 and sister station KARZ 42, Nexstar Broadcasting Group owns, operates, programs or provides sales and other services to 61 television stations in 34 markets in 14 states.
