{"id":108963,"date":"2025-10-30T14:19:32","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T14:19:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/108963\/"},"modified":"2025-10-30T14:19:32","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T14:19:32","slug":"nexstar-extends-ceo-perry-sook-contract-through-2029","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/108963\/","title":{"rendered":"Nexstar Extends CEO Perry Sook Contract Through 2029"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tNexstar<\/a> Media Group, the largest U.S. broadcast TV station group, extended the employment agreement of chairman and CEO Perry Sook<\/a> through March 31, 2029.<\/p>\n

\n\tSook, who is the company\u2019s third largest shareholder, oversees Nexstar, which has just over 200 owned or partner stations in 116 U.S. markets. Now Nexstar wants to get even bigger: In August,\u00a0the company announced an agreement to acquire rival station group Tegna, which has 64 stations, for $6.2 billion<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tSook founded Nexstar in 1996 and has served as CEO of the Irving, Texas-based company ever since. During his tenure as chief executive, Sook has led the completion and integration of more than 40 acquisitions. In 2024, he had a compensation package worth $35.9 million (up 23% from the year prior), including stock awards valued at $27.7 million and a $3.2 million cash bonus.<\/p>\n

\n\tNexstar and Sook have also been in the headlines recently over the company\u2019s decision to pre-empt Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s late-night show on its ABC affiliates<\/a>, over comments Kimmel made about the MAGA movement\u2019s attempts to score political points from Charlie Kirk\u2019s assassination. With the Tegna deal pending, Nexstar\u2019s decision was seen as an attempt to get in the good graces of FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who had vigorously criticized Kimmel\u2019s remarks and suggested local TV stations could lose their broadcast licenses if Kimmel were not taken off the air. Nexstar\u2019s acquisition of Tegna would require the FCC to lift the station ownership cap, which allows broadcasters to reach no more than 39% of the national audience.<\/p>\n

\n\tNexstar denied Carr\u2019s threats influenced its decision<\/a>\u00a0to pre-empt Kimmel\u2019s show. Three days after ABC reinstated Kimmel, Nexstar agreed to start airing \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d again<\/a> (as did Sinclair, which also had boycotted Kimmel over the Kirk remarks). The company said Disney execs were taking a \u201cconstructive approach to addressing our concerns.\u201d Sook, in a memo to Nexstar staffers written with president\/COO Mike Biard, defended Nexstar\u2019s move to pull Kimmel\u2019s show, saying the company was exercising its \u201cduty to program in the public interest\u201d as FCC licensees. Sook and Biard also said Nexstar\u2019s blackout of Kimmel wasn\u2019t a First Amendment violation: \u201cNo one has an unlimited right to say whatever they want on a talk show.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a statement Thursday, Sook said, \u201cAs we embark on this next phase of growth for Nexstar, I have never been more energized about the prospects for the industry, for Nexstar and for what Nexstar can become. I look forward to leading the company to new levels of success and continuing to create value for our shareholders, our advertisers, our employees and the communities we serve.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tJay Grossman, chairman of the Nexstar board\u2019s compensation committee, commented, \u201cThe board is delighted to extend Perry\u2019s employment agreement at this pivotal moment for Nexstar and the local broadcast television industry. Perry\u2019s vision, commitment and deep understanding of the media landscape have been instrumental in driving Nexstar\u2019s strong and consistent record of operating execution, financial growth and shareholder returns.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tNexstar expects the Tegna deal to close in the second half of 2026, pending regulatory approvals. Grossman, commenting on the pending Tegna deal, said, \u201cThe proposed acquisition of Tegna represents the next chapter in Nexstar\u2019s growth story and with Perry\u2019s unmatched experience and track record of success in broadcast M&A, he is uniquely qualified to deliver the full value we expect for shareholders, as well as the local communities we serve.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tNexstar\u2019s national television properties include the CW, the U.S.\u2019s No. 5 broadcast network, NewsNation, multicast networks Antenna TV and Rewind TV, and a 31.3% ownership stake in TV Food Network. The company\u2019s digital assets include its local TV station websites, political news outlet The Hill and NewsNationNow.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nexstar Media Group, the largest U.S. broadcast TV station group, extended the employment agreement of chairman and CEO…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":108964,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[156,111,139,43683,78361,69,78362,437],"class_list":{"0":"post-108963","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-new-zealand","10":"tag-newzealand","11":"tag-nexstar","12":"tag-nexstar-media-group","13":"tag-nz","14":"tag-perry-sook","15":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108963"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108963\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}