Nexstar Broadcasting Promotes John Lewis to Vice President and General Manager of its Raleigh, North Carolina Broadcast and Digital Operations
Veteran Broadcasting Executive With 30 Years of Experience to Lead WNCN-TV and CBS17.com
RALEIGH, NC and IRVING, TX — Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXST), announced today that it has promoted John Lewis to Vice President and General Manager of its broadcast and digital operations in Raleigh, NC, (DMA #27), overseeing WNCN-TV (CBS), CBS17.com, and their related social media channels. Mr. Lewis will assume his new responsibilities immediately and report to Doug Davis, Senior Vice President and Regional Manager for Nexstar Broadcasting.
Mr. Lewis brings more than 30 years of executive experience in broadcast television management, marketing and sales to his new role at Nexstar, serving most recently as Vice President and General Manager for Nexstar’s broadcast and digital operations in Greenville, NC (DMA #100), where he oversaw WNCT-TV (CBS), ENCT-TV (CW) and WNCT.com. During the course of his career, Mr. Lewis has demonstrated the ability to grow ratings, revenue and profitability by expanding local news content, identifying new streams of revenue, developing a variety of innovative cross-platform solutions for advertisers and marketers, creating sponsorship opportunities, and deepening ties in the communities in where he’s served.
During his tenure with Nexstar Broadcasting in Greenville, Mr. Lewis and his sales team consistently grew WNCT-TV’s broadcast and digital revenue. He strategically launched a regional news and sales bureau in Jacksonville, NC, extending WNCT-TV’s reach with relevant daily news content and marketing solutions for Jacksonville businesses. Mr. Lewis also led WNCT-TV’s development of a new, two-hour weekend morning newscast and the expansion of the station’s weekday morning news by a half-hour. Under his leadership, WNCT-TV forged a high-profile local partnership with East Carolina University, becoming the flagship television station of the “Pirates” and the home of a weekly coach’s show during the football, basketball and baseball seasons. Importantly, Mr. Lewis was instrumental in developing a deep relationship between WNCT-TV and Greenville’s Ronald McDonald House, creating and executing a local telethon that raised $40,000 to benefit the charity in 2018 and 2019.
“John’s vast experience as a broadcast and sales executive, coupled with his results-driven attitude and deep understanding of North Carolina make him the ideal person to lead WNCN-TV and CBS17.com,” said Mr. Davis. “His leadership has produced exceptional results for Nexstar’s broadcast and digital operations at WNCT-TV in Greenville, and he has established a lengthy track record of success by expanding local content, developing innovative cross-platform solutions for advertisers and marketers and attracting new business. I look forward to working with John as he takes on this new role for Nexstar in Raleigh.”
Commenting on his promotion, Mr. Lewis said, “I am extremely grateful to Nexstar for giving me this opportunity and I am excited to be working alongside the talented and experienced staff at WNCN-TV and CBS17.com. Our broadcast and digital operations in Raleigh have a legacy of delivering outstanding journalism and superior service to the area’s viewers and advertisers while forging strong relationships in the community. Nexstar’s commitment to hyper-local content both on-air and on-line, coupled with the unique and customized advertising and marketing solutions we offer, creates a distinct advantage for our viewers and advertisers.”
Prior to joining Nexstar, Mr. Lewis founded and served as President of dbs Com., LLC, a sales management and acquisition firm in North Carolina that advised a wide variety of clients on the merger, acquisition, and sale of broadcast properties across the country. Before founding dbs Com., Mr. Lewis served as Vice President and General Manager of a cluster of television stations serving Eastern North Carolina from 2000 to 2002, including WXFI-TV and WYDO-TV. Prior to that, he held a series of positions of increasing responsibility in broadcast management and sales at television stations in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
Mr. Lewis has been very active in local civic and community initiatives throughout his career, working most recently with the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters, A Time for Science, and Ronald McDonald House of Eastern North Carolina.
Mr. Lewis attended the University of Southern Mississippi, where he studied paralegal services and business finance. He and his wife Donna and their two boys, Donovan and Bryce, will be immediately relocating to the Raleigh, North Carolina area.
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 196 television stations and related digital multicast signals reaching 114 markets or approximately 38% of all U.S. television households (reflecting the FCC’s UHF discount). 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. Nexstar also owns WGN America, a growing national general entertainment cable network and a 31.3% ownership stake in TV Food Network, a top tier cable asset. For more information please visit www.nexstar.tv.
Nexstar Media Contact:
Doug Davis
SVP & Regional Manager
Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.
ddavis@nexstar.tv
Gary Weitman
EVP & Chief Communication Officer
312/222-3394
gweitman@nexstar.tv
Investor Contact:
Joe Jaffoni or Jennifer Neuman
JCIR
212/835-8500 or nxst@jcir.com