1 week ago
EXCLUSIVE: Tegna has named Fox Television Stations seasoned Patrick Paolini CEO arsenic nan position group looks to resoluteness litigation seeking to undo its merger pinch larger rival Nexstar.
Paolini spent 26 years astatine nan Fox stations, including astir precocious arsenic EVP of advertisement sales, departing nan institution past week. Before assuming nan domiciled astatine Fox successful 2023, nan exec spent 10 years arsenic wide head of WTTG and WDCA, nan Fox duopoly successful Washington, D.C.
The caller CEO will officially commencement connected Monday, Tegna said.
Tegna and Nexstar revealed their $6.2 cardinal operation past summer. In March of this year, nan FCC approved nan transaction, a game-changing operation creating an entity pinch scope to 80% of U.S. households, much than doubly nan existent ineligible limit connected position ownership. Nexstar announced nan woody had closed specified minutes aft nan FCC’s blessing.
Pay-TV usability DirecTV and nan attorneys wide of respective states past revenge a suit seeking to undo nan woody connected antitrust grounds. A national judge sided pinch nan plaintiffs, issuing a preliminary injunction pausing nan merger and a “hold-still” bid requiring nan 2 companies to beryllium kept abstracted pending nan result of Nexstar’s entreaty of nan ruling.
Mike Steib, a Google and NBCUniversal seasoned who became CEO of Tegna successful 2024, stepped down aft nan announcement of nan merger’s adjacent successful March. He has remained pinch nan institution successful a non-CEO domiciled but will officially reason his tenure connected Friday.
Given nan highly different circumstances of a completed merger being legally prevented from moving guardant pinch an integration of nan 2 companies, nan specifications of Paolini’s remit successful nan CEO domiciled are not wholly clear. He will study to nan Tegna board.
During Nexstar’s first-quarter net telephone this month, CEO Perry Sook fielded aggregate questions from Wall Street analysts astir nan suit and really Tegna is being managed during nan ineligible process. “They run arsenic a subsidiary,” nan exec explained. “We tin person conversations pinch them. The executives moving nan entity study to nan board” of Tegna, which includes Nexstar executives. “We conscionable can’t, basically, power decision-making,” he added.
Last week, however, Nexstar painted a stark picture of nan effect of nan preliminary injunction. In a little revenge successful nan U.S. Court of Appeals for nan Ninth District, nan institution called nan ruling a “straightjacket.” It is “more apt Tegna will not past while waiting for nan transaction to beryllium vindicated,” Nexstar added.
Paolini has a relationship pinch Nexstar leadership. During his clip astatine Fox, he worked pinch Mike Biard, who spent 23 years astatine Fox earlier being named president and COO of Nexstar successful 2023.
“Patrick is an perfect prime to lead Tegna,” Tegna’s committee said successful a corporate statement. “He brings heavy expertise successful nan broadcast tv industry, major-market position management, and high-quality section news, on pinch a proven way grounds of driving gross maturation crossed linear and integer platforms. He is an innovative philosopher and a proven leader pinch an established history of success. We look guardant to Patrick’s activity of this awesome company.”
Prior to his tenure successful Washington, Paolini was SVP of Fox Stations advertisement sales. Earlier successful his career, he served arsenic VP and GM for WTXF successful Philadelphia, and earlier that held nan domiciled of VP and head of income astatine WNYW and WWOR, nan Fox owned-and-operated duopoly successful New York.
“I americium honored to beryllium joining Tegna,” Paolini said. “I person tremendous respect for nan Tegna brand, for nan outstanding section news delivered crossed its 64 section tv stations and hundreds of integer platforms, and for nan company’s dedicated labor and section journalists. Tegna will stay committed to providing nan exceptional work our viewers, advertisers, and communities expect, while continuing to innovate and grow crossed nan platforms that specify nan modern media landscape. I americium excited by nan opportunities ahead.”
