Nexstar Media Group

Nexstar Media Group

Nexstar Media Group was founded in 1996 by Perry Sook, who remains chairman and CEO. The company started with a single station and grew through acquisitions, including its 2022 purchase of TEGNA Inc. for roughly $5.4 billion (per Nexstar, 2022). The wealth underpinning Nexstar is corporate rather than family-originated: it is a publicly traded company (NASDAQ: NXST) with no single controlling family. Nexstar deploys capital across three buckets: station acquisitions, digital expansion, and programming investment. Its asset base includes 201 TV stations, 176 local websites, and 292 mobile apps. The firm produces over 317,000 hours of local news, sports, and entertainment each year. Nexstar owns The CW Network (75% stake) and operates NewsNation, a national cable news channel. Geographically, it covers 116 U.S. markets, reaching 70% of households. Co-investment partners include private equity firms like Apollo Global Management, which helped finance the TEGNA deal (per Reuters, 2022). The company employs over 13,000 people across 116 markets and has disclosed $5.41 billion in net revenue for 2024 (per firm website). Its digital properties rank among the top ten in the U.S. by Comscore. Adjacent vehicles include the Nexstar Media Charitable Foundation, which runs community programs like “30 Days of Giving” and “Remarkable Women.” A recent operational event: May 2026 — Nexstar reported first-quarter earnings, showing continued cash flow generation (per Nexstar, May 2026). Nexstar’s structural differentiator is its hybrid operating model: it acts as both a media operator — producing content and selling ads across local markets — and a consolidation platform, using its public equity to acquire stations and networks. This gives it access to public capital markets while allowing it to integrate local operations into a national footprint. Succession is defined by the CEO perpetuity of founder Perry Sook, who remains active in daily operations.