Nexstar Media Group said it appointed former Turner executive Michael Strober as executive VP and chief revenue officer, a new post at the company.
Nexstar has been expanding from its base of local TV stations with the CW and NewsNation national networks and digital streaming and mobile businesses. Strober will be responsible for designing and executive a new ad sales and go-to-market strategy for the company.
Strober left Turner after parent company Time Warner agreed to be sold to AT&T. Since 2019 he has served as founder and president of Topwater Advisory Group, specializing in helping companies navigate the changing ad marketplace through ad tech, data strategy, product marketing and revenue management.
“With the successful acquisitions of Tribune Media, Media General, The Hill, Best Reviews, and The CW Network, and the launch of our cable news network, NewsNation, Nexstar has become an inimitable diversified media company, offering both nationwide reach and unparalleled local activation to advertisers,” said Nexstar CEO Perry Sook.
“Reimagining our sales strategy, our team of 1,500 sales personnel, and the management of our 40,000 advertiser relationships, will better align our sales efforts with the company we are today, delivering next-generation, data-driven advertising solutions and greater value for our clients, with best-in-class sales technology making it easier for them to do business with us across all of our platforms,” Sook said. “Michael has led this type of sweeping change before, consulting with media clients on a variety of reinvention projects. His unique experience as an industry practitioner, paired with his role as a strategic advisor, makes Michael the perfect choice to lead the transformation of Nexstar’s sales efforts.”
Stronger joined Turner in 2005 as VP of entertainment ad sales. He advanced to executive VP, client strategy & innovation, served as co-head of Turner Ignite and was a board member of OpenAP.
“I am delighted to be joining the Nexstar team during this period of transformative growth,” Strober said. “Nexstar’s synergistic portfolio of linear and digital media properties is unique and presents a compelling opportunity to deliver both national scale and local impact to today’s advertisers. I believe Nexstar holds the potential to be one of the industry’s most consequential media companies over the next five years and I am honored to be part of its evolution.” ■
