Nexstar Closes Acquisition of WDKY in Lexington, Ky

Monte Costes (Image credit: Nexstar)

Nexstar Media Group said it closed the purchase of the assets of WDKY-TV, the Fox affiliate in Lexington, Ky., from a subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group.

(Image credit: Nexstar)

Nexstar named Monte Costes as general manager running WDKY-TV and its digital operations in the market. Costes had been director of sales for WLEX-TV, the NBC affiliate in Lexington. He succeeds Jennifer Rieffer, who moved to Sinclair’s WSMH-TV, in Flint, Mich., in August.

Costes reports to Mitch Vaughn, senior VP and regional manager for Nexstar.

“Monte is the perfect choice to lead our newly acquired broadcasting and digital operations in Lexington,” said Vaughn.

“His nearly 30 years of experience as a sales leader, coupled with his lengthy track-record of leadership successes as a result of his ability to build highly-performing sales teams, identify new business opportunities, and develop non-traditional revenue streams, have all equipped him well to lead WDKY-TV, foxlexington.com and their related mobile and social media applications, Vaughn said. “In addition, Monte has a deep familiarity with the Lexington area, well-established relationships with multiple local and national advertising clients and numerous local civic partners. His experience and understanding of the importance in developing strong connections between viewers, advertisers and the community at large to deliver market-leading growth in ratings, revenue and profits, are a perfect fit to lead our newest acquisition.”

Costes studied at the School of Medicine and Nursing at the University of South Alabama and started his career in broadcasting when he got a part-time job as a camera operator at a local television station.

“I am extremely grateful to Nexstar for giving me the opportunity to lead its newest broadcast and digital operations serving Lexington, and I am very pleased to be living and working in an area I already call home,” said Costes. “WDKY-TV has a legacy of success and service to the community, and I look forward to working alongside the staff to continue generating impressive results for our clients and enhancing the overall experience for our viewers and digital users. Nexstar’s strong commitment to superior local content production and service, combined with its scalable diversified marketing solutions, will deliver unique competitive advantages for our clients.”

For Nexstar, which has 197 stations in 115 markets, WDKY is its first station in Kentucky.

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.