Nexstar, led by CEO Perry Sook, is set for another round of layoffs at its broadcast and sales divisions as part of a corporate cost-cutting initiative.
“Our broadcasting and sales divisions are streamlining their organizations to reduce our operating expenses and accelerate collaboration across the company,” the company said in a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter as the local TV giant looks to strengthen its balance sheet.
“While it is difficult to make these sorts of changes, they will impact less than 2 percent of our workforce and allow us to focus on areas of growth for our viewers, partners, and customers. We are committed to managing through this period of unprecedented change in the media industry so that Nexstar continues to thrive for years to come,” the statement added.
The company has around 13,000 employees across 116 markets, putting the latest job cuts at around 260 positions. Nexstar’s media assets include network affiliates for ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and The CW, the multicast network Antenna TV and the NewsNation cable network.
During its recent third-quarter earnings release, Nexstar pointed to the impact of a soft TV advertising market, with political ad revenue down from last year, and so-called “core” advertising revenue down 2.3 percent. And The CW continues to lose money for the local TV giant, though the losses have narrowed quarter by quarter.
The CW has been reprogramming its lineup, ordering fewer expensive scripted shows, and cutting deals for more unscripted and sports fare, including a deal with the WWE for NXT this week. The company also picked up some college sports rights, NASCAR Xfinity Cup rights, and LIV Golf rights, among others.
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