Nexstar is optimistic that its dreams of broadcast ownership deregulation are coming true. The corporation’s chairman and CEO Perry Sook addressed as much during Nexstar’s fourth quarter earnings call for 2024.
“The excitement around M&A [mergers and acquisitions] opportunities is palpable,” Sook said on Thursday morning. He emphasized that the company is still “actively working with lawmakers” in order to create “more equitable broadcast ownership rules.”
“This will help level the playing field, allow broadcasters to continue to serve the local communities through local journalism and also to compete effectively with big tech and big media,” he continued.
The deregulation drum is one that Nexstar has been banging for a while now. At the moment, no one television station owner can cover more than 39% of U.S. television households as defined by Nielsen research. These limitations were imposed during the very different media climate of 2004. This current rule makes it more difficult for broadcasters to compete with big tech companies, which are increasingly becoming the major players in the modern television era.
Sook further noted that he has seen support on this issue on both sides of the political aisle. “I feel the prospect is as good as it has been in my career to see meaningful ownership regulatory reform come to the broadcast industry. No one can, with a straight face, defend the current rules in the current environment,” he said. “There is a real understanding that preserving local journalism at the local market level is in the country’s national interest.”
The Nexstar head then predicted that there will be “continued movement” at the FCC and DoJ around current regulations and once again praised FCC chairman Brendan Carr, adding, “We’re very optimistic that progress will come, both to deregulation and to innovation around NextGen TV under the current administration.”
Nexstar also gave several updates on The CW, noting that in 2025, approximately 40% of the network’s programming hours will be live sports. These include 52 weeks of WWE NXT as well as 33 weeks of the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Both have proven to be “strong ratings performers,” SVP of Sports for The CW Michael Perman said. That statistic is especially impressive considering that, prior to Nexstar’s acquisition of the broadcaster in 2022, The CW had no live sports.
In 2024, Nexstar improved The CW’s cash flow by $127 million, exceeding its goal of more than $100 million of improvement. Looking ahead for 2025, the company expects to cut losses at The CW by more than 25% from 2024 levels. Nexstar expects this will be achieved by growth in advertising, which will be driven by improved ratings, as well as growth in distribution revenue. Those two factors paired with affiliation agreement resets around an estimated two-thirds of the broadcaster’s subscriber base are expected to boost The CW to profitability in 2026.