Nexstar Cuts Chief Revenue Officer Who Tried to Sell Ads Across CW, NewsNation

Nexstar Media is cutting the ribbon that tied together its ad packaging strategy.

The TV-station giant is eliminating its chief revenue officer position, noting in a Friday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it would favor “a more streamlined organizational structure.” He is expected to leave Nexstar on October 30.

“Nexstar can confirm that Michael Strober, who has served as the company’s Chief Revenue Officer since January 2023, will be leaving the company at end of October,” Nexstar said in a statement. “We thank him for his leadership and service, and we wish him the best.”

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During Strober’s tenure, Nexstar, the nation’s largest owner of local TV outlets has worked to showcase the company’s reach in both national and local media, touting broad entertainment and sports programming at its CW; news at NewsNation; and audiences across multiple geographies who watch its local stations.”

Overall, Nexstar ad revenue ticked up 2.2%, or $11 million, during the second quarter to $522 million.

Strober took on the chief revenue officer job in late 2022, armed with many years of experience as a senior ad-sales executive at large media companies. Between 2016 and 2019, he served as an executive vice president for Turner, the previously named TV unit of WarnerMedia. After he left the company, Strober set up Topwater Advisory Group, which helped companies navigate the changing advertising marketplace.

Strober is the latest sales executive to be ousted by the company that hired him in unexpected fashion. Warner Bros. Discovery said earlier Friday that its U.S. ad sales chief, Jon Steinlauf, would leave the company at the end of the year. Netflix parted ways with one of its most senior ad sales executives, Peter Naylor, just as it was in the midst of upfront sales negotiations earlier this year.

More to come…