Personal information:
Current company: Think you know that
Position: Think you know that too
Location: Irving, TX
Spouse/Children: Married 30 years to my college sweetheart. We have three kids, Laura 27, Victoria, 25 and Perry Jr., 21
Place of Birth: DuBois, PA
Date of Birth: 2/26/1958
College: Ohio University
Favorite band or artist: Beach Boys, Boston, The Band Perry
Favorite movies: “The Natural,” “American Graffiti,”
Favorite books: Just about any biography, The Bible
Sports Team Preferences: Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers, Ohio University Bobcats
Hobbies/Passions: Golf, kids, live theater, travel abroad
Causes/Charities: Ohio University Foundation, Salvation Army, Union Gospel Mission of Ft. Worth
Questions:
1. How did you get started in the business?
I started working part time at a radio station in Punxsutawney, PA (Home of the Groundhog) when I was 16.
2. You are perhaps the leading pioneer of retransmission consent – are you surprised at where it is, and where do you think it’s going?
I am not surprised where it is, I am only surprised it took this long to get here. Look, local television stations generate 35% or more of the total viewing in an MVPD home, yet this year will receive only about 8% of the distribution revenue that MVPD’s pay out. We have a long way to go.
3. How does Nexstar approach multiple stations in a single market – which station elements are shared, what kinds of things are kept different?
We don’t want to just put our “play book” out there for everyone to see because we believe running these types of operations take specialized skills. Think of it this way, it is like running two separate newspapers off of the same printing press.
4. Is Nexstar going to be as active on the acquisition front in 2013 as it was in 2012?
The short answer is I think so. As long as we can continue to make smart acquisitions that create value for the company and our shareholders, we will continue to be active.
5. What are Nexstar’s plans for growing its digital revenue stream?
We have a tremendous opportunity with our acquisition of Inergize to integrate the best practices of our three platforms; Inergize, Go Local.biz and Nexstar Digital. This will benefit our digital sales in our local markets and we also have the opportunity to syndicate our platforms to markets we are not in.
6. Any thoughts on incentive auctions, and does Nexstar plan to participate at any level?
We will keep an open mind and look at the offering and the process but we are skeptical that the potential financial returns will be compelling for us.
7. Is there any question you’d like to answer that we forgot to ask?
Nope.
