DELRAY BEACH, FLA. — Since 2013, he’s been the GSM at the ABC affiliate serving the Treasure Coast and Palm Beach County.
Now, he’s heading to the dual market of Plattsburgh, N.Y. and Burlington, Vt. to lead the Hearst Television duopoly a short drive south of Montréal.
Ryan Rothstein has been promoted to President/GM of NBC affiliate WPTZ-5, a station covering much of Vermont, Upstate New York and Quebec, and sibling WNNE-TV, a CW Network affiliate.
He’ll take his new role July 27.
Rothstein has spent his entire career with Hearst Television and has been at WPBF-25 in West Palm Beach since 1997.
Why the shift to the land of Ben & Jerry’s and Magic Hat Brewing Co.?
Rothstein succeeds Justin Antoniotti, who recently became President/GM of WGAL-8, the NBC affiliate owned by Hearst Television serving the Lancaster-Harrisburg-Lebanon-York, Pa., television market.
Rothstein’s successor at WPBF will be announced by the station at a later date.
Rothstein interned at WPBF during his junior year at the University of Florida and joined the station full-time as an account executive upon earning his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the university.
He progressed steadily, from account executive to national sales manager, local sales manager and then general sales manager. During his time there, the station nearly doubled its share of market revenue while Hearst invested heavily in its local news, allowing it to better compete against The E.W. Scripps Co.’s dominant NBC affiliate, WPTV-5, and Gray Television-owned WFLX-29, operated by Scripps through a shared services agreement.
Rothstein is a Type 1 Diabetic and serves on the board of JDRF; since 2016 he has been a top fundraiser for the organization’s annual One Walk and has completed multiple marathons.
