SAVANNAH, Ga. & IRVING, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nexstar Media Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXST), today announced the promotion of David Hart to Vice President and General Manager of its broadcasting and digital operations in Savannah, Georgia (DMA #91), including WSAV-TV (NBC), WSAV-DT2 (CW), wsav.com, and their related digital and social media channels. Mr. Hart will begin his duties immediately and report to Ron Romines, Senior Vice President and Regional Manager for Nexstar Media Inc.’s broadcasting division.
Throughout his 30-year career, Mr. Hart has consistently demonstrated the ability to grow broadcast and digital audiences, revenue, and profitability, and has developed broad experience across all facets of television news gathering, production, sales, and management. Mr. Hart is very familiar with Nexstar and its station group, having served since 2012 as the Vice President and General Manager of the company’s Columbus, Georgia (DMA #127), media businesses, where he oversaw WRBL-TV (CBS) and wrbl.com and was responsible for long-term strategy and all aspects of day-to-day operations.
During his tenure at WRBL-TV, Mr. Hart and his team expanded the station’s newscasts, identified and developed new streams of revenue and sponsorship opportunities, and deepened the station’s relationship with the community. Under his leadership, in October 2021, WRBL-TV launched two, new, one-hour weekend newscasts at 8 a.m. ET, on Saturday and Sunday. Mr. Hart also spearheaded the overall digital modernization of WRBL-TV, transforming it into a digital-first content operation, with dedicated staffing to support audience growth and digital revenue development. Those changes led to significant digital growth, with wrbl.com recently averaging more than 750,000 unique visitors and one-million pageviews monthly. In addition, earlier this year, wrbl.com launched a series of digital podcasts, featuring the station’s news, weather and sports talent, with a focus on in-depth reporting, newsmaker interviews, community service and local, faith-based initiatives.
Mr. Hart and his team played a substantial role in several community campaigns benefitting non-profit agencies and organizations, including the annual WRBL-TV “Kids Summer Cupboard” food drives and the station’s “Teachers On Your Side” school supplies drive. WRBL-TV also has grown several key community partnerships, including one with Columbus State University designed to grow the university’s communications program. In 2018, WRBL-TV opened a news bureau at the university and has utilized it along with other opportunities to offer internships and employment to current CSU students and graduates.
Prior to leading WRBL-TV, Mr. Hart served as Director of Content for several media businesses in the Florence and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina area, including WBTW-TV (CBS), The (Florence) Morning News, The Hartsville Messenger, The Lake City News and Post, The Marion Star & Mullins Enterprise and The (Hemingway) Weekly Observer newspapers, along with the regional web portal SCNOW.com.
“David is a great choice to lead Nexstar’s broadcasting and digital operations in Savannah, and he is very deserving of this promotion,” said Mr. Romines. “He’s been extremely successful in generating audience and revenue growth at WRBL-TV and wrbl.com, and has demonstrated the ability to build strong relationships within the communities in which he has worked. He is an innovative and creative leader, and I am looking forward to working with him as he begins his new duties overseeing WSAV-TV and wsav.com.”
Commenting on his appointment, Mr. Hart said: “I am grateful to Nexstar for this promotion and for giving me the opportunity to step into the role of Vice President and General Manager of these important media businesses. These properties have a history of service to the community that is second to none, and the combination of Nexstar’s commitment to hyper-local content and the unique and innovative cross-platform advertising solutions we offer delivers a distinct advantage for our viewers, advertisers and marketing clients. I am confident that my experience has prepared me well to take on this new role, and I am looking forward to working with the talented teams at WSAV-TV and wsav.com. I also want to express my gratitude to the staff of WRBL for their tremendous support over the past nine years. My success is a result of their hard work and commitment to making WRBL-TV the best it can be.”
Mr. Hart has been deeply involved in the communities in which he has worked and lived throughout his career, serving most recently as Chairman of the Board for the Georgia Association of Broadcasters. In addition, during his time at WRBL-TV Mr. Hart served on the boards of the American Red Cross and the American Cancer Society, and as Chairman of the 2016 American Heart Association Heart Walk. Mr. Hart graduated from Auburn University with a bachelor’s degree in radio, television, and film. He and his wife, Haven, have been married for 28 years and have three adult children. Mr. Hart and his wife will be relocating to the Savannah area immediately.
About Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXST) is a leading diversified media company that leverages localism to bring new services and value to consumers and advertisers through its traditional media, digital and mobile media platforms. Its wholly owned operating subsidiary, Nexstar Media Inc., consists of three divisions: Broadcasting, Digital, and Networks. The Broadcasting Division operates, programs, or provides sales and other services to 199 television stations and related digital multicast signals reaching 116 markets or approximately 39% of all U.S. television households (reflecting the FCC’s UHF discount). The division’s portfolio includes primary affiliates of NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, MyNetworkTV and The CW. The Digital Division operates 120 local websites and 284 mobile apps offering hyper-local content and verticals for consumers and advertisers, allowing audiences to choose where, when and how they access content and creating new revenue opportunities for the company. The Networks Division operates NewsNation, formerly WGN America, a national news and entertainment cable network reaching 75 million television homes, multicast networks Antenna TV and Rewind TV, and WGN Radio in Chicago. Nexstar also owns a 31.3% ownership stake in TV Food Network, a top tier cable asset. For more information, please visit www.nexstar.tv.
