NBC Local Media Division Realigns
Frank Comerford, Larry Wert, Tom O’Brien Promoted
By Michael Malone -- Broadcasting & Cable, 4/17/2008 9:06:00 AM
NBC Local Media Division realigned the team overseeing its 10 stations.
Frank Comerford was promoted to president of platform development and commercial operations; Larry Wert was named president, central and Western region; and Tom O’Brien was named president and general manager of WNBC New York.
All three will continue to report to NBC Local Media president John Wallace. The promotions are effective immediately.
“Over the last eight months, we’ve acquired LX.TV and Skycastle Entertainment, boosted our out-of-home offerings and invested heavily in our digital expansion,” Wallace said. “Our new business model requires a new structure, and I’m pleased that we can tap into our current leadership to realign our organization and accelerate our transformation into full-service, multiplatform media providers.”
In his new role, Comerford -- who had been president and GM of WNBC since 2002 -- oversees all NBC Local Media sales efforts, including the group’s 10 television stations, out-of-home sales and digital-media sales. He will also develop new partnerships and business ventures “that help to align the group’s digital expansion to the changing needs of its customers.”
Wert, who was most recently president and GM of WMAQ Chicago, now oversees five NBC-owned stations in the central and Western regions: KNBC Los Angeles, KNTV San Francisco, KNSD San Diego, KXAS Dallas and WMAQ. He’ll continue to run WMAQ and will announce a new station manager.
O’Brien, who was president and GM at KXAS, moves over to WNBC, where he’ll oversee all aspects of the flagship television station. His replacement at KXAS will be announced at a later date.
“This is the next step in our evolution as a local media business,” Wallace said of the realignment.
NBC Shuffles Station Execs
04/21/2008NBC Stations Launch ‘Locals Only’ Sites
10/13/2008NBC Stations Shift Strategy
05/11/2008Rethinking the Local Model at WNBC
10/22/2008NBC Acquires Programmer LX.TV
01/28/2008
