Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXST), announced today that it has named Mark Garcia as Vice President and General Manager of its broadcast and digital operations serving the Midland and Odessa, TX, markets (DMA #145), including KMID-TV, yourbasin.com, and their associated mobile applications. Mr. Garcia will assume his new responsibilities immediately and report to Julie Pruett, Senior Vice President and Regional Manager for Nexstar Broadcasting.
Mr. Garcia brings nearly two decades of expertise in broadcast management, sales, and marketing to his new position, serving most recently as Senior Vice President and General Manager at Entravision Communications, a diversified global media, marketing and technology company that reaches and engages Latino consumers in the United States and other markets around the world. At Entravision, Mr. Garcia was responsible for overseeing all aspects of the company’s television, radio and digital operations in McAllen, TX, including KFXV-LD (FOX), KNVO-TV (UNIV), KTFV-CA (UNIMAS), and KCWT-CA (CW). Mr. Garcia has established a track record of sales and marketing success by developing new business, innovative cross-platform solutions for advertisers and marketers, and creating unique sponsorship opportunities for his clients.
During his tenure at Entravision, Mr. Garcia and his team launched a major rebranding of the radio stations under his supervision, including format and programming upgrades, resulting in a 50 percent growth in ratings and significant improvement in revenue and profitability in key dayparts. Mr. Garcia also helped spearhead a first-of-its kind radio partnership with the University of Texas/Rio Grande Valley, securing the exclusive rights to carry the university’s basketball games and a weekly coach’s show. The television stations for which Mr. Garcia was responsible were repeatedly honored for their journalism, with the news teams winning more than 20 local Emmy Awards and KNVO-TV’s early 5 p.m. newscast ranking #1 in the market. He also was responsible for rethinking Entravision’s coverage of the McAllen Holiday Parade, the largest community event in the area, to include an exclusive Spanish-language broadcast on KNVO-TV. Under Mr. Garcia’s leadership, Entravision’s McAllen media properties delivered significant digital growth, with substantial increases in users and page views resulting in revenue growth of approximately 50 percent.
Prior to joining Entravision, Mr. Garcia served in a variety of sales positions of increasing responsibility, including Sales Director for KTSM-TV (NBC), the Nexstar television station in El Paso, TX, and National Sales Manager for Entravision’s Dallas-based media operations of 11 radio stations. Mr. Garcia began his sales career at Southwest Golf, in El Paso, where he oversaw all aspects of sales, inventory, and personnel.
“Mark’s successes as a General Manager of multiple media properties, sales expertise and ability to build strong relationships with viewers, advertisers, and the communities in which he has worked, along with his deep connection to Texas makes him an excellent choice to lead our broadcast and digital operations in the Midland/Odessa market,” said Julie Pruett, Senior Vice President and Regional Manager for Nexstar Broadcasting. “His leadership has produced outstanding results at the media properties he has overseen, and he has grown ratings and revenue successfully throughout his career by expanding local content and developing unparalleled solutions for his advertising and marketing clients. I am greatly looking forward to working with Mark in his new role within Nexstar.”
Commenting on his appointment, Mr. Garcia said, “I am grateful to Nexstar for giving me this opportunity and happy to be returning to the company to work with the talented and experienced broadcast and digital professionals at KMID-TV and yourbasin.com. Texas is home for me, and Nexstar’s commitment to serving its viewers with exceptional local content on-air and online coupled with the unique advertising and marketing opportunities we offer gives us a significant advantage in the market. I am excited to get started in my new role.”
Mr. Garcia is originally from El Paso, TX, and has lived his entire life in Texas. He has been deeply committed to the communities in which he has lived, partnering most recently with the Rio Grande Valley Down Syndrome Association and the Chamber of Commerce for the city of McAllen and nearby Edinburg, TX. Mr. Garcia graduated from the University of Texas/El Paso with degrees in both Marketing and Management.
About Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
Nexstar Media Group 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. Nexstar owns, operates, programs, or provides sales and other services to 196 television stations and related digital multicast signals reaching 114 markets or approximately 38% of all U.S. television households (reflecting the FCC’s UHF discount). Nexstar’s portfolio includes primary affiliates of NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, MyNetworkTV and The CW. Nexstar’s community portal websites offer additional hyper-local content and verticals for consumers and advertisers, allowing audiences to choose where, when, and how they access content while creating new revenue opportunities. Nexstar also owns WGN America, a growing national general entertainment cable network and a 31.3% ownership stake in TV Food Network, a top tier cable asset. For more information please visit www.nexstar.tv.
(This post taken from a release by Nexstar)
