Nexstar Inc. Promotes KRON-TV’s Chris McDonnell to Vice President and General Manager of Its New York City Operations
Nexstar Inc. announced the promotion of Chris McDonnell to Vice President and General Manager of its New York City operations, including WPIX-TV and PIX11.com, effective immediately. Previously, McDonnell led KRON-TV in San Francisco, increasing morning news ratings by 50% and doubling the 10 p.m. newscast viewership. His notable achievements also include launching KRONOn.TV and enhancing local sports programming. McDonnell aims to build on WPIX-TV's legacy as the home of the Yankees and Mets, focusing on community engagement and growth.
- Chris McDonnell's leadership led to a 50% increase in morning news ratings at KRON-TV and doubled the 10 p.m. newscast viewership.
- He launched KRONOn.TV, a 24-hour digital streaming news application, enhancing local news access.
- McDonnell aims to build upon WPIX-TV's established reputation and community focus in New York City.
- None.
Nexstar Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXST), today announced that Chris McDonnell has been promoted to Vice President and General Manager of its New York City operations, overseeing WPIX-TV (CW) and PIX11.com under the terms of a local programming and marketing agreement between Nexstar and WPIX’s owner, Mission Broadcasting, Inc. Mr. McDonnell will begin his new duties immediately and report to Tim Busch, Nexstar Inc.’s Broadcast President.
Since 2017, Mr. McDonnell has served as the Vice President and General Manager of KRON-TV, Nexstar’s My Network affiliated television station serving the San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, CA, area (DMA #6), where he was responsible for the long-term strategy and day-to-day operations of the station’s broadcasting, digital, and mobile platforms. During his tenure at KRON-TV, Mr. McDonnell and his team added new hour-long weekday newscasts, including “KRON4 News at 3 p.m.” and “KRON4 News at 9 p.m.,” significantly expanding KRON-TV’s weekly hours of local news and community content in the San Francisco market. Under his leadership, KRON-TV also launched KRONOn.TV, the first local 24-hour digital streaming news application available to Bay Area viewers and users anytime, anywhere, featuring live newscasts, breaking news and feature stories produced exclusively for the app. KRON-TV now produces more than 19 hours of live local news every weekday on its broadcast and digital platforms.
The efforts of Mr. McDonnell and his team resulted in extraordinary ratings and digital growth at KRON- TV and its related mobile and social media platforms. In the last year, ratings for the station’s morning news have increased by 50 percent and ratings for the 10 p.m. newscast have doubled; at KRON4.com, unique visitors are up 56 percent and page views are up nearly 70 percent.
Mr. McDonnell also spearheaded the creation and development of a variety of local sports-related programming currently carried by KRON-TV, including weekly highlight shows devoted to the National Football League’s San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders, and the National Basketball Association’s Golden State Warriors. In addition, Mr. McDonnell and his team created “KRON4 Salutes,” an advertiser- sponsored news segment highlighting the contributions of essential workers during the pandemic.
Before joining KRON-TV, Mr. McDonnell served as the President and General Manager of WSNS-TV (Telemundo) in Chicago, IL (DMA #3), where he previously was Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Prior to WSNS-TV, Mr. McDonnell held various sales management roles at WMAQ-TV (NBC) in Chicago, KXAS-TV (NBC) in Dallas, TX (DMA #5), and KNSD-TV (NBC) in San Diego, CA (DMA #27).
“Chris’ proven leadership experience as a general manager in large metropolitan markets, his innovative approach to developing new local content for viewers and digital users, and his results-driven skillsets, make him the ideal candidate to lead our New York City broadcasting and digital operations and oversee our relationship with Mission Broadcasting,” said Tim Busch, Nexstar Inc.’s President of Broadcasting. “During his tenure at KRON-TV, Chris not only revitalized the station’s broadcast and digital operations, community outreach, and content offerings, he demonstrated a deep understanding and natural talent for developing effective cross-platform marketing solutions for advertisers and community partners. His broadcast track record of high performance over 30 years will serve him well in his new leadership role in New York City and within Nexstar. We look forward to celebrating the successes to come under Chris’ leadership working alongside the talented staff at WPIX-TV and PIX11.com.”
Commenting on his new role, Mr. McDonnell said, “I am deeply grateful to Nexstar for giving me the unique opportunity to lead our New York City operations and build upon the legacy of WPIX-TV and PIX11.com. As the broadcast home of the Yankees and Mets, with a well-deserved reputation for quality exclusive programming and a strong local news team dedicated to serving the community, WPIX-TV has a great foundation for future growth. I am excited by what lies ahead, and I am looking forward to deepening the presence of WPIX-TV and PIX11.com in the communities we serve in the New York City area.”
Mr. McDonnell earned his BA in journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. He is an active participant in industry-related groups and serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the California Broadcasters Association. He is also an active member of the Commonwealth Club, a non- profit organization headquartered in San Francisco, dedicated to informing and educating the public about important issues affecting the community.
Mr. McDonnell and his wife, Pamela, have been married 27 years and will be relocating to the New York City area. They have two adult sons, Riley and Colin.
About Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
Nexstar Media Group (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 Inc., consists of three divisions: Broadcasting, Digital, and Networks. The Broadcasting Division operates, programs, or provides sales and other services to 198 television stations and related digital multicast signals reaching 116 markets or approximately
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