NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations

Marina Perelman is promoted at KNBC, while Miguel “Mike” Gaytán joins KVEA from San Diego.

The rebranding, which takes effect immediately, encompasses 42 NBC and Telemundo owned stations, seven regional sports networks and multicast networks.

Facebook overwhelmingly is the most important social media platform for TV stations, say executives for CBS stations, E.W. Scripps, Nexstar, NBCU stations, Fox stations and Meredith. Broadcasters’ relationship with the platform once widely viewed as a “frenemy” continues to evolve, though the opacity of its all-important algorithm still frustrates. Note: This story is available to TVNewsCheck Premium members only. If you would like to upgrade your free TVNewsCheck membership to Premium now, you can visit your Member Home Page, available when you log in at the very top right corner of the site or in the Stay Connected Box that appears in the right column of virtually every page on the site. If you don’t see Member Home, you will need to click Log In or Subscribe.

Data-driven reporting and storytelling is on the rise at station groups including ABC, NBC, E.W. Scripps and Tegna, where ever-more sophisticated visualizations and interactive digital projects are helping viewers better navigate — and make more sense of — complex information. Note: This story is available to TVNewsCheck Premium members only. If you would like to upgrade your free TVNewsCheck membership to Premium now, you can visit your Member Home Page, available when you log in at the very top right corner of the site or in the Stay Connected Box that appears in the right column of virtually every page on the site. If you don’t see Member Home, you will need to click Log In or Subscribe.

Executives from Tegna, NBCU Television Stations and Fox Television Stations told a TVNewsCheck webinar that local station marketing is best executed by those in the market itself — with support from corporate — and that marketing needs to start “from a place of brand, not from a place of product.”

Impressions will be used as the measurement standard for all ad campaigns running on NBCUniversal’s local TV stations and NBC Sports regional networks

The current temperatures. The satellite map. The 10-day forecast. They’re all sturdy staples of the weather report on your local station. But nowadays, they’re not enough to compete with the convenient phone apps in every viewer’s pocket. Meteorologists need to give viewers something more than an app can provide. And many have responded by breaking down walls between weather and news, and using journalistic storytelling to deepen their coverage.

NBCUniversal Owned Stations President Valari Staab has put targeted reinvestment at the center of her strategy to reinvigorate the group. Her strides in technology, weather and investigative reporting, duopoly bilingual newsrooms and multiplatform news are all geared to future-proofing the company. All reasons why NBCUniversal Owned Stations is TVNewsCheck‘s 2020 Station Group of the Year.

Valari Staab, president of NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations, will accept the group’s Station Group of the Year Award and discuss the multifaceted reinvestment strategy that helped earn the award in an interview at TVNewsCheck’s virtual TV2025 event. Register here.

Technology executives from ABC News, NBCU Owned Stations, ABC Owned Television Stations and Hearst Television will explore how pandemic-necessitated at-home production has overhauled the industry’s thinking at TVNewsCheck’s virtual TV2025 event in October. Register here.

Frank Comerford, NBCU Owned Television Stations’ CRO and president of commercial operations, says its Post-In Flight deals are starting to take off and could eliminate much of the post-buy work for both the station group and ad agencies. He says Spot ON, NBCU’s OTT/CTV product, is also bolstering business development and making it easier to communicate with advertisers.

The veteran TV journalist is tapped for the new role as the division’s senior vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion, responsible for developing and implementing “a comprehensive strategy that will make diversity and inclusion issues a top priority across NBCUniversal’s owned stations group.”

The NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations division signs a multi-year deal with Comcast’s FreeWheel to provide advertisers with full access to NBC Spot On’s premium OTT/CTV inventory.

Led by Valari Staab, the group has surged with vital investments in its technology and newsrooms. New facilities have charted an early path to the industry’s IP future; bilingual collaborations with Telemundo stations and expanded investigations have elevated its reporting; and NBC LX has successfully targeted a new generation of local news viewers with innovative, multiplatform approaches to news storytelling.

Nate Johnson, NBU Owned Stations’ director of weather operations, says the group’s naturally techy meteorologists made a smooth transition to doing their forecasts from home. Viewers have been grateful for the domestic snapshots and fleeting returns to pre-pandemic life they’ve gotten in the process.

He maintains his president-GM duties for NBC Sports Boston as he succeeds Mike St. Peter in overseeing WBTS, WNEU and NECN there.

Harnessing the power of Comcast NBCUniversal, NBC Spot On aims to provide local/regional clients access to 100% owned or purchased premium long-form inventory, at scale.

Last month, NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations unveiled a complete revamp of its digital platforms with a home-grown new CMS and a fresh UX for all screens. As its architects explain, the results dramatically streamline workflow for newsrooms and give consumers and advertisers a richer experience.

The stations launch a new, immersive design across desktop and mobile web in 30 markets. The new CMS offers greater flexibility for newsrooms to share content across multiple platforms/channels while the redesign highlights breaking news, weather, investigative reporting and video to English and Spanish-speaking users in a new way.

Per-transaction fees and resistance by walled gardens are hampering the development of tools to streamline the complicated world of buying and selling spot TV advertising.

It’s an ongoing quest whose outcome may determine the future of video journalism: the hunt for those elusive younger viewers. The latest venture comes from NBC’s owned stations. LX launched on Monday with a modest amount of content but ambitious plans to grow into a new linear channel for young people. It’s a dramatic example of how local TV stations are using digital platforms for experiments that might not sit well with traditional broadcast viewers but could point the way to the next generation of news reporting.

The NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations group’s new facility at its KBLR features a virtualized architecture that has its news/production infrastructure hosted remotely in a data technology center the station group has built in Dallas.

Its new digital news brand and soon-to-launch over-the-air and streaming network is targeted to adults 18-45. LX stands for ‘Local X’ the ‘X’ signifying the “exponential abilities that LX has in telling our communities unique stories,” according to the company. LX offers opportunities for local and national advertising through its dedicated digital site and social channels, and through its over-the-air linear TV and streaming network.

The NBCU and Comcast exec is tapped to succeed Christine Dorfler after her move to NBC Sports Group.

NBC Responds/Telemundo Responde recover more than $30 million as two more units launch at Telemundo stations in Orlando and El Paso, Texas.

A broad coalition of television station groups as well as public broadcasters announced at the NAB Show on Monday that ATSC 3.0 will be rolled out in 40 U.S. markets by the end of 2019.

NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations moves the VP of news at its KNBC Los Angeles to oversee its NBC-Telemundo duopoly in San Diego.

Director of Weather Operations Nate Johnson leads the NBC and Telemundo stations’ weather efforts, which have been rated “most accurate.” The achievement is primarily that of the individual meteorologists, but it also reflects the group’s commitment to providing those weather pros with the best in forecasting tools and other support. Johnson talks about the group’s focus on combining accuracy with smart, relevant storytelling.

The $21 million deal announced in December includes full-power, Class A and low-power television stations serving the Sacramento and Salt Lake City markets.