Las Vegas NOW will Broadcast Live, Weekdays at 4 P.M. Beginning February 6, 2017
LAS VEGAS, Nevada and IRVING, Texas – Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXST) announced today that KLAS-TV, the CBS affiliate serving the Las Vegas, Nevada market (DMA #40), will launch its new lifestyle show, Las Vegas NOW, beginning Monday, February 6, 2017. Bringing local viewers the best of southern Nevada lifestyle, Las Vegas NOW will feature entertainment, pop-culture, fashion, food and fitness as well as local event coverage and special feature segments along with periodic local news and weather updates from the 8 News Now team. The hour-long program will air weekdays at 4 p.m. live from KLAS-TV’s recently redesigned studios immediately before 8 News Now at 5 p.m., which kicks off the station’s evening news block followed by Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune and CBS primetime.
Lisa Howfield, Vice President and General Manager of KLAS-TV stated, “Following Nexstar’s significant investment to completely upgrade all aspects of KLAS-TV’s television and news operations, we are once again raising our commitment to local viewers and advertisers with the upcoming launch of Las Vegas NOW, our new lifestyle and entertainment show. Las Vegas is the epicenter of music, leisure, entertainment, food and outdoor activities; and our new lifestyle program will give viewers and advertisers an exclusive look at one of America’s most unique and exciting cities. Our News Director, Terri Foley, has brought together award-winning anchors and reporters to host Las Vegas NOW and our Executive Producer, Celina Tuason, has leveraged her wealth of editorial and production leadership experience to establish strategy and vision for the program. Our teams are working hard on what promises to be an entertaining, fun and informative experience for our local viewers. With our recent news expansion and the addition of Las Vegas NOW to our programming line-up, we look forward to delivering over 37 hours per week of local news, entertainment and exclusive content to viewers, while offering local businesses and advertisers enhanced marketing opportunities across all screens and all devices.”
Showcasing the brighter side of Southern Nevada life, Las Vegas NOW will focus on what makes the Valley an exceptional place to live, work and play, while also keeping viewers well-informed of breaking news, weather and other important local updates. Las Vegas NOW will be the only lifestyle program offered in the Las Vegas market weekdays during the 4 p.m. time slot. In addition, the exciting new program will have the only fully functional indoor kitchen set in the market, allowing world-renowned chefs and celebrities to show off their culinary skills. Las Vegas NOW will be hosted by broadcast and entertainment industry veterans including several of the Valley’s most renowned media personalities including:
- Stacey Gualandi is an Emmy-Award winning journalist who has served in a combination of roles including writer, producer and reporter for Entertainment Tonight, Inside Edition, Extra and The Insider, among other programs, and is a certified yoga and spin class instructor. She also serves as a host of several women-focused media outlets including The Women’s Eye and LifescriptTV.
- Kendall Tenney is an Emmy and Edward R. Murrow-Award winning journalist who served as anchor of Las Vegas’ top-rated early evening newscasts for 15 years before launching 10e Media, a public relations firm. Mr. Tenney is a 2015 inductee of the Nevada Broadcasters Hall of Fame and is best known in the community for his work on issues affecting children and education.
- Mercedes Martinez is an award-winning radio personality and host of “Mercedes in the Morning” on KMXB/Mix 94.1. She was named “Air Personality of the Year” by Billboard Magazine (1998) and “Best Local Radio Personality” by the Las Vegas Review-Journal (2000-2012, 2016). She was also Vegas Magazine’s2012 “Vegas Gives” Honoree for her work on behalf of local charities.
- Lindsey Simon is an experienced reporter and producer covering lifestyle and entertainment news in Southern Nevada. Ms. Simon brings her unique, high-energy reporting style when conducting interviews with celebrities including Miranda Lambert, Rascal Flatts and Nicki Minaj, among others. A style expert, she offers her best fashion and beauty tips on-air and on her blog, com.
In 2016, Nexstar invested approximately $1.3 million to expand KLAS-TV’s television and news operations and enhance local programming, content production, technology and marketing opportunities for overall improved service and experience. These initiatives included additional news and production personnel to support the new and expanded local programming, as well as new kitchen and performance set buildouts for Las Vegas NOW.
In addition to mobile and desktop accessibility at LasVegasNow.com, KLAS-TV is the only station in Las Vegas with community focused apps — News.Vegas, Weather.Vegas and Traffic.Vegas — which allow consumers to easily access critical local news, weather and traffic updates. All of KLAS’ apps are available in the App Store or Google Play Store.
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 171 television stations and related digital multicast signals reaching 100 markets or approximately 39% of all U.S. television households. 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. For more information please visit www.nexstar.tv.
Forward-Looking Statements
This communication includes forward-looking statements. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events. Forward-looking statements include information preceded by, followed by, or that includes the words “guidance,” “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “could,” or similar expressions. For these statements, Nexstar and Media General claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements contained in this communication, concerning, among other things, the ultimate outcome and benefits of a transaction between Nexstar and Media General and timing thereof, and future financial performance, including changes in net revenue, cash flow and operating expenses, involve risks and uncertainties, and are subject to change based on various important factors, including the timing to consummate the proposed transaction; the risk that a condition to closing of the proposed transaction may not be satisfied and the transaction may not close; the risk that a regulatory approval that may be required for the proposed transaction is delayed, is not obtained or is obtained subject to conditions that are not anticipated, the impact of changes in national and regional economies, the ability to service and refinance our outstanding debt, successful integration of Media General (including achievement of synergies and cost reductions), pricing fluctuations in local and national advertising, future regulatory actions and conditions in the television stations’ operating areas, competition from others in the broadcast television markets, volatility in programming costs, the effects of governmental regulation of broadcasting, industry consolidation, technological developments and major world news events. Nexstar and Media General undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events discussed in this communication might not occur. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. For more details on factors that could affect these expectations, please see the definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus of Nexstar and Media General and Media General’s and Nexstar’s other filings with the SEC.
Contact:
Lisa Howfield
VP and General Manager
KLAS-TV and LasVegasNow.com
702/792-8880
Brian Jones
EVP and Chief Operating Officer
Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc
972/373-8800
Joseph Jaffoni, Jennifer Neuman
JCIR
212/835-8500 or nxst@jcir.com
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