Nexstar Media appoints Stephen Eaton Vice President and GM of Its Broadcast and digital operations
Nexstar Media Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has announced that Stephen Eaton has been appointed Vice President and General Manager of its broadcast and digital operations in Billings, Montana (DMA #167), overseeing KSVI-TV (ABC), yourbigsky.com, and their related mobile and social media channels.
Mr. Eaton will also oversee the Company’s operational agreements with Mission Broadcasting, Inc., providing services to KHMT-TV (FOX) in Billings. He will assume his new responsibilities immediately and report to Traci Wilkinson, Senior Vice President and Regional Manager for Nexstar Media Inc.’s broadcasting division.
Mr. Eaton brings more than 25 years of broadcast management and sales experience to his new role at Nexstar, and he is extremely familiar with the Billings market and surrounding area, having served as General Sales Manager at KTVQ-TV (CBS) in Billings since February 2016.
During his career, he has consistently demonstrated the ability to significantly grow revenue and profitability by increasing existing advertising market share, identifying non-traditional accretive revenue streams, and developing a variety of innovative cross-platform marketing strategies and sponsorship opportunities.
During his tenure at KTVQ-TV, Mr. Eaton and his sales team grew new business revenue by more than 20 percent and created several unique local sponsorship opportunities for advertisers, including “Montana Matters,” a special segment enabling area businesses to tell their story directly to viewers, and “Christmas Shoppe,” designed to showcase retail stores during the winter holiday season.
Mr. Eaton also helped drive record growth of the station’s sports-related advertising revenue and was responsible for managing KTVQ-TV’s successful sales performance with high-profile sports coverage such as the National Football League, NCAA college basketball, and the Professional Golf Association. Under Mr. Eaton’s leadership, the KTVQ-TV sales team delivered significant increases in digital revenue.
Prior to leading the sales operations at KTVQ-TV, Mr. Eaton served as Senior Account Manager at KUSA-TV in Denver where he was responsible for significant account growth among a variety of the station’s premiere partnerships. Before joining KUSA-TV, Mr. Eaton held a variety of sales and marketing leadership roles of increasing responsibility at television stations in Colorado Springs, CO, Greenville, SC, and Orlando, FL.
Traci Wilkinson, Senior Vice President and Regional Manager broadcasting division, Nexstar Media Inc: “Stephen is an accomplished sales and marketing executive who knows the Billings market and can hit the ground running as he assumes the leadership of our operations in the region. He has built an impressive career spanning more than 25 years and has excelled at delivering exceptional results—expanding new business opportunities, developing a broad array of successful digital marketing strategies, delivering unparalleled multi-platform solutions for clients, and cultivating strong partnerships with local businesses and community organizations. Stephen is the ideal executive to oversee KSVI-TV, yourbigsky.com, and our relationship with Mission Broadcasting’s KHMT-TV and we look forward to working with him in his new role at Nexstar.”
Stephen Eaton:“I am very pleased to be joining Nexstar and to be staying in Billings, a wonderful community where I have long-standing professional relationships and where my wife and I have deep ties to the community. I’m excited to lead the Company’s broadcast and digital operations in the market and I am looking forward to expanding our audience on-air and on-line and to providing our advertisers with solutions specifically tailored to fit their unique needs.”
Mr. Eaton received his bachelor’s degree in broadcast and film the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, AL. He has been very involved in the communities in which he has lived and worked, volunteering his time with Meals on Wheels and Fishing Has No Boundaries, and serving as a member of the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce. He and his wife, Joanne, have been married 21 years and have two children.
