Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, Nexstar Media
Search every verified Lee Gliha interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Lee Gliha, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Nexstar Media Group, participated in a discussion on June 17, 2025, alongside President and COO Michael Biard. During the conversation, Biard stated that Nexstar has created shareholder value through its M&A strategy, including the 2017 Media General acquisition and the 2019 Tribune Media acquisition. He also said that broadcast television remains the most important medium for engaging live sports audiences, citing record viewership for events like the Super Bowl and Indy 500. Biard described the CW as a strategically valuable asset that allows Nexstar to control its own destiny on a vertically integrated network, and characterized NewsNation as a fact-based, nonpartisan cable news network that complements the company's core business. Biard addressed regulatory and industry topics, stating that FCC Chairman Carr has been "refreshingly practical and modern" in recognizing that broadcasters face growth constraints from ownership caps while big tech and big media face no similar restrictions. He said Nexstar does not agree that it has pricing power in retransmission fees, noting a disparity between the share of fees the company receives and the share of viewership it delivers. Biard also commented that the notion of regulating reverse retransmission payments came from a single commissioner who was set to resign, and that the company does not view it as an operative concern.
“Nothing is more premium or more valuable to the bundle than broadcast, right? Even versus ESPN, right? We think the calling of those long tail cable networks was really a good thing for us as well, taking cost out of the system where there's no value coming back in. Good for consumers and frankly good for us if it free...”
“Chairman Carr has been refreshingly practical and modern in recognizing that there's something seriously broken with a system that says a company like NextStar and fellow broadcasters can't grow because we're capped while big tech and big media with whom we compete both for advertising and viewers can continue to grow...”
“We've created a lot of shareholder value through our M&A strategy, including doubling the size of the company in 2017 with the Media General acquisition and then doubling the size again in 2019 with the Tribune Media acquisition. That has driven a lot of good synergy for us including retransmission synergies, in-market...”
“We don't agree that we have pricing power in retransmission fees. We certainly have enough scale to be taken seriously, but the media business, particularly on the distribution side, has always been a scaled business. There's still a disparity of about 40% between the share of fees we pull out of the system versus the...”
“The notion that reverse retransmission payments—what affiliated stations pay to their networks—will be capped or regulated came from one commissioner who will resign tomorrow. We haven't seen much traction around that idea and don't spend much time thinking about it as operative.”
“Broadcast television remains the most important medium for engaging live sports audiences. Despite rumors of broadcast TV's demise, it keeps setting new records with events like the Super Bowl, Kentucky Derby, Indy 500, Final Four, Masters, and NFL draft all centered on broadcast.”
“The CW is a strategically valuable asset because it gives us the ability to control our own destiny on a vertically integrated network, allowing us to control every platform we go to and have a seat at the table with every distributor for carriage of our stations.”
“NewsNation is a fact-based, nonpartisan cable news network that complements our core business. Leveraging our large local news footprint with over 5,000 journalists, we believe we do news better than anybody else at scale, and the network is still growing with increasing ratings and competitive positioning against esta...”
“About 70% of our non-political advertising comes from local advertisers, which tend to be more stable and call-to-action focused. Our advertising pie is diverse with 60% from services-based businesses and 40% from goods. While auto and insurance categories have been a bit difficult lately, overall we feel good about th...”
“Standalone streaming services like Paramount, Peacock, and Fox One are structured differently in terms of their relationship with us and our affiliated stations. Fox's product includes local broadcast feeds from stations with whom deals are done, so we expect to be paid for those subscribers. Ultimately, these products...”
Hanna Howard (Portfolio Manager) moderates a discussion with Nexstar Media Group's President & COO Michael Biard and CFO ...
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