Perry Sook
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2 26 NO MERRI
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Nexstar Led the Charge Against Jimmy Kimmel. It Had a Business Motive.
By Matt Stieb, Intelligencer staff writer
Sept. 18, 2025
There are many household names in the corporate-media landscape, conglomerates like News Corp and Comcast that control the world’s flow of information and entertainment. But Americans are learning a new one this week in Nexstar, which led the charge to kick Jimmy Kimmel off television.
On Wednesday night, after Jimmy Kimmel Live! was pulled from ABC indefinitely for the host’s comments about the assassinated conservative broadcaster Charlie Kirk, reports emerged that Nexstar had decided to cut the show from the 32 ABC stations it owns. With the pressure on from Nexstar — and potential retribution coming from President Trump’s FCC — ABC then decided to cut Kimmel’s late-night show entirely.
The comment in question came on Monday night, when Kimmel said that the “MAGA gang [is] desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.” Only “in between the finger-pointing, there was grieving,” he added. In a statement, Nexstar’s president of broadcasting wrote that Kimmel’s comments were “offensive and insensitive” and do not reflect the “values of the local communities in which we are located.”
As criticism mounts over the decision to bend to Trump’s campaign to silence voices critical of Kirk and his administration at large, people are looking at the political motivations of the largest owner of individual news stations in the country. Past campaign contributions show a general rightward lean for the company, whose affiliated donors gave just under $125,000 to the Republican National Committee in 2024. But the primary motivation for any support of Trump’s push to silence critics may emerge from Nexstar’s business model itself.
Acquisition has been the entire game for Nexstar since the company bought its first TV station in the late 1990s. Since then, it has expanded to over 200 local stations across the country. It owns NewsNation, the other-other cable-news channel that has recently been outperforming CNN and MSNBC in Saturday prime-time ratings. It owns The CW, which broadcasts NASCAR, college football, and shows like Totally Funny Animals. It owns the news-media aggregator The Hill, which may require some “full disclosure”
segments as its writers cover the fallout over its parent company’s actions.
Nexstar makes a lot of money through owning all this stuff, reporting $1.23 billion in net revenue in the second quarter. But it wants to own more. In August, it announced the $6.2 billion acquisition of Tegna, a rival company that owns 64 additional TV stations, as well as the True Crime Network. In interviews dating back to Trump’s election, CEO Perry Sook has stated his intention to “move with a sense of urgency” to take advantage of a friendly climate for mergers under the FCC led by commissioner Brendan Carr. Hours before Kimmel’s suspension was made public, Carr said that Kimmel’s comments were “truly sick” and that there was a “strong case” for the FCC to act against ABC’s parent company, Disney.
When he announced the Tegna deal in August, Sook praised the Trump administration for offering “local broadcasters the opportunity to expand reach, level the playing field, and compete more effectively with the Big Tech and legacy Big Media companies that have unchecked reach and vast financial resources.” If the deal went through, Nexstar would have the firepower to compete, becoming the largest provider of local TV in the country.
For his part, Trump, who reportedly tried to get Kimmel fired as early as 2018, has praised ABC’s indefinite suspension, and now he wants to take on the “two losers” Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, as he wrote in a Truth Social post on Wednesday. And even if the Tegna deal was somehow kicked down by Trump’s merger-friendly FCC, politics is still great business for Nexstar. Last year, it sold almost $500 million in political ads.
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2 26
Perry A. Sook (born 1958) is an American media executive who founded Nexstar Media Group, one of the largest television and digital media corporations in the United States. He is chairman and CEO of Nexstar and in October 2025, the Nexstar board of directors extended Sook's contract as CEO through March 2029.[1] Sook is also chairman of the joint board of directors of the National Association of Broadcasters.[2]
Sook founded Nexstar in 1996, with the acquisition of single local television station, WYOU in Scranton, Pennsylvania. In the decades since, the corporation has grown into the largest owner of television stations in the US, in addition to amassing additional media holdings such as The Hill, American television network The CW, and cable channel NewsNation (the latter relaunched from WGN America, which the company acquired in 2019). In August 2025, Sook announced a pending merger of Tegna Inc. into Nexstar, which would be in violation of current federal regulations for broadcast media ownership.
In 2003 Sook took Nexstar public after acquiring Quorum Broadcasting.[3] He subsequently led a project to convince satellite companies to pay for his stations' content, but the cable companies, like Cox Cable did not like the idea. This is referred to as a "retransmission consent dispute." Cox and 21 TV stations in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kansas and Missouri engaged in a campaign against the idea. As part of their campaign, they published Sook's home phone number in advertisements and encouraged customers to call him. Sook responded in kind and published the home phone number of the general manager of Cox cable. After about a year, Cox agreed to pay for carrying Nexstar's stations' signals. The revenue impact was significant. Sook said in 2020, "We went from a penny a day ... to $2 billion in revenue to [Nexstar] and $18 billion in revenue to local television stations across the country."[3]
Sook's compensation at Nexstar, over $40 million in 2022, made him the highest-paid corporate executive in the Dallas–Fort Worth region.[4] However, in 2018 and 2019, Nexstar shareholders rejected multimillion dollar compensation packages for Sook.[3] The editorial board of Variety named Sook to the 2023 edition of the Variety500, a list of top entertainment industry leaders.[5]
Early life
Sook was born in approximately 1958 in DuBois, Pennsylvania[3] and raised in West Virginia. He completed his undergraduate studies at Ohio University in the Scripps College of Communication.[3]
Early in his career Sook gained experience in both television and radio broadcasting, working in various roles including sales, on-air talent, and news. He worked at stations in West Virginia, Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
Before founding Nexstar Media Group in 1996, Sook was an adjunct professor at Edinboro State University of Pennsylvania and was involved in station ownership and management.[6][7][8]
Sook's first sales job was at a small radio station in Kissimmee, Florida, where the station did not pay him his commission after a big ad sale, which spurred a change to television sales.[3]
Personal life
Sook is married to Sandra; they have three children, and reside in Flower Mound, Texas.[9] His son, Perry Sook, Jr., is a sports anchor at Nexstar-owned WPIX.[10]
Politics
Between 2000 and 2018 Sook donated substantial sums to American politicians from both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party, though the majority of his partisan contributions have gone to Republican politicans. His first recorded donation to a federal candidate was $1,000 to Rick Lazio, a candidate for United States Senate from New York who was running against Hillary Clinton. In total, Sook has donated $32,400 directly to the candidate committees of Republican politicians, including Mitt Romney, John McCain, Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, John Cornyn, Marsha Blackburn, Roy Blunt, John Boozman, Orrin Hatch, and others. Sook had given another $14,900 cumulatively to related Republican committees, such as the NRCC and the Leadership PACs of Ted Cruz and Liz Cheney. Sook has also donated $5,000 in total to the candidate committees of Democratic politicians, including Chuck Schumer, Mark Pryor, Mark Udall, and Patrick Leahy. His most recent partisan political contribution was a September 2018 contribution to Ted Cruz of $2,700.[11]
Sook has also given heavily to nonpartisan Political action committees (PACs) associated with his business, including $60,000 to Nexstar's PACs and $88,000 to the PACs of the National Associations of Broadcasters.[11]
References
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POYNTER
“We are the anti-fake news.’ Nexstar appeals to Trump while seeking a merger with Tegna
The broadcaster is pressing the FCC to fast-track a $6.2B deal that would expand its reach to more than half of US households
By: Al Tompkins
November 19, 2025
Usually — and these are unusual times — when media companies buy and sell each other, the paperwork they file with the Federal Communications Commission reads more like a legal brief: dry, technical and anchored in facts and statistics meant to justify the transfer of broadcast licenses.
That’s why Nexstar’s filing with the FCC this week is noteworthy. Nexstar chair and CEO Perry Sook went out of his way to praise President Donald Trump while asking regulators to approve a $6.2 billion deal to buy rival Tegna. The merger would make Nexstar by far the country’s biggest owner of local TV stations and would require the government to relax long-standing rules limiting station ownership. And Nexstar is pushing the FCC to move quickly, something the agency rarely does.
The application, filed Tuesday, includes multiple nods to the president and the GOP-controlled commission:
Nexstar’s acquisition of Tegna is vitally important to the future of local television and local journalism. We are grateful that the Trump administration and the FCC recognize that the current television ownership regulations are outdated and do not reflect the competitive media landscape as it has evolved over the past 25+ years. Like the Trump administration, we are focused on achieving deregulation, and we continue to advocate for the elimination of the antiquated constraints on local television ownership as the best solution to level the competitive playing field for all media.
Nexstar’s filing also adopts buzzword language that Trump often uses:
To be clear, in an age of disinformation and political agendas, we are the anti-fake news. Our news is delivered by trusted, familiar voices — journalists who live in the community — not a chat-bot or social media influencers. And yet, we are prohibited from broadcasting trusted local news and programming to hundreds of communities across the country because of antiquated regulatory constraints.
To achieve fast approval, Nexstar is asking the usually slow-moving FCC to bypass “major barriers that prevent us from competing fairly including with legacy media and Big Tech.” That is legal-speak for a request to waive or eliminate the ownership cap that bars any owner from reaching more than 39% of U.S. households.
Nexstar is already at the 39% threshold. Adding 64 Tegna stations in 51 markets would grow its portfolio to 265 stations and push its reach to almost 55% of U.S. homes. Previous FCC commissions have taken months, even years, to sort through the implications of multiple station ownership in a single market.
Sook said approval is “absolutely crucial” and “urgently needed.” The filing added, “Despite Nexstar’s and Tegna’s positions as industry leaders, both are susceptible to intense market forces conspiring against their ability to sustain operations at their current level.”
The Nexstar-Tegna proposal arrives as another major broadcaster, Sinclair Broadcasting, makes a move of its own. Earlier this week, the Trump-friendly company purchased 8% of rival E.W. Scripps, signaling interest in a future merger. Scripps responded coldly to the unsolicited investment but did not shut the door to entertaining a better deal. Like Nexstar, Sinclair’s hopes also ride on the FCC lifting the ownership cap.
In recent statements to shareholders, leaders at both companies have suggested they believe the FCC may relax ownership limits in early 2026.
Editor’s note: The normally reliable FCC website had not posted Nexstar’s filing as of publication, with updates delayed by the government shutdown. We will add a link once the FCC makes the document available.}:
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230 RECS
Individual donors gave 230 large ($200+) contributions to this PAC in the 2023-2024 election cycle
| Contributor | Occupation | Date of Contribution | Amount |
ARMSTRONG, GEOFF
| PARK CITY, UT 84098 | NEXSTAR MEDIA GROUP, INC. | 11/22/2024 | $5,000 |
HAIKALIS, CHRIS
| IRVING, TX 75039 | NEXSTAR MEDIA GROUP | 06/11/2024 | $5,000 |
ALFORD, ANDREW
| TAMPA, FL 33606 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING INC. | 06/04/2024 | $5,000 |
MCNABB, LISBETH
| SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109 | NEXSTAR MEDIA GROUP, INC. | 05/01/2024 | $5,000 |
ROSENFELD, MATTHEW
| FRESNO, CA 93720 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING | 04/01/2023 | $5,000 |
MCNABB, LISBETH
| SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109 | NEXSTAR MEDIA GROUP, INC. | 04/01/2023 | $5,000 |
ZIMMER, DANA
| PHILADELPHIA, PA 19119 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING INC | 04/01/2024 | $5,000 |
BEE, ROBERT
| MILLERSVILLE, PA 17551 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING | 04/10/2024 | $5,000 |
UNDERWOOD, THERESA
| MANLIUS, NY 13104 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING | 03/01/2024 | $5,000 |
ROSENFELD, MATTHEW
| FRESNO, CA 93720 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING | 03/18/2024 | $5,000 |
MILLER, DENNIS
| PACIFIC PALISADES, CA 90272 | NEXSTAR MEDIA GROUP, INC. | 03/07/2024 | $5,000 |
JENKINS, BRETT E
| BARRINGTON, RI 02806 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING, INC. | 03/10/2024 | $5,000 |
BIARD, MICHAEL
| SOUTSH PASADENA, CA 91030 | NEXTAR MEDIA GROUP | 03/01/2024 | $5,000 |
SOOK, PERRY
| FLOWER MOUND, TX 75022 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING | 01/11/2024 | $5,000 |
ZIMMER, DANA
| PHILADELPHIA, PA 19119 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING INC | 01/03/2023 | $5,000 |
SOOK, PERRY
| FLOWER MOUND, TX 75022 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING | 01/02/2023 | $5,000 |
PRUETT, JULIE
| IRVING, TX 75039 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING | 01/13/2023 | $5,000 |
COMPTON, SEAN
| WINNETKA, IL 60093 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING INC. | 01/03/2023 | $5,000 |
CARTER, THOMAS
| DALLAS, TX 75248 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING | 01/03/2023 | $5,000 |
UNDERWOOD, THERESA
| MANLIUS, NY 13104 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING | 05/08/2023 | $5,000 |
BEE, ROBERT
| MILLERSVILLE, PA 17551 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING | 05/10/2023 | $5,000 |
JENKINS, BRETT E
| BARRINGTON, RI 02806 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING, INC. | 03/01/2023 | $5,000 |
ALFORD, ANDREW
| TAMPA, FL 33606 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING INC. | 03/01/2023 | $5,000 |
STROBER, MICHAEL B
| CHAPPAQUA, NY 10514 | NEXSTAR MEDIA GROUP | 02/09/2023 | $5,000 |
POMPADUR, I MARTIN
| GREENWICH, CT 06831 | NEXSTAR MEDIA GROUP, INC. | 02/26/2023 | $5,000 |
Individual donors gave 191 large ($200+) contributions to this PAC in the 2019-2020 election cycle
| Contributor | Occupation | Date of Contribution | Amount |
SOOK, PERRY
| FLOWER MOUND, TX 75022 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING | 01/07/2020 | $5,000 |
SALLY, WILLIAM JR
| CLIFTON PARK, NY 12065 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING | 04/17/2020 | $5,000 |
COMPTON, SEAN
| WINNETKA, IL 60093 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING INC. | 04/06/2020 | $5,000 |
BUSCH, TIMOTHY
| PITTSFORD, NY 14534 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING | 04/20/2020 | $5,000 |
BEE, ROBERT
| MILLERSVILLE, PA 17551 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING | 04/06/2020 | $5,000 |
ZIMMER, DANA
| PHILADELPHIA, PA 19119 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING INC | 11/21/2019 | $5,000 |
SEAN, COMPTON
| WINNETKA, IL 60093 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING INC | 10/22/2019 | $5,000 |
MUSE, JOHN R
| DALLAS, TX 75219 | Nexstar Media Group, Inc | 08/01/2020 | $5,000 |
UNDERWOOD, THERESA
| MANLIUS, NY 13104 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING | 05/19/2020 | $5,000 |
PRUETT, JULIE
| IRVING, TX 75039 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING | 05/01/2020 | $5,000 |
POMPADUR, I MARTIN
| GREENWICH, CT 06831 | NEXSTAR MEDIA GROUP, INC. | 05/04/2020 | $5,000 |
MCNABB, LISBETH
| DALLAS, TX 75244 | NEXSTAR MEDIA GROUP, INC. | 05/07/2020 | $5,000 |
UNDERWOOD, THERESA
| MANLIUS, NY 13104 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING | 03/19/2019 | $5,000 |
SOOK, PERRY
| FLOWER MOUND, TX 75022 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING | 01/09/2019 | $5,000 |
SALLY, WILLIAM JR
| CLIFTON PARK, NY 12065 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING | 03/19/2019 | $5,000 |
PRUETT, JULIE
| IRVING, TX 75039 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING | 03/13/2019 | $5,000 |
POMPADUR, I MARTIN
| GREENWICH, CT 06831 | NEXSTAR MEDIA GROUP, INC. | 02/06/2019 | $5,000 |
MUSE, JOHN R
| DALLAS, TX 75219 | NEXSTAR MEDIA GROUP, INC. | 02/20/2019 | $5,000 |
MILLER, DENNIS
| PACIFIC PALISADES, CA 90272 | NEXSTAR MEDIA GROUP, INC. | 05/09/2019 | $5,000 |
MCNABB, LISBETH
| DALLAS, TX 75244 | NEXSTAR MEDIA GROUP, INC. | 05/09/2019 | $5,000 |
JENKINS, BRETT E
| BARRINGTON, RI 02806 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING, INC. | 06/07/2019 | $5,000 |
CARTER, THOMAS
| DALLAS, TX 75248 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING | 01/09/2019 | $5,000 |
BUSCH, TIMOTHY
| PITTSFORD, NY 14534 | NEXSTAR BROADCASTING | 03/13/2019 | $5,000 |
ARMSTRONG, GEOFF
| PARK CITY, UT 84098 | NEXSTAR MEDIA GROUP, INC. | 05/09/2019 | $5,000 |
MILLER, DENNIS
| PACIFIC PALISADES, CA 90272 | NEXSTAR MEDIA GROUP, INC. | 06/01/2020 | $5,000 |
191 TOTAL
GL 2 26
[### Nexstar Media Group PAC Donors
OpenSecrets
https://www.opensecrets.org › donors](https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/nexstar-media-group/C00567388/donors/2020)
Individual donors gave 191 large ($200+) contributions to this PAC in the 2019-2020 election cycle. Contributor, Occupation, Date of ...Read more
Missing: FUNDER | Show results with: FUNDER
[### WPRI'S Parent Co. Nexstar Pumps Hundreds of ...
GoLocalProv
https://www.golocalprov.com › business › wpris-parent...](https://www.golocalprov.com/business/wpris-parent-co.-nexstar-pumps-hundreds-of-thousands-into-gop-coffers-ch-12)
Dec 10, 2018 — In the 2016 cycle, Nexstar gave over 80 percent of its PAC donations to Republican-affiliated PACs and in 2018 GOP political PACs received 100% ...Read more
Missing: FUNDER | Show results with: FUNDER
[### President Donald Trump on Saturday endorsed Nexstar ...
Facebook · WFRV Local 5
30+ reactions · 2 weeks ago](https://www.facebook.com/wfrvlocal5/posts/president-donald-trump-on-saturday-endorsed-nexstar-media-groups-62-billion-purc/1523149626486115/)
President Donald Trump on Saturday endorsed Nexstar Media Group's $6.2 billion purchase of broadcast rival Tegna after initial criticism.
[### What Is Nexstar, the Company That Silenced Jimmy Kimmel?
New York Magazine
https://nymag.com › intelligencer › article › the-busines...](https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/the-business-motive-behind-nexstar-silencing-jimmy-kimmel.html)
Sep 18, 2025 — Nexstar, the massive media conglomerate that just silenced Jimmy Kimmel, may be focused on appeasing President Trump to help future mergers.
Missing: FUNDER | Show results with: FUNDER
[### 'We are the anti-fake news.' Nexstar appeals to Trump ...
Poynter
https://www.poynter.org › business-work › nexstar-perry...](https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2025/nexstar-perry-sook-trump-tegna-merger-fcc-ownership-cap/)
Nov 19, 2025 — The broadcaster is pressing the FCC to fast-track a $6.2B deal that would expand its reach to more than half of US households.
[### Nexstar Media Group PAC Donors
OpenSecrets
https://www.opensecrets.org › donors](https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/nexstar-media-group/C00567388/donors/2024)
Individual donors gave 230 large ($200+) contributions to this PAC in the 2023-2024 election cycle. Contributor, Occupation, Date of ...Read more
[### Who Is Perry Sook? What To Know About Nexstar Founder ...
Forbes
https://www.forbes.com › Business](https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2025/09/19/what-to-know-about-nexstar-and-founder-perry-sook-after-local-media-giant-pulls-kimmel-show/)
Sep 19, 2025 — Why Did Nexstar Pull Jimmy Kimmel? Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar's broadcasting, said Wednesday owned and partnered television stations ...Read more
Missing: FUNDER | Show results with: FUNDER
[### Nexstar CEO praises Trump administration as local TV ...
The Independent
https://www.the-independent.com › ... › US politics](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/nexstar-tegna-merger-tv-deal-ceo-trump-b2810500.html)
Aug 19, 2025 — Nexstar CEO Perry Sook heaped praise on Donald Trump and his administration while announcing a mega deal with local TV rival Tegna. (Copyright ...Read more
[### Index of US Mainstream Media Ownership
The Future of Media Project
https://futureofmedia.hsites.harvard.edu › index-us-main...](https://futureofmedia.hsites.harvard.edu/index-us-mainstream-media-ownership)
Our goal is to provide radical transparency and a better grasp of the US Mainstream Media by listing publishers (owners, majority voting shareholders, and ...Read more
[### Who is Nexstar, the D-FW company at the center ...
Dallas News
https://www.dallasnews.com › ... › Local Companies](https://www.dallasnews.com/business/local-companies/2025/09/18/who-is-nexstar-the-d-fw-company-at-the-center-of-the-jimmy-kimmel-controversy/)
Sep 18, 2025 — Irving-based television broadcaster Nexstar has become a major player in the decision for ABC to suspend late-night host Jimmy Kimmel ...