Nexstar Broadcasting Group has acquired St. George, Utah-based GoLocal.Biz, which currently provides local business directory, couponing, movie and entertainment listings to all 35 of Nexstar’s community portal websites and other local market clients in the US. Templated for each market, GoLocal.biz offers up advertising and promotion solutions, embedded video, images, map, contact info, local advertiser web links and more to local consumers. The websites actually show very little if any links to the Nexstar affiliates and are named for the market, not the TV station – for example, EverythingLubbock.com and Fourstateshomepage.com.
Nexstar O&Os or manages 50 TV stations. Because of the buy it will be immediately accretive to Nexstar’s operating results.
GoLocal.biz was founded by GM Nick Schulz, Dave May and Brian Green in 2007. GoLocal.Biz will operate as part of Nexstar’s e-Media, community portal and technology operations and will report to Nexstar EVP and Co-COO Brian Jones.
Nexstar CEO Perry Sook said the acquisition creates an entirely new revenue stream for Nexstar “as we intend to expand the distribution and syndication of the GoLocal.biz platform to other online publishers in television and radio markets not served by Nexstar.”
Since its launch in 2006, Nexstar has scored 18 consecutive quarters of revenue growth from its e-Media community web portal strategy, and Sook says they are on track to deliver double- digit e-Media growth in 2011 based on an expanding base of revenue apps and the further penetration of our mobile marketing and video initiatives.
GoLocal.Biz General Manager Nick Schulz added, “The GoLocal.Biz platform has proven to be an excellent complement to Nexstar’s community portal platform. By joining forces with Nexstar, we will have the necessary resources to expand to additional local markets while enabling Nexstar to further increase its audience, content, engagement and revenue.”
RBR-TVBR observation: Only the smart broadcaster makes moves like this because they know the value of the internet and they also know assets as GoLocal.Biz cannot be built from scratch in today’s business environment. It’s obviously a winning formula—one that may find itself in many more markets soon.
