The action by Standard & Poor’s to cut the debt rating of the US government had a quick impact on Wall Street, with stock plunging Monday, although they recovered somewhat on Tuesday. Not surprisingly, Nexstar CEO Perry Sook was asked during his Tuesday conference call what impact the debt rating cut is having on his TV company’s business.
Sook said he didn’t want to sound like Pollyanna, but so far there’s been no evidence of ad cancellations. In his view, the current situation is very different from the economic downturn of 2007 and ’08, when credit tightened for consumers. This time it’s a Wall Street and Washington problem which concerns people, but doesn’t necessarily affect their daily life on Main Street.
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As he began the conference call on Tuesday to review Nexstar’s Q2 results, Sook said he would take no questions regarding the company’s exploration of strategic alternatives, including a possible sale of the company. However, later he made it clear that the turmoil in the markets has not derailed the effort and said that the strategic review process is “in full swing.”
