Published: June 7, 2001
preview / download Thomas O’Brien has been appointed president and general manager of KXAS-TV, NBC’s owned-and-operated station in Dallas, effective immediately. The announcement was made today by Jay Ireland, President, NBC Television Stations. O’Brien had been president and general manager of WVIT, NBC’s owned-and-operated station in Hartford, Conn., since 1998.
“Tom knows television and he knows how to build a strong connection with local communities. In fact, in the highly competitive Hartford market, Tom has taken WVIT to No. 1 in key demos, sign-on to sign-off,” said Ireland. “KXAS in Dallas has significantly strengthened its position, and I know that Tom will build on this momentum and continue to drive its growth.”
O’Brien joined WVIT in 1989 and was the station’s local sales manager until 1993. From 1994 to1997, he served as the director of sales at Viacom/Paramount’s WNYT-TV in Albany, N.Y. O’Brien returned to WVIT in 1997 as the station manager and was promoted to president and general manager when the station was purchased by NBC from the Paramount Stations Group.
From 1986 to 1989, O’Brien was an account executive with the ABC affiliate WTNH-TV in New Haven, Conn. He joined the station in 1983 as a producer and director working on news and promotion. From 1983 to 1986, O’Brien also worked in a freelance capacity in production support at CBS Sports and as a freelance technical director for ESPN and Sports Channel/New England. He began his television career at WTEN-TV in Albany as a vacation-relief engineering technician in 1980.
O’Brien is the first vice chairman of the Connecticut Broadcasters Association. He also serves on the executive committee and board of directors of Junior Achievement of Southwest New England, as well as the board of directors for the Metro Hartford Chamber of Commerce and St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center. In addition, he is involved with the Save the Sound Foundation and the Mystic Seaport Museum. In August 2000, the Hartford Business Journal named O’Brien one of their “40 under 40,” a list of the top Hartford executives under 40 years old.
O’Brien graduated with honors from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications in 1983. He and his wife, Pamela, have two daughters.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Kyle Kaino, NBC Corporate Communications, 212/664-3198, kyle.kaino@nbc.com
NBC-New York, 06/07/01
