Roger Keating, Hearst Television's Chief Strategy and Business Development Officer, will retire at the end of 2026. A key figure in local broadcast innovation, Keating played a central role in industry consortia such as Pearl TV and NewsOn, and championed the development of ATSC 3.0 and addressable linear advertising.
Keating’s departure leaves a strategic void at a time when local broadcasters face mounting pressure to monetize NextGen TV investments. As the architect of multi-station alliances, his exit could shift how Hearst Television navigates the fragmented addressable advertising market and the final stages of the ATSC 3.0 rollout. For the broader ecosystem, it signals a transition from the 'visionary' phase of digital broadcast reform to the operational execution phase, where ROI on streaming and interactive services is paramount. Watch for Hearst to name a successor with deep experience in AI-driven programmatic sales or CTV distribution to maintain the digital growth momentum Keating established.
The executive transition at Hearst Television occurs as the U.S. local advertising market is projected to reach $182 billion in 2026, according to BIA Advisory Services data from December 2025. This growth is increasingly driven by digital platforms, including Connected TV (CTV) and addressable linear ads, sectors where Keating focused much of his later career through initiatives like Go Addressable and OAR. The shift toward digital ubiquity has forced traditional broadcasters to balance legacy ATSC 1.0 signals with the newer NextGen TV standard to capture shifting ad dollars.
Simultaneously, the Pearl TV consortium, which Keating co-founded, has been aggressively pushing to lower consumer barriers for ATSC 3.0. In January 2026, Pearl TV announced a certification program for sub-$60 converter boxes at CES to address Federal Communications Commission (FCC) concerns regarding viewer accessibility. These technical hurdles, alongside ongoing debates over digital rights management (DRM) and encrypted signals, remain central challenges for the successor to Hearst’s strategy seat.
Furthermore, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) continues to lobby for a definitive sunset date for ATSC 1.0, targeting 2028 for the top 55 U.S. markets. Per PCWorld reporting in early 2026, the absence of a mandatory FCC cutoff date has created a complex 'simulcast' environment, straining spectrum resources for station groups like Hearst. Keating’s retirement marks the exit of a key diplomat in these regulatory and technical negotiations just as the industry nears a potential 2030 deadline for full digital conversion.
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