Tribune Media CEO Peter Liguori to step down

Tribune Media Co.’s president and chief executive, Peter Liguori, announced Wednesday that he will step down from his post at the end of March.

The Chicago company’s board of directors has named one of its members, Peter Kern, to take over the position on an interim basis while it searches for a replacement.

“We greatly appreciate Peter’s leadership in the transformation of Tribune Media over the last four years, including the efforts to monetize non-core assets and simplify the company,” Tribune Media board Chairman Bruce Karsh said in a statement. “It became clear to Peter and the board that in this last year of his contract, it was time to find a new CEO to run the more broadcast-centric company.”

Tribune owns 42 local television stations, including KTLA in Los Angeles, WPIX in New York and WGN in Chicago; cable network WGN America; and the metadata firm Gracenote, though it has an agreement to sell the company to Nielsen. Its holdings also include Chicago radio station WGN and multicast TV networks ThisTV and Antenna TV.

Tribune’s board is interested in hiring someone with extensive experience in TV station management who can negotiate a merger with another company, said a person close to Tribune who was not authorized to comment.

President Trump and new FCC Chairman Ajit Pai have signaled they want to scale back media regulation, which is expected to pave the way for more consolidation among TV station groups.

Liguori, 56, joined Tribune after its emergence from bankruptcy in January 2013. He was named CEO after serving as chief operating officer of Discovery Communications. He is also a former entertainment chairman of Fox Television.

In December 2013, Tribune added 19 TV stations with the acquisition of Local TV, making it one of the country’s largest television station owners.

During his tenure at Tribune, the company spun off its newspaper properties, which included the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, into a separate company now named Tronc Inc.

The company’s publicly traded stock has slumped during Liguori’s tenure. At the time he joined Tribune, the shares were around $50; they rose to more than $80 three years ago but now hover around $29. Shares closed Wednesday at $28.89, down 0.3%.

Tribune Media distributed around $2.5 billion in payouts to shareholders during Liguori’s four year tenure.

Marci Ryvicker, senior analyst for Wells Fargo, said she was not surprised that Tribune is seeking an executive with more broadcast TV experience to replace Liguori.

“While Mr. Liguori has been known for his programming expertise with FX and Discovery, the stock has been under a lot of pressure given the troubles at WGN America,” she said.

Liguori spent heavily on the development and launch of original programs for WGN America, a cable channel that had long been known for off-network reruns and sports. While some of the new shows have earned critical kudos, they did not generate the kind of ratings that could justify their costs.

In February 2016, Tribune announced a process to review its strategic and financial alternatives, resulting in the sale of real estate assets for more than $500 million. The properties included Times Mirror Square, the headquarters of the Los Angeles Times; Tribune Tower in Chicago; and the L.A. Times’ printing facility off Olympic Boulevard.

Liguori currently serves as an advisor to the board of Sony Corp., which is searching for a replacement for Michael Lynton, who will step down as CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment on Feb. 2.

stephen.battaglio@latimes.com

Twitter: @SteveBattaglio

Times Staff Writer Meg James contributed to this report

UPDATES:

2:15 p.m.: This article was updated with additional reaction to Tribune Media’s announcement.

8:05 a.m.: This article was updated with a statement from Tribune Media board Chairman Bruce Karsh.

Jan. 27, 4:00 p.m.: This article was updated with additional information on Tribune Media’s stock price.

This article was originally published on Jan. 26 at 7:21 a.m.