Dean Littleton is joining WATE, Young Broadcasting’s ABC affiliate in Knoxville, as vice president and general manager.
Littleton comes from rival WVLT, the CBS and MyNetwork TV affiliate in Knoxville, where he was the vice president and general sales manager. Before joining WVLT, he worked at KUSA in Denver and WBIR in Knoxville.
“I am thrilled to have Dean lead WATE and become a part of the Young family,” Young Broadcasting president and CEO Deb McDermott said in a statement. “He is a well-respected and proven leader whose extraordinary sales and journalism skill set, broad managerial experience and extensive knowledge of the market mesh perfectly with our strategic goals.”
Littleton replaces Stan Knott, who has been serving as interim general manager of the station in addition to his role as VP-GM at WKRN, Young Broadcasting’s ABC affiliate in Nashville.
The official announcement is after the jump.
YOUNG BROADCASTING NAMES DEAN LITTLETON GENERAL MANAGER OF ABC AFFILIATE WATE-TV IN KNOXVILLE
Nashville, TN, Sept. 17, 2013 – Young Broadcasting President-CEO Deb McDermott today announced the appointment of industry veteran Dean Littleton as Vice President & General Manager of WATE-TV, the group’s ABC affiliate in Knoxville, TN.
Littleton, who has deep roots in the Knoxville community, joins WATE from his post as VP-General Sales Manager at Gray Television’s WVLT in Knoxville, the CBS/MyNetworkTV affiliates in the market.
“I am thrilled to have Dean lead WATE and become a part of the Young family,” McDermott said. “He is a well-respected and proven leader whose extraordinary sales and journalism skill set, broad managerial experience and extensive knowledge of the market mesh perfectly with our strategic goals.”
She added, “Dean has a record of growth during his career. His teams have developed new revenue opportunities across multiple broadcast and digital platforms, while also generating sustained, record-setting spot TV, digital and business development growth at the stations.”
Prior to joining WVLT in December 2008, Littleton served as General Sales Manager of Gannett’s NBC affiliate KUSA and MyNetworkTV affiliate KTVD in Denver. Earlier, he spent seven years in a similar role at Gannett’s NBC affiliate WBIR-TV in Knoxville, which included a local 24 hour news channel, Weather Plus and related websites in the market.
Littleton began his TV sales career at WBIR in 1995 as account executive. In 1998, he was named Local Sales manager at WBIR, where his accomplishments included tripling new business development prior to his promotion to GSM two years later. He previously spent six years as an award-winning and Emmy-nominated news photographer and editor at the station.
The executive graduated at the top of his class from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s College of Communications with a degree in broadcast management. His numerous volunteer activities include serving as a Director of the Intercollegiate Online News Network, a network of 70-plus college and high school journalism websites; Advisory Board Member for the University of Tennessee’s department of Journalism and Electronic Media; and on the boards of The Cancer Support Community and public radio station WDVX in Knoxville, where he is also VP.