Harris named President & GM of Telemundo 62 in Philadelphia

NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations announced that Ric Harris has been named President and General Manager of NBC10 / WCAU and Telemundo62 / WWSI, the local stations owned by NBCUniversal that serve viewers in the Philadelphia area. Harris succeeds Eric Lerner, recently tapped to lead NBC 4 New York / WNBC. Harris will report to Valari Staab, President, NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations.

“Ric Harris is a strong leader with proven experience and a passion for delivering viewers what they are looking for,” said Staab. “WCAU and WWSI have grown tremendously over the last several years, and I am confident that Ric will drive their continued success.”

Harris brings more than 25 years of media industry experience to his new position. For the last two years, he has been President and General Manager of NBC Connecticut / WVIT, the NBC-owned station based in West Hartford. During his tenure, Harris strengthened NBC Connecticut, helping to lead the station to the top ranking in the market among Adults 25-54 in late news for eight of the last nine ratings periods and to a solid number two in morning news. Since his arrival at the station, he has also helped grow NBC Connecticut’s revenue share on a consistent basis, while solidifying the station’s community commitment through its Partners in a Caring Community initiative, which supports health, kids and education and the environment. Before being named President and General Manager of NBC Connecticut, Harris was Vice President of Sales for the station.

“I am thrilled to join the NBC10 / Telemundo62 team. Eric Lerner and the leadership team have done an outstanding job of transforming these stations and growing the business,” said Harris. “I am looking forward to expanding on their positive momentum and leading the innovation that will help NBC10 and Telemundo62 rise to new heights.”

One of the major efforts Harris will oversee in his new role is the relocation of the two stations from Bala Cynwyd to the future Comcast Innovation and Technology Center, a world-class, state-of-the-art facility that will be located in downtown Philadelphia. He expressed enthusiasm for the project, saying, “We have the team, the technology and the commitment to serving the community to build the greatest local television station in America.”

Harris joined NBC Connecticut from Accenture, where he worked as Manager of Communications, Media and Technology for two-and-a-half years, leveraging his industry experience on behalf of leading media companies. Previously, he was Vice President of Digital Ad Sales for BET Interactive. Before that, Harris served as Executive Vice President and General Manager of Digital Media and Strategic Marketing for NBC Owned Television Stations.

From 2000 to 2005, Harris led WEWS, the ABC affiliate in Cleveland, Ohio as its Vice President and General Manager and was previously the General Sales Manager. He started his career in media at the station as a Local Sales Account Executive. Harris also worked in sales roles at WOIO and WUAB, the CBS and UPN duopoly in Cleveland, and at Petry Television in Los Angeles.