NEW YORK, July 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Roger Keating is joining Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc. (NYSE: HTV) as Senior Vice President, Digital Media. The appointment, effective July 7, was announced today by David J. Barrett, president and chief executive officer of Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc.

"Our digital media efforts are strategically focused on content development for the three core platforms of broadband, mobile and digital TV multicast," Barrett said. "Bringing aboard an executive with Roger's experience and pedigree, to work with our talented digital media team, signals our ongoing commitment to leadership in serving audiences and advertisers in these areas. We have popular, award-winning content and strong media brands in our 26 TV markets, providing an excellent framework to launch new initiatives. Roger's knowledge and experience in targeted media content development, distribution and sales will serve us well as we create new products, communities and services for our expanding user base, and innovate more ways to help our marketing partners achieve their objectives."

Keating previously served as a member of Time Warner Cable's strategy-setting Operating Committee and as that company's Corporate Executive Vice President, Los Angeles Region, where he oversaw the launch of ambitious new broadband and telephony services, among other projects. Before that, he served as a Senior Vice President and General Manager for America Online, overseeing Health and Travel verticals and, earlier, Voice Services, where he spearheaded the launch of AOL Voicemail. Prior to AOL, Keating founded Zatso, the world's first streaming-video based personal newscast service; Zatso was launched in 40 local markets in partnership with several leading media companies. Keating previously was with Comcast Cable, most recently serving as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Comcast Online, where he launched the Comcast @Home high-speed cable modem service. Keating began his career as a management consultant, first with Kurt Salmon Associates, an industrial engineering consultancy, and later with Mercer Management Consulting, where he served clients in industries including telephony and computer-networking, among others.

Keating holds an MBA from Stanford University, and a BS in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering from University of Notre Dame, where he graduated summa cum laude.

Hearst-Argyle has steadily expanded its digital media activities in the areas of sales and content development. The Hearst-Argyle local Web sites aggregate more than 20 million average monthly unique visitors, generating more than 175 million monthly pageviews and more than 6 million video streams, and provide wireless application protocol (WAP) content, podcasts, web-based newscasts, web-based video and blogs in a broad cross-section of markets. The company is an equity investor in Internet Broadcasting, whose "network" of local sites is a key component of the CNN.com network via a partnership formed last year. Hearst-Argyle's digital-media innovations have included local content, including a high-school sports broadband video and social-networking product; video distribution, via a content- and revenue-sharing arrangement with YouTube, resulting in 30 Hearst-Argyle YouTube "channels"; and local digital-media sales, via an AdWords alliance with Google. Hearst-Argyle and NBC co-developed Weather Plus as a digital multicast joint venture of NBC and its station affiliate body; Hearst-Argyle's digital-TV multicast outlets now include 18 weather channels, with cable and satellite carriage.

Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc. owns 26 television stations, and manages an additional three television and two radio stations owned by Hearst Corporation, in geographically diverse U.S. markets. The Company's television stations reach approximately 18% of U.S. TV households, making it one of America's largest television station groups. Hearst-Argyle owns 12 ABC-affiliated stations, and manages an additional ABC station owned by Hearst Corporation, and is the largest ABC affiliate group. The Company also owns 10 NBC affiliates, and is the second-largest NBC affiliate owner, and owns two CBS affiliates. Hearst-Argyle Series A Common Stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "HTV." The company's Web address is www.hearstargyle.com.

SOURCE Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc.