John Rohrbeck, 62; Headed the Nation’s NBC-Owned TV Stations
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John Rohrbeck, 62, president of NBC’s network-owned television stations across the country from 1991 to 1997, died Saturday in Los Angeles of bladder cancer. He lived in Manhattan.
A native of Olympia, Wash., Rohrbeck earned a degree in business administration from the University of Washington and began his career with a Seattle advertising agency. He later became a Los Angeles-based network sales executive with ABC television, NBC and KNBC-TV.
After working as general manager for WRC-TV, the NBC station in Washington, D.C., where he developed the nationally syndicated program “The McLaughlin Group,” he returned to KNBC-TV as president and general manager.
During his tenure from 1984 to 1991, he expanded local news coverage by 50%, established Los Angeles’ first 6 a.m. newscast and put KNBC in first place with viewers for local news coverage.
As head of the NBC television stations division, he was credited with improving ratings, profits and organization at the 11 network-owned stations in Los Angeles; Birmingham, Ala.; Chicago; Columbus, Ohio; Miami; New York City; Philadelphia; Providence, R.I.; Raleigh, N.C.; San Diego; and Washington, D.C.
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