Media Interests
Broadcasting & Cable Magazine described Wierson as "one of the most important people in New York media". Under Wierson, NYC TV expanded from a local cable operation to a broad array of broadcast, cable, production, online video and syndication entities, organized under the name of NYC Media Group. At his time at NYC TV, Wierson led the network to 42 Emmy Awards and over 100 National Telly Cable Awards. In addition to Secrets of New York, Wierson played a role in the creation of many of the network's original series' productions including $9.99, Eat Out NY, New York 360*, and The Bridge. In 2008, Wierson led NYC TV's digital media group to its first-ever Webby nominations.
At NYC Media Group (since rebranded as NYC Media), Wierson was vocal critic of the traditional public broadcasting model. In 2005, Wierson disbanded the station’s long-held PBS status, enabling NYC TV's original shows to take over prime-time "It was smart not to be the 'fifth channel,' said Dalton Delan, executive vice president of WETA in Washington. You don't want to be the triple-A team. You want to find a new ballpark where you can be No. 1."
In August 2006, Wierson, Unger and Bloomberg appeared in the NBC studios, joined WNBC General Manager Francis Comerford and former NBC Station Group President Jay Ireland in announcing a partnership between NYC TV and NBC flagship station WNBC The executives were flanked by two of NYC TV's on-air stars, Kelly Choi and Amy Palmer, who would be hosting some of the programming that would be part of the content deal, namely Eat Out NY and New York 360*.
On April 28, 2009, Mayor Bloomberg announced Wierson was stepping down as CEO of NYC Media Group. The Mayor lauded Wierson's service to him stating, "Over the past seven years, Arick Wierson and his team transformed NYC TV into one of the nation’s best television stations. After helping build the station virtually from scratch, Arick oversaw the merger of NYC TV with WNYE-TV and WNYE-FM, creating the largest local media group in New York that now reaches hundreds of thousands of people every day. NYC TV’s 160 New York Emmy nominations and 42 awards serve as a testament to Arick’s vision, tenacity, and leadership and to the excellence of the media group he was instrumental in creating. I have no doubt that Arick’s entrepreneurial and creative talents, which helped him achieve great things at NYC TV will serve him well as he rejoins the private sector..."
It was later revealed that Wierson had been planning an exit from NYC TV for well over a year. In a private email circulated among city officials, Wierson revealed that has had been planning to leave NYC TV since late 2008 to work on a number of projects in Brazil and Portuguese-speaking Africa, where Wierson had previously spent many years as an investment banker with ABN AMRO Bank. Additionally, the New York Times revealed that Wierson had been quietly producing a documentary film starring former U.S. President Jimmy Carter "Back Door Channels: The Price of Peace" which later opened in Monte-Carlo and Abu Dhabi.
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