Nexstar names Zink new VP/GM of WEHT Local, Local 7 WTVW

Nexstar Broadcasting announced Thursday that it has named Arika Zink as the new vice-president and general manager of its Evansville-market television stations, ABC affiliate WEHT Local (ch. 25) and independent Local 7 WTVW (ch. 7).

Zink, who has 25 years' experience in television broadcasting, comes to the Tri-State after two years managing Four Points Media's TV stations in West Palm Beach, Fla. Those stations include CW, MyNetwork TV and Azteca America affiliates.

In addition to her time in Florida, Zink has worked at stations in South Carolina, Ohio and her home state of West Virginia.

Zink replaces Mike Smith, who is retiring after nine years with Nexstar, the last six of those at WTVW. He became WEHT's general manager in December 2011 when the two stations combined their operations under Nexstar management.

"I am excited to work again with Nexstar and the teams at WEHT Local, Local 7 WTVW and Tristatehomepage.com, as we deliver additional compelling local news and entertainment programming, expand our relationships with the community and continue to grow our menu of outstanding marketing solutions across multiple platforms for our advertising partners," Zink said in a statement released Thursday. "I look forward to immediately joining the Evansville community and developing strong relationships with local businesses and community organizations.

"Arika is a proven leader, having administered successful policies and procedures to further enhance the effectiveness of station operations, leading teams to produce revenue generating results," said Nexstar executive vice-president and co-chief operating officer Tim Busch. "Having tracked Arika’s success in West Palm Beach for the last several years, we are confident in her ability to provide the Tri-State community exceptional service while delivering compelling and effective marketing solutions for local and national advertisers."

Nexstar Broadcasting has owned WEHT Local since December 2011, and manages the operations of WTVW, which is owned by Mission Broadcasting, under the terms of a shared services agreement.

IHSAA championship games to air on Local 7

When Nexstar Broadcasting took over WEHT Local on Dec. 1, one of the first things to go was the NEWS 25 Sports Channel, which was the Evansville area's home for IHSAA championship sporting events.  That led to the question, "Where will those games move to now?"

As it turns out, not far:  Local 7 WTVW is now this area's IHSAA Champions Network affiliate, and will begin carrying championship sports with this week's boys basketball sectional draws.  That program will air live beginning at 2 p.m. CT (3 p.m. ET) this Sunday, Feb. 19.

The boys' state basketball tournament will air beginning at 9 a.m. CT on Mar. 24.

The move to WTVW gives the IHSAA a much broader television presence in the Tri-State. Local 7 is available on virtually all area cable systems as well as some outside the immediate Tri-State, whereas the old Sports Channel was only available in certain areas.

Standard & Poor's keeps Nexstar Broadcasting on CreditWatch, cites uncertainties

Last July, Nexstar Broadcasting, which owns WEHT Local and operates Local 7 WTVW under a shared services agreement with Mission Broadcasting, announced that it was exploring "strategic options," which could eventually lead to a possible sale of the company.

However, the uncertainty surrounding that possibility, as well as the company's loss of three Fox affiliations and a lucrative management contract in 2011, has led Standard & Poor's to keep Irving, Texas-based Nexstar on its CreditWatch list.

"Although the company has not made a decision to pursue any specific transaction, the situation results in considerable uncertainty regarding Nexstar's business and financial strategy," said S&P credit analyst Daniel Haines.

S&P put Nexstar on the list - with negative implications for the company’s debt ratings - right after the news broke that the company was looking toward possible future changes.

In addition to losing the important Fox affiliations at WTVW, WFFT in Ft. Wayne and what's now KOZL in Springfield, Mo., which are now being operated as independent stations, Nexstar lost its management contract with Four Points Media Group when Sinclair Broadcast Group purchased Four Points. However, S&P points to Nexstar's own purchase of three stations in the latter half of 2011 - one of those being the WEHT Local purchase, which closed at the beginning of December - as having "somewhat" mitigated the sting of losing Fox and the Four Points stations.

We'll see what happens next.