From April 2015 through March 2018, Louis Libin served as a senior director at Sinclair Broadcast Group.
Now, he’s back — after abruptly exiting his role as Managing Director of HC2 Broadcasting and HC2 Holdings.
His departure from HC2 comes amid rumors that the entity led by Philip Falcone is having difficulty completing several of the transactions it has struck of late.
Libin is rejoining Sinclair for the role of VP/Spectrum Engineering and Policy.
In this role, Libin will be responsible for engineering elements to the company’s overall domestic and international strategic vision for spectrum utilization.
In addition, he will be an integral part of Sinclair’s tactical decisions on deployment of current and Next Generation broadcast systems and platforms, including single frequency networks, cellularized broadcast platforms and related business use cases.
“We’re delighted to welcome Louis back as a key contributor to our executive group,” said Mark Aitken, Sinclair’s Vice President for New Technology. “He brings a wealth of critical experience to the cutting edge of broadcasting. He’s part of the elite corps of innovative thinkers and is representative of Sinclair’s forward-thinking and visionary culture.”
Sinclair made no mention of HC2 in its announcement.
Libin since January 2014 has served as Chairman of the Advanced Television Broadcasting Alliance Advisory Board.
The MIT and Pratt grad from 1983-1996 was Director of Engineering for NBCUniversal.
Libin’s exit from HC2 comes as RBR+TVBR has learned the company has reportedly failed to close on five deals involving 12 stations, valued at more than $17 million.
According to a low-power TV industry source close to the matter, escrows have been taken by the sellers, and HC2 has paid extension penalties. New debt financing is reportedly in the works. However, the source says, HC2 missed a deadline on June 30 for such a move.
The source adds that Libbin unexpectedly quit on July 1, in frustration over lack of funding at HC2.
