Nexstar Broadcasting Group Inc.’s sale of its Evansville, Ind., Fox affiliate to an affiliate of Liberty Corp. cratered over the weekend.
GNS Media had been expected to pay $43 million for WTVW-TV, which Nexstar picked up as part of its recent takeover of Quorum Broadcasting.
GNS, controlled by a former Liberty executive, was planning to cut a local marketing agreement with Liberty, which owns NBC affiliate WFIE(TV) Evansville. Liberty had agreed to guarantee GNS’s debt in the deal and buy an equity stake in the firm.
GNS had secured FCC approval for the station purchase and was expected to complete the deal last Friday, but it all fell apart. A Nexstar spokesman wouldn’t comment on why the deal collapsed, and CEO Perry Sook was not immediately available for comment.
