Nick Valls New GM Of WGEN Miami

Spanish-language station group LBI Media appointed Nick Valls general manager of its recently acquired WGEN Miami (DMA 16), which becomes an Estrella TV affiliate (Estrella is owned by LBI).

Effective immediately, Valls, a 25-year media executive, will be at the helm of WGEN, in charge of sales and operations and of recruiting and building a local team. He will also oversee the addition of two local newscasts.

Prior to joining LBI Media, Valls was SVP of ad sales for MundoMax, where he led sales strategies and operations for the startup broadcast network, managing sales and marketing efforts for key affiliated stations in Los Angeles, Miami and Houston.

Previously, he was EVP of ad sales and marketing at Hemisphere Media Group, a U.S. Hispanic TV/cable networks and content platform. In this capacity, he established ad sales infrastructure and built a new team to represent Hemisphere Media assets, which included WAPA San Juan, P.R. / WAPA America, CATV, TVD, Pasiones and Cine Latino.

Earlier in his career, he spent 18 years at Univision Communications, where he held two senior executive roles, initially as senior vice president, partnership marketing group, and later as SVP, network sales.

“As we move forward with increasing our presence in the Miami area, we are pleased to have Nick join our team and spearhead the launch of our broadcast operations in one of the top Hispanic markets in the U.S.  His experience and knowledge of the Miami television business will greatly enhance EstrellaTV’s expansion in this vibrant and critical market,” said Lenard Liberman, CEO of LBI Media.