Higgins Tapped for LIN's Connecticut Duop

Mark Higgins was named V.P. and general manager of WTNH-WCTX Hartford-New Haven. He comes from the ad agency The Spark Group in Phoenix, where he was COO and managing partner. Prior to Spark Group, Higgins was president/general manager of Belo's KTVK-KASW Phoenix from 2002 to 2008.

Higgins will report to LIN Executive V.P. of Television Scott Blumenthal.

"Mark's forward-thinking approach to sales, news and community involvement, along with his rich understanding of both our traditional media and our many new platforms, make him an ideal choice to manage two of our leading television stations. We are pleased to welcome Mark to the team," said Blumenthal.

Higgins held the roles of chairman and vice chairman of the Fox affiliates' board of governors from 2000 through 2002. He has also served as a board member of the Television Bureau of Advertising's Sales Advisory Committee and the CBS Marketing Advisory Council.

Higgins succeeds Jon Hitchcock at the ABC-MyNetworkTV duopoly. Hitchcock shifted to CBS O&O KYW Philadelphia at the end of March.

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.