Category Archives: TV Programming (Broadcast)

Raycom Media

Posted on by 
by Raja Ram

Raycom Media

Company Description:

Raycom Media Inc. engages in television and radio broadcasting through its subsidiaries. It participates in the sports marketing, video production and telecommunications. The firm also participates in video broadcasting with a focus on corporate, commercial, and manufacturing clients. In addition, they work with state and local governments nation-wide to provide systematic support in telecommunications and broadcasting. For example, one subsidiary, KCBD, broadcasts political advertisements. Below is a video that demonstrates their involvement:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhBTc1EMfNg  [3]

Raycom Media Inc currently owns and provides services for 52 stations [1]. It covers 12.6% of US households and employs over 3,500 individuals [1]. The firm is currently employee-owned and is not publically traded [1]. In addition, Raycom’s chief subsidiaries include Raycom Sports, a sports marketing firm in Charlotte, North Carolina and Broadview Media which is a post-production company in Montgomery, Alabama. They also own the rights to regional cable and syndication television to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Athletics [1].

The firm bolsters offices in Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, North Carolina and South Carolina, but is headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama. The company’s contact information and key executives are listed below [9].

Key Executives for Raycom Media, Inc [9]:

Mr. Paul H. McTear
Chief Executive Officer and President

Ms. Melissa Thurber
Chief Financial Officer and Vice President

Mr. Wayne Daugherty
Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President

Mr. David Folsom
Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Technology

Ms. Rebecca Bryan
Vice President and General Counsel

Contact Information:
201 Monroe Street
RSA Tower
20th Floor
Montgomery, AL 36104
United States
Phone: 334-206-1400
Fax:334-206-1555
http://www.raycommedia.com/

Company History:

Raycom Sports was founded in 1979 [7] by Rick Ray who left his former station in order to a tap into the college basketball market.

He partnered up with Dee Birke and started buying the rights to games, and producing, syndicating, and selling commercials to cover expenses. Eventually, Ray acquired the rights to ACC sports teams by 1981 [7] after forming a joint venture with another broadcasting firm Jefferson-Pilot Sports. All syndicated programming was distributed over landlines through AT&T networks. The company flourished under a unique business model in which they purchased all advertising space from local stations, and then sold the allocated time to advertisers at a higher premium. They also incorporated a central monitoring system that allowed for easy billing the following day to advertisers.

The firm continued its successful growth based off the model that local stations broadcasting local sports could be more successful than broadcasting out of region sports programming in multiple sites. In addition, they broadcasted sports programming from ESPN, and in “blacked out” regions. Raycom also partnered with ABC and purchased airtime from the network in order to show sports programming. The deal was so successful, that up until 1995 [7], the two remained partners.

The network continued to expand its horizons and began broadcasting bowl games, and ACC championship games. In addition, they got the rights to broadcast the Charlotte Bobcats NBA games [7]. They also began airing television programming such as “More than a Game”, which featured positive stories from the sports world. They also syndicated a number of specials on the life of Elvis Presley including “Elvis Graceland” (1987) [7].

In 1992, Bert Ellis formed Ellis Communications which at the time consisted of 13 television stations [7]. Ellis was a good friend of Ray’s and acquired Raycom Sports in 1994 [7]. He consequently sold the firm to an Atlanta based pension fund, Retirement Systems of Alabama, later that year. Through the merger of three big media hubs, Raycom Media Inc was founded in 1996 [1]. Initially the merger consisted of the purchase of 15 television stations, and other networks. This included the sports marketing firm that Raycom Sports, a distribution company and two radio stations.

Current Activity

Raycom Media Inc. is currently employee-owned, and has performed moderately well in comparison to competitors. Some of the firm’s current competitors include Media General Inc., Hearst Television Inc., and Nextar Broadcasting Group Inc [4]. Although these competitors provide similar broadcasting, marketing, and television services, Raycom excels with its sports marketing division. In addition, in recent years they have made strides to advance their uniqueness by branching out onto mobile devices and tablets [5].

Since Raycom media is a privately owned firm, their financials are not made available to the public. They are however, subject to auditing by the SEC and its subsidiaries [10]. Some financial data is available. Their annual revenue is $183.6 million [8]. The firm has not reported any significant loss or inability to meet expectations in the past year.

The firm has a number of subsidiaries. These include but are not limited to the following: KAIT, KCBD,KFVS, KGMB, KHNL/KOGG/KHBC, KLTV, KOLD, KPLC, KSLA,KTRE, WAFB, WAFF, WALB, WAVE, WBRC, WBTV, WBXH, WCSC, WDAM, WDFX, WECT, WFIE, WFLX, WFXG, WIS, WLBT, WLOX, and WMBF [2].

Raycom Media has four major programs. The first is “America Now” [14] which is a lifestyle magazine with several local appeals. The second is the “ACC Network” [15]. This network broadcasts both basketball and football games of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They also broadcast a number of individual programming such as player, coaches, and team interviews. In addition, they provide feedback and analysis on games including the ACC championship games. Third is “Bounce TV” [13] which airs programming and sports directed at African Americans 20+ and provide regional original programming as well. Finally, there is “Right this Minute” which airs originally programming that connects the internet and social media to broaden the appeal of television [2].

       

The firm also provides a number of career opportunities in marketing, sales, programming, and broadcast to prospective employees. To see the different opportunities within Raycom Media, please watch the following clip [3]:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3lxtbJrF4I

Recent News

April 13, 2011: Raycom Media Inc., Cox Media Group, and The E.W Scripps Company partners up with MagicDust to create “Right this Minute”. This original programming will incorporate the internet, social media, and new storytelling methods to broaden the appeal of modern television. In addition, the programming is expected to reach 30% of American households and will be available for nationwide syndication. It will comprise of an hour-long special every weekday [9].

May 5, 2012: Raycom Media Inc announces the first ever exclusive African American programming station, Bounce TV. It is intended to reach 26 Raycom markets [2].

May 12, 2011: Raycom overhauls its broadcasting graphics system and replaces it with Chyron BlueNet graphics workflow. All 31 of its stations will now have the HD upgrade and will be outfitted with two dual-channel LEX3 on air graphics systems, a CAMIO server, and iSO monitoring application. This will allow Raycom’s networks to broadcast programming in HD and have fully automated playout as well as real-time playout. Raycom will incorporate BlueNet into its current cloud-based services [9].

May 23, 2011: MSA Security forms partnership with Raycom Media Inc.  This allows Raycom’s Media’s local news affiliates to use MSA Security’s analysis in its local news broadcasting. This includes analytics on some of the top counterterrorism operations within the past year [2].

July 12, 2011: Raycom media is recognized by PromaxBDA which represents broadcasting, cable, and advertising agencies as well as new media programming. This is one of the first steps for Raycom Media to become a national contender in broadcasting [2].

July 25, 2011: Raycom Media Inc, and Meredith Local Media sign an online pact that allows Meredith Local Media to access Raycom News Network and its digital content hub in Montgomery, Alabama [2].

September 29, 2011: Raycom Media Inc. debuts “America Now” which provides local news and broadcasting for regional areas. Upon initial airing of the program, it bolstered a strong viewership, and attracted many new viewers in “blacked out” regions [2].

January 18, 2012: Raycom Media Inc acquires New York based firm Tupeo-Honey Productions (THP) and 50% of the parent company My Tueplo Entertainment. This adds to the company’s production capacity. Most of Tupelo-Honey Production’s managing staff will remain in their current positions [2].

August 1, 2012:Raycom Media Inc. partners up with the College Football All-Star Classic to bring together the top contenders in college football in a week-long event played in Montgomery, Alabama [2].

August 13, 2012: Raycom Media Inc. launches its tablet applications for all 32 news stations. This is intended to connect consumers with local news and weather remotely. It is available for both android and iPad tablets. In addition, it includes live radar and storm tracking, breaking news push alerts, local sports including high school and college, and viewer submitted content. The application is compatible with iOS, Android, RIM, and mobile web [9].

References

1. Raycom Media Inc.–http://www.raycommedia.com/about/

2. Raycom Media News–http://www.raycommedia.com/news/

3. Youtube.com–http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3lxtbJrF4I, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhBTc1EMfNg

4. InsideView–http://www.insideview.com/directory/raycom-media-inc

5. New York Times: BusinessWeek–http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/31/business/the-media-business-advertising-addenda-people-111716.html

6. Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail– http://www.rtjgolf.com/partners/

7. Raycom Sports History–http://www.raycomsports.com/about-us/company-history/expanded-company-history/

8. Hoovers D&B Company–http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/competition.Raycom_Media_Inc.8cc7c242ffb31d6f.html

9. Bloomberg BusinessWeek–http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=681777

10. Bloomberg–http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/24601Z:US/

11.Victory Management Group– http://vmg1.info/vmg-names-rick-ray-chairman-2/

12. IMD– http://www.imdb.com/

13. Bounce TV– http://www.bouncetv.com/

14. America Now — http://www.americanownews.com/

15. ACC Network– http://www.americanownews.com/

16. Right this Minute — http://www.rightthisminute.com/

Liberman Broadcasting

Posted on by 
by Daniel Grove

Liberman Broadcasting Logo Courtesy of Nasdaq

{1}

Liberman Broadcasting Incorporated

Contact
Address: 1845 Empire Avenue,
Burbank, CA 91504
Phone: (818) 729-5300
Website: www.lbimedia.com
Email: LBIinfo@lbimedia.com {2}

Overview

Founded by father-son duo Jose and Lenard Liberman, Liberman Broadcasting, Inc. (also referred to as LBI) is the largest privately held, minority-owned Spanish-Language television and radio broadcaster in the United States. With a primary concentration on the hispanic demographic, the company provides advertising opportunities to local markets and communities through product integration, talent sponsorships and appearances, and longform advertising. {3}

The company owns and operates Empire Burbank Studios and develops roughly fifty-six hours of programming a week, consisting of comedy, music, game, talk, and news shows, on their Spanish-language network: EstrellaTV. LBI also hosts the annual Premios De La Radio awards show featuring several hispanic artists. {4}  These are broadcast via the following stations:

An Overview as to what stations LBI Broadcasts Through on the United States West Coast

Important Figures {5}

-Jose Liberman: Co-founder and President
-Lenard Liberman: Co-founder, Executive Vice-President and Secretary
–Eduardo Leon: Vice President of Programming
–Winter Horton: Vice President of Programming for KRCA ch62 Television
–Blima Tuller: Chief Financial Officer

Major Competitors

–Univision Communications Inc.
–Telemundo: Owned by NBC
–Entravision Communications Corporation {7}

Company History

Founded in 1987, LBI began as small cluster of independent Radio and Television stations scattered throughout the Los Angeles and Houston city limits. Within the 1990’s the company then began to expand into San Diego and Dallas as they began to draw in more Revenue.

The company truly began to take off in the mid 2000’s with the catalyst being the $95 million purchase of five Dallas radio stations from Entravision. This gained LBI the ability to provide a variety of different programs towards Hispanic audiences throughout Texas, ultimately gaining them a strong grasp over the aforementioned demographic. {8} In the year 2007, Liberman Broadcasting purchased a UPN (now the CW) station KPNZ for $10 million in Salt Lake City Utah allowing them to expand eastward. LBI then began to expand down into Phoenix, Arizona in 2008 after a deal with Latin America Broadcasting for $1.25 million over a local Station, KVPA-LP. {9}

Estrella TV logo, courtesy of Estrella TV Reno

{10}

On July 1st, 2009, Liberman announced the launch of their brand new, exclusively Spanish-speaking network, Estrella TV, which then made its worldwide debut on September 14th that same year. The programming of this new network currently focuses on the 18-49 demographic, airing a variety of different shows in highly populated Hispanic markets. The introduction of this company showed (and still currently shows) a significant threat to both Univision and Telemundo, as it had both a station in every top 20 market and made itself a potential option for ad buyers as the current revenue in Spanish-language TV was rather dull growth in comparison to prior years. {11}

In recent years, Estrella TV has managed to become the 2nd highest rated network within Los Angeles after Univision, and with it has produced two of the highest rated shows within Spanish-language Televison {12}: “El Show De Don Cheto” and “Estudio 2“.

“El Show De Don Cheto” is a talk show starring “el hombre del vozarrón” (the loud-voiced man) Don Cheto where he interviews with Latino celebrities, parodies of famous viral music videos, and features popular Hispanic artists on to perform, much like that of “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno“.

Acting as LBI’s biggest show on EstrellaTV, “Estudio 2” is a variety show featuring live musicians, comedians, and other forms of entertainment from the Los Angeles region. The show has received high amount of praise from critics due to its original programming in comparison to other programs produced by rival companies. The show currently attracts men between the ages of 18 to 34 and allowed the network to reach out to 76 percent of Hispanic households. {12}

About 5 months after the purchase of a WWTO-TV (now WESV-LP) in Chicago, LBI faced its largest PR crisis in the history of the company.

In the beginning of April, 2011, several organizations across the country sent letters to the FCC due to the outrage sparked by popular LBI show, “Jose Luis Sin Censura“, due to its crude nature and tendency to insult the homosexual community. {13} This led to both Time Warner and AT&T to pull its advertising away from the program {14}, and which ultimately caused the show’s cancellation on August 9th, 2012. {15}

Recent News

September:

-09/12:

One LBI’s newest and most popular shows on EstrellaTV, “Mi Sueno Es Bailar” (or my dream is to dance), premiers for its third season. {16} The show stars several celebrities within the Latino community, such as Nora Salinas and Jose Luis Gonzales, and pairs them with highly trained dancers in a multi-round, elimination contest to see which celebrity shows the highest skill on the floor (much like ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars“). Outside of the competitive aspects, each episode involves the winning couple granting a wish made by one lucky Hispanic family. {17} The series aired its finale on November 16th.

October:

-10/04:

Liberman Broadcasting announces that they will bring the “El Shaka“, a drama that portrays the constant drug war within Mexico under the control of the drug lord”El Shaka”, and it 36 episodes to MIPCOM, the global market for all entertainment content. {18}

-10/08:

Estrella TV launches a brand new comedy series, “A2D3” (an abbreviation for “A Dos de Tres”), based around the sport of Mexican wrestling, or Lucha Libre. The program focuses around the character of Elverio Gudino, a man who wishes to become a professional wrestling under the pseudonym “El Veri Gud” (which ironically is the complete opposite of his status in the sport) and his strive to protect his identity from criminals who are trying to collect money from him. The series only ran for eight episodes, each one hour long, {19} and ended November 17th, 2012.

-10/11:

Investigative news magazine show “En La Mira con Enrique Gratas” (On target with Enrique Gratas) premiers on EstrellaTV. The show features famous Latino news Anchor Enrique Gratas and journalist Myrka Dellanos discussing popular stories that occur throughout both the United States and the world. {20}

November:

-11/04:

Estrella TV launches an advertising campaign with Toyota of Southern California by awarding a Toyota Tundra to a fan of the Network, specially designed and customized by Mexican-musical sensation, Gerardo Ortiz. The campaign involved both the network and its website using Ortiz within interactive content developed by the advertising and marketing team at Estrella TV and Toyota, as well as Castells Hispanic ad agency. {21}

-11/07:

In response to the large popularity of Psy‘s, music video, Gangham Style, Don Cheto launched a parody of it entitled: “Ganga Style”. The video contains several elements that are reminiscent of the South Korean rapper, but with Spanish lyrics and cultural elements and stereotypes of Mexican society. The video became viral instantly and led Cheto to move away from radio broadcasting, due to the low ratings he has received in the past few months, and into the internet medium via Youtube and Facebook. {22}

-11/12:

Logo for the 2012 “Premios De La Radio” awards ceremony, courtesy of Ticketmaster.com

{23}

Broadcast live from the Empire Burbank Studios, Estrella TV hosted the 13th Annual Premios De La Radio award show. After receiving a total of 562,000 viewers between the hours of 7 to 11 pm, it became the most watched program in Estrella TV’s history as a network. The show also ranked second in its highest total for the viewers within the 18 to 49 demographic, as it managed to bring in approximately 303,000 within the group. {24}

-11/19:

Kristoff Raczynski Tatomir, courtesy of Quien.com

{25}

Televisa Star, Kristoff (Krzysztof Racqynski Tatomir), leaves the company for EstrellaTV. Kristoff, who was one of the largest personalities for the Televisa, moved networks as Liberman Broadcasting provided him a deal to work as the host of their “bloopers” show. This led to massive lawsuit between the two companies, as members of Televisa found Kristoff accepting money from LBI to work for their company, which caused a massive breach in the exclusivity provision his contract (by which Kristoff is only allowed to host shows that are run by Televisa). {26} As of now, no news has risen regarding the case.

December:

-12/04:

Liberman Broadcasting announces that they have extended the expiration of private exchange offers and solicitation of consents to December 7th, 2012, at 5 p.m. A total of $207 million Old Notes and consents in the Discounts Notes Consent Solicitation will no longer be allowed to be withdrawn. {27}

Upcoming Projects

Currently, Liberman Broadcasting has three new shows that are still currently in the works. The first one being “La Supermodelo Latina”, a reality show produced by Michael Ohoven, in which sixteen beautiful Latina women are forced to live in a mansion with one another for several weeks while partaking in competitions for a chance to become a supermodel. The second show in production is “Chalino”, a drama miniseries that illustrates the life of the man who founded the Banda movement of the 1980’s, Chalino Snachez. Finally, there is “El Sueno Americano” (or “the American Dream”) starring and be produced by actor Hector Suarez and his son. The show would be a sitcom about a family just moving to LA and facing all the challenges that come from living in a foreign country. {28, 29} No set air date has been announced for any of these shows.

Works Cited:

{1} http://www.nasdaq.com/markets/ipos/filing.ashx?filingid=2713436 
{2} http://www.lbimedia.com/contact.html
{3} http://www.lbimedia.com/about.html
{4} http://www.yellowpages.com/burbank-ca/mip/empire-studio-30609825
{5} http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=643286
{6} http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/cbs-dominates-broadcast-cable-shows-showing-strength-in-ratings/2012/12/04/99354e0c-3e55-11e2-8a5c-473797be602c_story.html
{7} http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/company-profile.Liberman_Broadcasting_Inc.de35e9d98bfffd35.html  
{8} http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2006/07/31/daily42.html
{9} http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/115113-Deals.php
{10} http://www.estrellatvreno.com
{11} http://www.medialifemagazine.com/coming-a-new-force-in-hispanic-tv/
{12} http://www.lbimedia.com/Media/PressReleases/09.17.10%20–%20Estudio%20Beats%20Telefutura%20media%20alert%20-%20FINAL.pdf
{13} http://www.glaad.org/releases/040611jlsc
{14} http://www.glaad.org/2011/06/02/at-two-broadcasters-drop-programat-dos-estaciones-transmiso/
{15} http://www.towleroad.com/2012/08/spanish-language-talk-show-jos%C3%A9-luis-sin-censura-dropped-after-glaad-and-nhmc-protest.html
{16} http://www.cynopsis.com/editions/cynopsis/091212/
{17} http://www.c21media.net/archives/93527
{18} http://www.cynopsis.com/editions/cynopsis/1042012/
{19} http://www.cynopsis.com/editions/cynopsis/100112/
{20} http://www.cynopsis.com/editions/cynopsis/100512/
{21} http://www.portada-online.com/2012/11/12/sales-leads-nissan-dominos-heineken-wendys/
{22} http://hoylosangeles.com/news/2012/dec/06/el-empujon-que-necesitaba/
{23} http://www.ticketmaster.com/Premios-De-La-Radio-tickets/artist/1505367
{24} http://www.cynopsis.com/editions/cynopsis/111212/
{25} http://www.quien.com/photos/2012/05/02/sserur-175024-009.jpg
{26} http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/kristoff-sparks-legal-battle-between-392008
{27} http://www.marketwatch.com/story/liberman-broadcasting-inc-lbi-media-holdings-inc-and-lbi-media-inc-announce-extension-of-the-expiration-date-of-private-exchange-offers-and-solicitation-of-consents-2012-12-04
{28} http://www.cynopsis.com/upfront-2010-2/estrella-tv/
{29} http://telemundomediakit.com/2012/05/21/2012-upfronts-a-closer-look/