Get After It Media
| File:Luken Communications.jpg | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Broadcast Television |
| Founded | Chattanooga, Tennessee (2008) |
| Founder | Henry Luken |
| Headquarters | Chattanooga, Tennessee |
Area served | United States (Nationwide) |
Key people | Henry Luken (president and CEO) |
| Products | Television stations Digital broadcast television networks |
Number of employees | 50 (2010) |
| Website | www.luken.tv/ |
Luken Communications, LLC is a privately owned American broadcast holding company, based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which owns or operates around 80 television stations in the United States and six digital television multicast networks.
History
Luken Communications was formed in 2008 by Henry Luken, formerly president and CEO of Equity Media Holdings, following Equity's sale of Retro Television Network to Luken for $25 million. Luken Communications continued to operate RTN out of Little Rock, Arkansas as a client of Equity's C.A.S.H. (Central Automated Satellite Hub) centralcasting hub that handled production, programming and master control operations from a facility adjacent to the company's headquarters.[1]
On January 4, 2009, a contract conflict between Equity and Luken Communications interrupted RTN programming on many of its affiliates[2] with Luken alleging that Equity had left many obligations to RTN's creditors, including programming suppliers, unpaid. As a result, Luken restored a national feed of the network from its Chattanooga headquarters, via SES Americom-owned satellite AMC 9 (83.0°W), with individual feeds to affiliates not owned by Equity following suit on a piecemeal basis. Equity owned or operated stations lost RTN affiliation, though Luken vowed to find new affiliates for the network in the affected areas.[3] As a result of this dispute, Luken pulled out of a deal to purchase Equity's stations in southwestern Florida.
In June 2009, Luken and Seals Entertainment Company LLC launched the male-oriented digital multicast channel Tuff TV.[4] In January 2011, Luken Communications announced the purchase of 78 low-power translator stations from the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council for $390,000; the purchase was made in order to expand coverage of its ten existing and planned digital multicast networks with hopes to eventually acquire 400 low-power stations.[5] On March 22, 2011, Luken became part-owners of My Family TV in a joint venture with existing owner ValCom.[6] In late summer 2011, Luken and Classic Media launched PBJ, featuring classic children's programs from the DreamWorks Classics library.[7]
In June 2011, Luken acquired 78 low-powered television repeaters from the Minority Media and Television Council (MMTC);[8] these repeaters were former Trinity Broadcasting Network repeaters that were donated to the MMTC in 2010.[9] These repeaters will be owned and operated by Luken through its "Digital Networks" division, who will be the licensee for these stations.[10]
On April 16, 2012, Luken Communications and Jim Owens Entertainment announced that the companies had teamed to relaunch The Nashville Network as a digital broadcast television network set for a late summer 2012 launch (TNN previously existed as a cable channel started by Gaylord Entertainment Company in 1983, and is now known as Spike under Viacom ownership). Jim Owens Entertainment acquired the rights to The Nashville Network trademark and logo around 2010-2011.[11]
On June 23, 2013, Luken Communications filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The filing came just two days after an Arkansas jury awarded a $47.4 million verdict against the company for a “fraudulent transfer” of the ownership of RTV six years ago.[12]
Assets owned by Luken Communications
Digital multicast networks
- Heartland [13]
- Retro TV (Formally Retro Television Network)
- PBJ
- Tuff TV (jointly owned by Seals Entertainment Company)
- My Family TV (jointly owned by ValCom)
- Frost Great Outdoors
- Jewelry Television
- My Car TV (future)
- The Family Channel
Broadcast television stations
Notes: All stations are owned by Digital Networks, LLC. (a subsidiary of Luken Communications). Many of these stations were former Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) translators, unless specified.
- 1 Indicates stations were not previously owned by TBN
- 2 Indicates flagship station
- 3 Indicates station managed by Great Plains Television Network, LLC
| DMA# | City of license / Market | Station | Channel TV (RF) |
Primary affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8. | Washington, D.C. | W43BP | 43 (19) | TBA (currently silent) |
| 13. | Phoenix, Arizona | K38CX | 38 (N/A) | TBA |
| K51IO | 51 (47) | 51 Tuff TV | ||
| 14. | Tampa, Florida | WDNP-LP | 36 (36) | 36.1 PBJ |
| 15. | Minneapolis, Minnesota | K19BG | 19 (19) | Currently Silent (To be Retro TV soon.) |
| K42FH | 42 (16) | TBA | ||
| 17. | Denver, Colorado | K26CV | 26 (26) | TBA |
| K48CG | 48 (33) | TBA | ||
| 24. | Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina | W45CN | 45 (N/A) | TBA (currently silent) |
| 33. | Salt Lake City, Utah | K39AK | 39 (39) | TBA (currently silent) |
| 36. | San Antonio, Texas | K15BV | 15 (42) | TBA |
| KRTX-LP | 20 (20) | 20.1 Retro TV | ||
| 37. | Spartanburg-Greenville, South Carolina | WASV-LP | 50 (50) | 50.1 Heartland 50.2 Retro TV 50.3 PBJ 50.4 Tuff TV |
| WNGS-LP | 50 (33) | TBA | ||
| 39. | Birmingham, Alabama | WRTD-LD | 46 (46) | 46.1 Retro TV 46.2 PBJ 46.3 My Family TV 46.4 Tuff TV 46.5 Frost Great Outdoors |
| 45. | Albuquerque-Santa Fe, New Mexico | K36GD | 36 (35) | TBA (currently silent) |
| K50IA | 50 (50) | TBA (currently silent) | ||
| 49. | Memphis, Tennessee | WPYM-LD1 | 56 (38) | 38.1 PBJ |
| 50. | Jacksonville, Florida | W23AQ | 23 (22) | TBA (currently silent) |
| W45CU | 45 (17) | TBA (currently silent) | ||
| 51. | Buffalo, New York | W30BW | 30 (30) | 30.1 Retro TV |
| 55. | Fresno, California | K27GZ | 27 (N/A) | TBA (currently silent) |
| 56. | Little Rock, Arkansas | K15FW | 15 (15) | 15.1 Independent |
| 58. | Albany, New York | W47CM | 47 (47) | TBA (currently silent) |
| 59. | Tulsa, Oklahoma | K25GJ | 25 (23) | TBA (currently silent) |
| K50JG | 50 (29) | TBA (currently silent) | ||
| 61. | Knoxville, Tennessee | WKXT-LD | 61 (43) | 61.1 PBJ |
| 67. | Wichita, Kansas | K15CN | 15 (15) | analog channel shows TBN |
| KSMI-LD1, 3 | 51 (30) | 51.1 Retro TV 51.2 My Family TV 51.3 PBJ 51.4 Tuff TV 51.5 Frost Great Outdoors 51.6 Jewelry Television | ||
| 69. | Green Bay, Wisconsin | W36DH | 36 (15) | TBA (currently silent) |
| 71. | Honolulu, Hawaii | K34HC | 34 (34) | TBA (currently silent) |
| K38HU | 38 (N/A) | TBA (currently silent) | ||
| 75. | Springfield, Missouri | K41HC | 41 (41) | TBA (currently silent) |
| 78. | Portland, Maine | WMNE-LP | 32 (32) | TBA |
| 80. | Huntsville-Decatur-Florence, Alabama | WNAL-LD | 27 (31) | 27.1 PBJ |
| WSWH-LD | 33 (35) | 33.1 PBJ | ||
| 81. | Paducah, Kentucky-Cape Girardeau- Harrisburg-Mt. Vernon, Illinois |
K39CP | 39 (19) | TBA (currently silent) |
| 83. | Shreveport, Louisiana | K30EA | 30 (30) | TBA |
| 86. | Chattanooga, Tennessee | WOOT-LD1, 2 | 6 (31) | 6.1 Heartland 6.2 Retro TV 6.3 PBJ 6.4 Tuff TV |
| 88. | Waco, Texas | K47ED | 47 (38) | TBA (currently silent) |
| 89. | Waterloo, Iowa | K42HI | 42 (42) | TBA (currently silent) |
| K44FK | 44 (44) | TBA (currently silent) | ||
| 92. | Savannah, Georgia | W14CQ | 14 (N/A) | TBA |
| WLOW-LP | 19 (49) | TBA | ||
| 93. | Jackson, Mississippi | W36AC | 36 (49) | TBA (currently silent) |
| WEAZ-LD | 49 (49) | 49.1 PBJ | ||
| 95. | Burlington, Vermont | W16AL | 16 (16) | TBA |
| 99. | Greenville-New Bern-Washington, North Carolina | W22CJ | 22 (33) | TBA (currently silent) |
| W44CN | 44 (15) | TBA (currently silent) | ||
| 100. | Davenport, Iowa-Rock Island-Moline, Illinois | KQCT-LP | 61 (17) | Currently silent (to be Retro TV soon) |
| W19CX | 19 (N/A) | TBA (currently silent) | ||
| W51DT | 51 (43) | TBA (currently silent) | ||
| 113. | Sioux Falls, South Dakota | K56GF | 56 (23) | TBA (currently silent) |
| 117. | Fargo-Valley City, North Dakota | K35KD | 35 (35) | TBA (currently silent) |
| 124. | Lafayette, Louisiana | K39JV | 39 (39) | analog channel shows TBN |
| 127. | Columbus, Georgia | W30BD | 30 (41) | TBA (currently silent) |
| 131. | Chico-Redding, California | K19FY | 19 (19) | TBA (currently silent) |
| 133. | Columbus-Tupelo-West Point, Mississippi | W25AD | 25 (25) | TBA (currently silent) |
| 135. | Wausau-Rhinelander, Wisconsin | K32GF | 32 (44) | TBA (currently silent) |
| 136. | Topeka, Kansas | K31BW | 31 (31) | TBA (currently silent) |
| 140. | Medford-Klamath Falls, Oregon | K58BG | 58 (16) | TBA (currently silent) |
| 142. | Wichita Falls, Texas-Lawton, Oklahoma | K49GC | 49 (N/A) | TBA (currently silent) |
| 146 | Erie, Pennsylvania | W48CH | 48 (48) | TBA (currently silent) |
| W52BO | 52 (46) | TBA (currently silent) | ||
| 147. | Sioux City, Iowa | K21HS | 21 (N/A) | TBA (currently silent) |
| 152. | Minot-Bismarck-Dickinson, North Dakota | K21GQ | 21 (N/A) | analog channel shows The Church Channel |
| K40DE | 40 (N/A) | analog channel shows TBN | ||
| K46DY | 46 (28) | analog channel shows TBN | ||
| 153. | Rochester-Austin, Minnesota-Mason City, Iowa | K40JT | 40 (40) | TBA (currently silent) |
| 154. | Terre Haute, Indiana | W43BV | 43 (43) | TBA (currently silent) |
| 160. | Idaho Falls-Pocatello, Idaho | K41JC | 41 (42) | TBA (currently silent) |
| 161. | Sherman, Texas-Ada, Oklahoma | K44BQ | 44 (44) | TBA (currently silent) |
| 172. | Utica, New York | W51CV | 51 (N/A) | TBA |
| 173. | Rapid City, South Dakota | KRPC-LP | 33 (33) | 33.1 Heartland 33.2 Retro TV 33.3 PBJ 33.4 Tuff TV |
| 174. | Elmira, New York | W59DG | 59 (38) | TBA |
| 187. | Greenwood/Greenville, Mississippi | WPYM-LD1 | 38 (38) | 38.1 PBJ |
| 192. | Parkersburg, West Virginia | W45BW | 45 (36) | TBA (currently silent) |
| 193. | Bend, Oregon | K33AG | 33 (29) | TBA (currently silent) |
| 203. | Zanesville, Ohio | W16BT | 16 (29) | TBA (currently silent) |
| 208. | Alpena, Michigan | W18BT | 18 (33) | TBA |
References
- ^ Marich, Robert (2008-06-26). "Equity Media Sells RTN to Ease Crunch". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
- ^ What’s Wrong with MyTV?
- ^ TV Newsday: "Financial Dispute Disrupts RTN Diginet", 1/5/2009.
- ^ "New TUFF TV Network Scheduled For Launch". April 29, 2009.
- ^ RTN Parent Buys 78 TV Translators, TVNewsCheck, June 16, 2011.
- ^ Frank, Judy (March 22, 2011). "Chattanooga's Luken Communications Enters Joint Venture With ValCom Entertainment Company". Chattanoogan. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
- ^ "Luken, Classic Media To Debut New Network". TVNewsCheck. May 5, 2011. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
- ^ TV News Check: "RTN Parent Buys 78 TV Translators", June 16, 2011.
- ^ FCC document: "COMMENTS OF LPTV ENTREPRENEURS", December 17, 2010.
- ^ FCC application: "Notification of Suspension of Operations / Request for Silent STA" for W19CX
- ^ "Crook and Chase Stars Join Luken Communications at NAB to Announce the Return of The Nashville Network". Yahoo News. April 16, 2012. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
- ^ Luken Communications files bankruptcy after Arkansas jury verdict against company, June 23, 2013
- ^ http://rbr.com/jim-owens-entertainment-ends-licensing-deal-with-luken/.
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