Luken Communications
 | |
| Private LLC | |
| Industry | Broadcast Television |
| Founded | Chattanooga, Tennessee (2008) |
| Founder | Henry Luken III |
| Headquarters | Chattanooga, Tennessee |
Area served | United States (Nationwide) |
Key people | Henry Luken III (president and CEO) |
| Products |
Television stations Digital broadcast television networks |
| Owner | Henry Luken III |
Number of employees | 50 (2010) |
| Subsidiaries | |
| Website |
luken |
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 (LC) was formed in 2008 by Henry Luken III, formerly president and CEO of Equity Media Holdings. LC agreed to purchase six TV stations from Equity Media for $17.5 million and paid a $5 million installment with the rest pending on regulatory approval. The stations are in Amarillo and Waco, Texas; Fort Myers/Naples, Florida, Minneapolis; and Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma and were then affiliated with Univision and TeleFutura. In June 2008, Equity sold to Luken Retro Television Network for $18.5 million and 8.05 million Equity warrants for $1.5 million.[1]
On January 4, 2009, a contract conflict between Equity and Luken Communications interrupted RTN programming on many of its affiliates 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.[2] 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.[3] On March 22, 2011, Luken became part-owners of My Family TV in a joint venture with existing owner ValCom.[4] In June 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] In late summer 2011, Luken and Classic Media launched PBJ, featuring classic children's programs from the Classics Media library.[6] With Frost Cutlery's shopping network and outdoor shows, Luken launched in 2011 the Frost Great Outdoors network.[7]
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.
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.[8] Luken Communications emerged from bankruptcy protection in October 2014.[9]
Assets owned by Luken Communications
Digital multicast networks
- The Family Channel
- Frost Great Outdoors
- Heartland, formerly the Nashville Network [10] The Heartland Network, LLC
- Jewelry Television - America's Collectibles Network, Inc.
- Retro TV (Formerly Retro Television Network) Retro Television, Inc.
- Tuff TV (jointly owned by Seals Entertainment Company)
- Rev'n (planned as My Car TV)[11]
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) |
| 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-LP1, 3 | 51 (30) | 51.1 Retro TV 51.2 Heartland 51.3 My Family TV 51.4 PBJ 51.5 Tuff TV | ||
| 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-LP1, 2 | 6 (31) | 6.1 Heartland 6.2 Retro TV 6.3 Rev'N 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 | WSWY-LP | 43 (43) | TBA (currently silent) |
| 160. | Idaho Falls-Pocatello, Idaho | K41JC | 41 (42) | TBA (currently silent) |
| 161. | Sherman, Texas-Ada, Oklahoma | KWRW-LP | 44 (44) | TBA (currently silent) |
| 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 (June 26, 2008). "Equity Media Sells RTN to Ease Crunch". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
- ↑ Jessell, Harry A. (1/5/2009). "Financial Dispute Disrupts RTN Diginet". tVNewsCheck. Retrieved February 18, 2015. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ "New TUFF TV Network Scheduled For Launch". April 29, 2009.
- ↑ Frank, Judy (March 22, 2011). "Chattanooga's Luken Communications Enters Joint Venture With ValCom Entertainment Company". Chattanoogan. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
- ↑ Jessell, Harry A. (June 16, 2011). "RTN Parent Buys 78 TV Translators". TVNewsCheck. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
- ↑ "Luken, Classic Media To Debut New Network". TVNewsCheck. May 5, 2011. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
- ↑ Flessner, Dave (June 10, 2012). "Chattanooga businessman Henry Luken goes country". ChattanooganTimes Free Press. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
- ↑ Luken Communications files bankruptcy after Arkansas jury verdict against company, June 23, 2013
- ↑
- ↑ http://rbr.com/jim-owens-entertainment-ends-licensing-deal-with-luken/. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ Marcucci, Carl (October 31, 2012). "Luken RTV affiliate losses not a big hit". Radio-TV Business Report (Streamline RBR, Inc). Retrieved February 18, 2015.
External links
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