As RBR+TVBR exclusively reported on Friday, LBI Media‘s nationally distributed Spanish-language broadcast TV network Estrella TV will soon make its grand return to the Miami market, ending a six-month absence from the nation’s third-largest Hispanic DMA.
We now know what the sale price is, and how the station has been devalued since the seller acquired this property some 12 years ago. We also know who the exclusive broker is in this transaction.
In an asset purchase agreement that is expected to be filed with the FCC on Monday (1/8), Burbank, Calif.-based LBI (a.k.a. Liberman Broadcasting) is acquiring WGEN-8, a full-power facility licensed to Key West, Fla., with a host of repeaters in Monroe and Miami-Dade Counties that has “must carry” status across the Miami-Fort Lauderdale market.
The seller is Mapale Group, a U.S. subsidiary to Colombian multi-sector investment company Valórem S.A.
It is now known that the sale price for WGEN is $11 million cash, according to sources close to the matter. The official sale price will appear in the Form 314 filing to be made with the Commission.
RBR+TVBR has also learned that Greg Guy of Patrick Communications served as the broker in this transaction.
LBI Media CEO Lenard Liberman commented, “We are very excited about moving from an affiliate arrangement to a fully owned and operated station with complete cable and satellite distribution throughout the DMA. This will allow us to better serve Miami viewers, as well as local businesses.”
LBI Media anticipates that the transaction will close and fund with cash on hand in Q2 or Q3 2018.
The March 1 arrival of Estrella TV on WGEN-8 comes after the network previously aired, until July 14, 2017, on Sunbeam Television-owned WSVN-7 in Miami’s DT2 multicast channel. WSVN-7.2 replaced Estrella TV with LIGHT TV — the family-friendly and faith-based network headed by MGM TV CEO Mark Burnett and wife Roma Downey, known for her lead role in the now-concluded CBS series Touched by an Angel.
The sale price of WGEN-8 reflects a steep dip in the facility’s value since Mapale acquired the station. In December 2005, Mapale acquired WGEN-8 from Sonia Broadcasting Co. for $36 million.
Among Estrella TV’s signature programs are Noches con Platanito, which non-Latinos may mistakenly believe is a Hispanic version of “Krusty The Clown” from FOX’s long-running animated program The Simpsons. Rather, it is a variety show reminiscent of those found on English-language TV in the U.S. through the late 1960s. Other programming includes the competition show Tengo Talento, Mucho Talento.
With the WGEN acquisition, LBI Media will have a full local sales staff in the Miami market, as well as facilities in the Doral, Fla. area to handle local production for clients. On a national spot level, LBI Media’s in-house rep firm, helmed by industry veteran Jason Hall, will represent WGEN.
