He was the face behind HC2 Holdings until the middle of 2020. Today, he’s amassing a collection of low-power broadcast TV stations through his recently formed Sovryn Holdings.
Now, Philip Falcone is acquiring another LPTV property. It’s located in the Valley of the Sun.
And, this Phoenix-licensed facility is being spun by Lotus Communications for $2 million.
That’s the Kalmenson-family owned operation largely known for its radio stations. However, it has until early June had ownership of low-power TV stations in Phoenix and in Houston, respectively.
It is now clear that Lotus is getting out of broadcast TV for good.
On July 13, Lotus Senior VP Jay A. Levine signed off on an asset sale agreement that will deliver KPHE-LD 44 to Sovryn.
KPHE presently airs Spanish-language programming, with a lineup concentrated on locally produced community-oriented shows and programs imported from Mexico’s Telemax.
A $100,000 escrow deposit has been made by Sovryn, held in escrow by Patrick Communications.
Patrick served as Lotus’ broker in this transaction.
In the recent past, KPHE could be found on Cox cablevision’s Phoenix lineup. However, KPHE presently has no retransmission agreements with any MVPD for the 2021-2023 election cycle.
The sale of KPHE follows Lotus’ decision in early June to sell KHLM-LD 43 in Houston.
The buyer is Christian TV Network, which is paying $1.1 million for the facility. Lotus has owned KHLM since March 2004, when Louisiana-based U.S. Interactive sold the LPTV facility to Los Angeles-based Lotus.
At the time of KHLM’s sale, First Sr. VP Jim Kalmenson shared with RBR+TVBR that the Phoenix deal was inevitable.
“We’re a radio company. We have no real interest in staying on the TV side,” he said.
