A digital Class A facility licensed to a city within the West Palm Beach DMA is being dealt for a little more than half a million dollars.
Who is the buyer? That would be a rapidly growing entity that is piecing together stations that will likely air this company’s recently acquired broadcast television network.
In a transaction finalized August 6 and filed with the Commission on Tuesday (8/14), the Philip Falcone-led HC2 Station Group is picking up WWCI-CD 10 in Vero Beach, Fla., from V One Broadcasting.
As Vero Beach is within the West Palm Beach DMA, this could give HC2 an additional outlet for its Azteca América network, which HC2 added to its holdings in November 2017.
HC2 is paying $503,000 for WWCI-CD, and a $25,150 escrow deposit has been made to V One, via escrow agent Fletcher Heald & Hildreth.
V One is headed by President José Guerra, and HC2’s COO Les Levi is the signatory party for the buyer.
There is no broker or finder associated with this deal.
WWCI is presently branded as “Your Hometown Television.” It can be viewed on Comcast systems in Indian River County and in northern St. Lucie County.
At present, Azteca América programming airs in the West Palm Beach DMA by way of Stuart, Fla.-licensed WWHB-CA 48. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group.
As HC2 is buying a property in the market, this could suggest a shift from WWHB, or simply the arrival of an additional over-the-air outlet; WWHB’s over-the-air signal does not reach Vero Beach. Given the financial limitations of many Spanish-language television viewers in the West Palm Beach DMA, the simple addition of another broadcast signal could be a benefit in an age of “cord-nevers” and rediscovery of the TV antenna.
The purchase of WWCI is also part of a large spectrum play for HC2.
