Wikipedia

ACME Communications

ACME Communications was a U.S.-based broadcasting company that was involved in operations of television stations and programming from the late 1990s to 2013.

ACME Communications Inc.
Company typePublic
IndustryTelevision Broadcasting & Production
Founded1997; 27 years ago (1997)
DefunctDecember 11, 2012; 11 years ago (2012-12-11) (stations)
December 31, 2016; 7 years ago (2016-12-31) (officially)
FateDissolved
Headquarters
Santa Ana, California
,
United States
Key people
  • Jamie Kellner, Chairman
  • Doug Gealy, President/CEO
  • John Hannon, EVP
  • Stan Gill, COO
Number of employees
141[1]

Company profile

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ACME Communications was co-founded by chairman and original CEO Jamie Kellner, who previously served as a Fox Television Network executive and was founding CEO of The WB Television Network. Kellner used the name ACME as a play on the fictional Acme Corporation featured in Warner Bros' Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner animated film series and other Looney Tunes media. In 2000, ACME Communications and Paramount Stations Group made a joint partnership. ACME will air UPN programs on WB affiliates, while WB programs appear on UPN's Columbus and Providence markets.[2]

The ownership portfolio of ACME Communications included television stations generally located in medium-sized U.S. media markets, all of which ACME obtained through acquisitions (save for one station in Knoxville that the company built from the ground up). All but one of ACME's stations were affiliated with The WB or converted to WB affiliation at purchase, likely playing on Kellner's previous relationship with that network. The ACME WB stations were among the first to line up affiliations with The CW Television Network when The WB and UPN amalgamated in 2006;.[3] ACME's station portfolio reached a peak of 11 stations in the early 2000s, at which time ACME also ventured into program production with the 2002 launch of The Daily Buzz, a syndicated daily morning news and information program that reached 180 markets at one point.[4]

During the early 2010s, ACME set forth on cost-cutting efforts involving its assets and an admitted "exit strategy" from the television business,[5] including the following:

  • A licensing and consulting agreement with Fisher Communications for The Daily Buzz, announced in April 2010, that would see Fisher handle production of Buzz.[6]
  • A June 2010 agreement with LIN TV Corporation (with intent to purchase) involving stations in two markets where the companies had common ownership (Dayton, and Green Bay-Fox Cities), where the LIN stations would provide operational, administrative, and joint sales services for the ACME stations. At the same time, LIN TV also entered into an agreement to provide some services (including third-party accounting) for ACME's duopoly in Albuquerque.[7]
  • A reduction and restructuring of its corporate staff, set forth in July 2010, that would see Jamie Kellner remain as company chairman but Doug Gealy taking over Keller's titles of President and CEO. Stan Gill, Vice President and General Manager of ACME's KWBQ-KASY duopoly in Albuquerque-Santa Fe, became COO while WBDT, Dayton, Ohio, Vice President and General Manager John Hannon was elevated to ACME's Executive Vice President.[8]
  • The sales of its last remaining stations: single stations in Dayton, Green Bay, Knoxville (all 3 in sales consummated in Spring 2011),[9][10][11] and Madison (a February 2012 sale);[12][13] as well as an Albuquerque/Santa Fe duopoly (September 2012).[14]
  • The sale of The Daily Buzz to Mojo Brands Media in April 2013,[4] which left ACME with no remaining broadcast assets and put the company into a closedown mode; ACME officially folded operations once it closed its outstanding accounts in December 2016.[15][16] The Daily Buzz itself was abruptly canceled April 17, 2015, when a Mojo Brands investor pulled their funding for the series.[17]

Formerly owned assets

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Programming

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  • The Daily Buzz, a 3-hour-per-weekday morning news and information program geared towards young adult audiences. The show launched in 2002 from the studios of ACME-owned WBDT in Dayton, and from 2007 onward would originate from the studios of Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. The show was sold to Mojo Brands Media in April 2013, and was cancelled in April 2015.[4][16][17] The show was revived in June 2017, but is now broadcast weekly.

Television stations

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Stations are arranged in alphabetical order by state and city of license. With one exception, all the below listed stations were affiliates of The CW or its predecessor, The WB, during ACME Communications' ownership. The exception, KASY-TV, was affiliated with UPN and MyNetworkTV (and was briefly an independent), and was part of a duopoly with an ACME-owned WB/CW affiliate.

City of license / Market Station Channel Years owned Current status
Fort Myers–Naples, FL WTVK 46 1998–2007 The CW affiliate WXCW, owned by Sun Broadcasting, Inc.[a]
Decatur–Champaign/Urbana–Springfield, IL WBUI 23 1999–2007 The CW affiliate owned by GOCOM Media, LLC[b]
St. Louis, MO KPLR-TV 11 1997–2003 The CW affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group
Albuquerque–Santa Fe, NM KWBQ 19 1999–2012 The CW affiliate owned by Mission Broadcasting[c]
KASY-TV 50 2000–2012 MyNetworkTV affiliate owned by Mission Broadcasting[c]
Roswell, NM KRWB-TV[d] 21 1999–2012 The CW affiliate owned by Mission Broadcasting[c]
Springfield–Dayton, OH WBDT 26 1999–2011 The CW affiliate owned by Vaughan Media[c]
Salem–Portland, OR KWBP 32 1997–2003 The CW affiliate KRCW-TV, owned by Nexstar Media Group
Crossville–Knoxville, TN WBXX-TV 20 1997–2011 The CW affiliate owned by Gray Television
Ogden–Salt Lake City, UT KUWB 30 1999–2006 The CW affiliate KUCW, owned by Nexstar Media Group
Suring–Green Bay, WI WIWB/WCWF 14 1999–2011 The CW affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group
Janesville–Madison, WI WBUW 57 2002–2012 Ion affiliate WIFS, owned by Byrne Acquisition Group, LLC

Notes

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  1. ^ Operated by Fort Myers Broadcasting Company.
  2. ^ Operated through an SSA by Sinclair Broadcast Group.
  3. ^ a b c d Operated through an SSA by Nexstar Media Group.
  4. ^ Satellite of KWBQ.

References

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  1. ^ "Company Profile for ACME Communications Inc (ACME)". Retrieved 2008-10-20.
  2. ^ Variety
  3. ^ Source: 3/9/2006 press release by ACME Communications posted on NASDAQ GlobeNewsWire
  4. ^ a b c "Mojo Brands Media Announces Acquisition and Extension of The Daily Buzz" (Press release). Santa Ana, California: Mojo Brands Media. April 3, 2013. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  5. ^ "ACME 3Q Station Revenue Falls 9%," from TVNewsCheck, 12/9/2011
  6. ^ Source: ACME Communications press release dated 4/21/2010
  7. ^ Source: ACME Communications press release dated 6/4/2010
  8. ^ "Acme Restructures, Moves Toward Exit Plan", from Broadcasting & Cable, 6/17/2010
  9. ^ Source: FCC Daily Digest of 4/7/2011
  10. ^ "Acme 4Q Station Revenue Rises 7%," from TVNewsCheck, 4/19/2011
  11. ^ Source: Press Release from ACME Communications, dated 5/24/2011
  12. ^ "Byrne Grabs Acme's Madison CW Station," from Broadcasting & Cable, 12/13/2011
  13. ^ "Acme to Byrne Madison TV deal is done". Television Business Report. February 22, 2012. Retrieved February 24, 2012.[permanent dead link]
  14. ^ "Acme Sells Albuquerque Stations to Viall for $17.3 Million," from Broadcasting & Cable, 9/11/2012
  15. ^ ACME Communications Announces Final Cash Distribution to Its Shareholders; Expects to Dissolve by December 31, 2016, ACME Communications, 20 December 2016, Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  16. ^ a b "ACME Communications Announces Completion of Sale of The Daily Buzz and Cash Distribution to Its Shareholders" (Press release). Santa Ana, California: ACME Communications. April 2, 2013. Archived from the original on April 16, 2015. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  17. ^ a b Boedeker, Hal (17 April 2015). "Daily Buzz canceled". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
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