In a move that could present more questions than answers, Estrella Media has added a full-power TV station serving the entire San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose TV market to the EstrellaTV coverage map.
The station? A HC2-owned facility that has been home to the company’s very own Spanish-language television network, Azteca América.
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According to an announcement from Burbank, Calif.-based Estrella Media, formerly LBI Media, EstrellaTV is now airing on KEMO-50, licensed to Fremont, Calif.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed by Estrella Media.
But, for this to happen, KEMO’s owner, HC2 Holdings, has moved its Azteca América TV network from Channel 50.1 to the 50.2 digital multicast channel position in a move that continues its presence in the San Francisco Bay Area.
It’s a curious move. While channel-sharing agreements have been forged following the FCC’s spectrum auction that see seemless viewer transitions and the retention of “PSIP” channel numbers, “Azteca 50” is no more, from a technical standpoint.
And, to some extent, Azteca América and EstrellaTV vie for similar viewers.
A HC2 spokesperson could not comment on the arrangement when contacted by RBR+TVBR.
With EstrellaTV now on the primary signal for KEMO, some market observers may once again be wondering if the Azteca América has a future under HC2 ownership.
Since then, Falcone has departed HC2, and non-essential assets are being spun in order to raise capital. Among these non-core assets was KEMO-50. A source close to the matter tells RBR+TVBR that HC2 placed the TV station on the market, along with all of its other full-power stations, but was unable to find a buyer willing to pay what it was seeking for the station. Faced with the need for cash and a willing partner, the LMA deal with Estrella was struck.
Thus, the agreement is a win-win for HC2 Holdings and for EstrellaTV, as it brings the network to Hispanic homes via cable and direct broadcast satellite, in addition to the over-the-air signal viewable across most of the market.
“We are enthusiastic about having a full-powered local station in the Bay Area market, offering our Spanish-language programming to the Latino community in San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose,” Estrella Media CEO Peter Markham said. “I am certain that it will be well received by the Hispanic audience in the Bay Area.”
An Estrella Media representative tells RBR+TVBR that Estrella will be hiring local sales representatives, building a team for the San Francisco market. Additionally, the formation of a local news team is in the works.
The pact with KEMO returns EstrellaTV to a broadcast signal after some five years. From 2009-2016, the network used KTNC-42 as its San Francisco-market home. That station is now owned and operated by Tri-State Christian Television.
HC2 owns another property in the San Francisco market, KQRO-LD 45. The main signal is used by 3ABN, a religious network.
