Santa Ana-based TV station owner and operator Acme Communications Inc. has been busy selling off its TV stations and other assets—while earning a spot on the Business Journal’s Fastest Growing Public Companies list in the process.
Acme had $11.9 million revenue for the 12 months through June 2010 and $13.6 million revenue for the 12 months through June 2012. That was good for a 14% revenue increase and the No. 68 spot on the list (see page 40).
The revenue growth came from the sale of TV stations in Wisconsin and Ohio. Acme sold WIWB-TV in Green Bay, Wis., and WBDT-TV in Dayton, Ohio, to Providence, R.I.-based Lin TV Corp. for $11.5 million in September 2010.
Acme has 70 employees companywide, with two in OC.
Exit Strategy
Acme’s plan to leave the business behind and liquidate its assets to give cash to the shareholders has been under way for several years now, said Doug Gealy, acting chief executive at Acme.
Its current assets are down to one TV show and two stations in New Mexico for the time being. Acme in September agreed to sell the stations to Tamer Media LLC, and is waiting for the FCC to approve the deal.
Acme anticipates the FCC approval to come through any day, and the transaction could close as soon as this month.
The remaining asset, The Daily Buzz, is a weekday news-and-lifestyle morning TV show filmed at Full Sail University near Orlando, Fla. It airs on about 180 stations throughout the U.S.
• Headquarters: Santa Ana
• Business: Operates broadcast TV stations
• Founded: 1997
• Ticker symbol: ACME (OTC)
• 2011 revenue: $12.9 million
• Recent earnings: ($36,000) for second quarter
• Market value: About $15.1 million
• Notable: Owns weekday news-and-lifestyle morning program, The Daily Buzz, which airs on 180 stations
And, yes, Acme is looking for a buyer for the show.
Seattle-based Fisher Communications Inc. has a licensing deal for The Daily Buzz dating from 2010, and though its agreement includes the option to buy the program, no deal has been struck.
The show remains on the market until “an acceptable bid is presented,” Gealy said.
Gealy said it became clear over time that Acme—which has competed with station groups owned by TV networks ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX—would become a seller as the industry began to consolidate. Acme’s stations didn’t have newscasts, so they looked to pair the stations with those that did. “Our strategy to sell is much more efficient. It doesn’t make sense for everyone to have a business manager. There’s no need for this additional overhead when buying syndicated programming,” Gealy said.
Glory Days
Acme had a market value of about $120 million and owned 11 stations throughout the U.S. at its peak 10 years ago. Acme expanded into program production in 2002 with The Daily Buzz.
Acme’s roots are traced back to TV executive Jamie Kel-lner, who was the first president of Fox Broadcasting Co. from 1986 to 1993 and subsequently helped launch the WB Net-work in 1994.
Kellner and business partners Doug Gealy and Tom Allen founded Acme in 1997 with the goal to “buy failing stations to put the WB network on,” Gealy said.
Kellner served as chief executive of Acme and simultaneously served as chairman of AOL Time Warner Inc.’s cable networks from 2001 to 2003. He retired from Acme in 2004.
Allen served as chief financial officer until moving to Temecula-based Outdoor Channel Holdings Inc. in February.
Acme went public in September 1999 with an initial public offering of $23 per share. But disappointing financial results hurt its share price over time, and the stock was delisted from the Nasdaq in 2008. It has traded over the counter since then.
