Univision Communications continues to mine the fastest-growing media market with its purchase of Hispanic Broadcasting, the top-ranked Spanish-language radio broadcaster, for $3.5 billion, or a 30 percent premium. The deal calls for each share of Hispanic Broadcasting, which closed Tuesday at $24.45, to be exchanged for 0.85 shares of Univision common stock, which closed down $1.35 per share to $37.70 in Tuesday’s down market. Los Angeles-based Univision already commands 70 percent of the Spanish-language television market and owns three record labels. The deal, which makes Univision a one-stop shop for Spanish-language advertisers, promoters and investors, is seen as a blow to NBC-owned Telemundo, which has been struggling to regroup and strengthen as the distant No. 2.
Fiorile elected NAB chairman
The National Association of Broadcasters TV board has elected Michael Fiorile, president and CEO of Dispatch Broadcast Group, as chairman of its board. Elected as vice chairman was Andrew Fisher, president of Cox Television. Alan Frank, president and CEO of Post-Newsweek Stations, was named as the TV board’s representative to the association’s executive committee. David Kennedy, president and chief operating officer of Susquehanna Radio Corp., was re-elected as chairman of the NAB’s joint board.
Court upholds FCC’s rules on cable wires
A federal appeals court in Atlanta on June 13 upheld most of the Federal Communications Commission’s rules for implementing the attachment of cable television wires to utility poles. The suit, brought by Florida Power and Light Co., is one of several filed by utility companies challenging the pole attachment rates and implementation. The National Cable and Telecommunications Association hailed the decision.
Public TV to send emergency alerts over DTV
Public broadcasters are contributing to homeland security by using excess digital television capacity to beam emergency alerts to computers equipped with DTV tuner cards. They hope to eventually include alerts about terrorist attacks, severe weather and other emergencies in their digital television broadcasts. The Association of Public Television Stations made the announcement last week on Capitol Hill and held two days of technology demonstrations there to generate some positive PR. To participate, a PC must have a Pentium II processor running at 300 MHz or better, a 10 GB hard-drive and a proper antenna.
Daschle urges cross-ownership review
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., urged the Federal Communications Commission in a June 6 letter to complete action on its pending review of the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rule. “Resolution of this item-regardless of [the] underlying outcome-will provide businesses the regulatory certainty they need to engage in the marketplace with confidence,” they wrote. They did not request any particular action.
CBS, NCAA sign with Coke
CBS and the National Collegiate Athletic Association have reached an 11-year marketing and media deal with the Coca-Cola Co. valued at more than $500 million. The deal gives Coke beverage marketing and media rights to 87 NCAA championship events, including the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, and includes a Coke advertising buy on the CBS tournament telecast. In addition, the deal includes marketing and media rights to NCAA championship events in 22 sports.
ABC Sports, ESPN to televise WNBA games
The WNBA, the women’s professional basketball league, has reached a new six-year agreement with ABC Sports and ESPN to televise WNBA regular-season and playoff games and additional programming beginning in 2003. Under the deal, ABC Sports will televise regular-season games on Saturday afternoon and a slate of playoff games. ESPN, which has carried WNBA games since the league’s 1997 debut, is extending its relationship an additional six seasons and will televise regular-season and playoff games, plus the All-Star Game and the WNBA Draft.
Tyson-Lewis breaks single-night PPV record
The heavyweight championship boxing match between Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis was seen in 1.8 million pay-per-view homes, translating into $103 million in revenue in a single night from 1.2 million cable homes and 600,000 satellite homes and becoming the highest-grossing PPV event in history. Mr. Lewis knocked out Mr. Tyson in the eighth round, but the real winners of the match were Showtime and HBO, which jointly produced the PPV match.