ACME Communications

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

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

Company profile

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 fictitious Acme Corporation featured in Warner Bros.' Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner animated film series and other animated Warner media.

The ownership portfolio of ACME Communications included television stations generally located in medium-sized US 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;.[2] 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 debut of The Daily Buzz, a syndicated daily morning news and information program that reached 180 markets at one point.[3]

During the early 2010s, ACME set forth on cost-cutting efforts involving its assets and an admitted "exit strategy" from the television business,[4] 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.[5]
  • A June 2010 agreement with LIN TV Corporation (with intent to purchase) involving stations in 2 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.[6]
  • 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.[7]
  • The sales of its last remaining stations: single stations in Dayton, Green Bay, Knoxville (all 3 in sales consummated in Spring 2011),[8][9][10] and Madison (a February 2012 sale);[11][12] as well as an Albuquerque/Santa Fe duopoly (September 2012).[13]
  • The sale of The Daily Buzz to Mojo Brands Media in April 2013,[3] 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.[14][15] The Daily Buzz itself was abruptly canceled April 17, 2015, when a Mojo Brands investor pulled their funding for the series.[16]

Formerly owned assets

Programming
  • The Daily Buzz, a 3-hour-per-weekday morning news and information program geared toward a young adult audience. 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.[3][15][16] The show was revived in June 2017, but is now broadcast weekly.

Television stations

Stations are arranged in alphabetical order by state and city of license.

Note: 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
TV (RF)		 Years owned Current ownership status
Fort Myers - Naples, FL WTVK 46 (45) 1998–2007 The CW affiliate, WXCW, owned by Sun Broadcasting, Inc.
(Operated by Fort Myers Broadcasting Company)
Decatur - Champaign/Urbana - Springfield, IL WBUI 23 (22) 1999–2007 The CW affiliate owned by GOCOM Media, LLC
(Operated through a SSA by Sinclair Broadcast Group)
St. Louis, MO KPLR-TV 11 (26) 1997–2003 The CW affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group
Albuquerque - Sante Fe - Roswell, NM KWBQ 19 (29) 1999–2012 The CW affiliate owned by Tamer Media, LLC
(Operated through a SSA by Nexstar Media Group)[13]
KASY-TV 50 (45) 2000–2012 MyNetworkTV affiliate owned by Tamer Media, LLC
(Operated through a SSA by Nexstar Media Group[13]
Roswell, NM KRWB-TV
(Satellite of KWBQ)		 21 (21) 1999–2012 The CW affiliate owned by Tamer Media, LLC
(Operated through a SSA by Nexstar Media Group)[13]
Springfield - Dayton, OH WBDT 26 (26) 1999–2011 The CW affiliate owned by Vaughan Media
(Operated through a SSA by Nexstar Media Group)
Salem - Portland, OR KWBP 32 (33) 1997–2003 The CW affiliate, KRCW-TV, owned by Nexstar Media Group
Crossville - Knoxville, TN WBXX-TV 20 (50) 1997–2011 The CW affiliate owned by Gray Television
Ogden - Salt Lake City, UT KUWB 30 (48) 1999–2006 The CW affiliate, KUCW, owned by Nexstar Media Group
Suring - Green Bay - Appleton - Fox Cities, WI WIWB/WCWF 14 (21) 1999–2011 The CW affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group
Janesville - Madison, WI WBUW 57 (32) 2002–2012 Ion Plus affiliate, WIFS, owned by Byrne Acquisition Group, LLC
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References
  1. "Company Profile for ACME Communications Inc (ACME)". Retrieved 2008-10-20.
  2. Source: 3/9/2006 press release by ACME Communications posted on NASDAQ GlobeNewsWire
  3. "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.
  4. "ACME 3Q Station Revenue Falls 9%," from TVNewsCheck, 12/9/2011
  5. Source: ACME Communications press release dated 4/21/2010
  6. Source: ACME Communications press release dated 6/4/2010
  7. "Acme Restructures, Moves Toward Exit Plan", from Broadcasting & Cable, 6/17/2010
  8. Source: FCC Daily Digest of 4/7/2011
  9. "Acme 4Q Station Revenue Rises 7%," from TVNewsCheck, 4/19/2011
  10. Source: Press Release from ACME Communications, dated 5/24/2011
  11. "Byrne Grabs Acme's Madison CW Station," from Broadcasting & Cable, 12/13/2011
  12. "Acme to Byrne Madison TV deal is done". Television Business Report. February 22, 2012. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
  13. "Acme Sells Albuquerque Stations to Viall for $17.3 Million," from Broadcasting & Cable, 9/11/2012
  14. 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.
  15. "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.
  16. Boedeker, Hal (17 April 2015). "Daily Buzz canceled". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
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