Luken Communications

Luken Communications LLC

Type	Private
Industry	Broadcast Television
Founded	Chattanooga, Tennessee (2008)
Founder(s)	Henry Luken
Headquarters	Chattanooga, Tennessee
Area served	United States (Nationwide)
Key people	Henry Luken (president and CEO)
Products	Television stations Digital broadcast television networks
Employees	50 (2010)
Website	www.luken.tv/

Luken Communications, LLC is a privately owned American broadcast holding company, based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which owns or operates around 80 television stations in the United States and six digital television multicast networks.

History

Luken Communications was formed in 2008 by Henry Luken, formerly president and CEO of Equity Media Holdings, following Equity's sale of Retro Television Network to Luken for $25 million. Luken Communications continued to operate RTN out of Little Rock, Arkansas as a client of Equity's C.A.S.H. (Central Automated Satellite Hub) centralcasting hub that handled production, programming and master control operations from a facility adjacent to the company's headquarters.^[1]

On January 4, 2009, a contract conflict between Equity and Luken Communications interrupted RTN programming on many of its affiliates^[2] with Luken alleging that Equity had left many obligations to RTN's creditors, including programming suppliers, unpaid. As a result, Luken restored a national feed of the network from its Chattanooga headquarters, via SES Americom-owned satellite AMC 9 (83.0°W), with individual feeds to affiliates not owned by Equity following suit on a piecemeal basis. Equity owned or operated stations lost RTN affiliation, though Luken vowed to find new affiliates for the network in the affected areas.^[3] As a result of this dispute, Luken pulled out of a deal to purchase Equity's stations in southwestern Florida.

In June 2009, Luken and Seals Entertainment Company LLC launched the male-oriented digital multicast channel Tuff TV.^[4] In January 2011, Luken Communications announced the purchase of 78 low-power translator stations from the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council for $390,000; the purchase was made in order to expand coverage of its ten existing and planned digital multicast networks with hopes to eventually acquire 400 low-power stations.^[5] On March 22, 2011, Luken became part-owners of My Family TV in a joint venture with existing owner ValCom.^[6] In late summer 2011, Luken and Classic Media launched PBJ, featuring classic children's programs from the DreamWorks Classics library.^[7]

In June 2011, Luken acquired 78 low-powered television repeaters from the Minority Media and Television Council (MMTC);^[8] these repeaters were former Trinity Broadcasting Network repeaters that were donated to the MMTC in 2010.^[9] These repeaters will be owned and operated by Luken through its "Digital Networks" division, who will be the licensee for these stations.^[10]

On April 16, 2012, Luken Communications and Jim Owens Entertainment announced that the companies had teamed to relaunch The Nashville Network as a digital broadcast television network set for a late summer 2012 launch (TNN previously existed as a cable channel started by Gaylord Entertainment Company in 1983, and is now known as Spike under Viacom ownership). Jim Owens Entertainment acquired the rights to The Nashville Network trademark and logo around 2010-2011.^[11]

On June 23, 2013, Luken Communications filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The filing came just two days after an Arkansas jury awarded a $47.4 million verdict against the company for a “fraudulent transfer” of the ownership of RTV six years ago.^[12]

Assets owned by Luken Communications

Digital multicast networks

• Heartland ^[13]
• Retro TV (Formally Retro Television Network)
• PBJ
• Tuff TV (jointly owned by Seals Entertainment Company)
• My Family TV (jointly owned by ValCom)
• Frost Great Outdoors
• Jewelry Television
• My Car TV (future)

Broadcast television stations

Notes: All stations are owned by Digital Networks, LLC. (a subsidiary of Luken Communications). Many of these stations were former Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) translators, unless specified.

• ¹ Indicates stations were not previously owned by TBN
• ² Indicates flagship station
• ³ Indicates station managed by Great Plains Television Network, LLC

References

External links

• Official website