INNOVATE Corp. (formerly known as HC2 Holdings, Inc. and Primus Telecommunications Group, Inc.) is an American public
financial services
Financial services are the Service (economics), economic services provided by the finance industry, which encompasses a broad range of businesses that manage money, including credit unions, banks, credit-card companies, insurance companies, acco ...
company founded in 1994.
History
Beginning (1994–1997)
![Primus Telecom logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Primus_Telecom_logo.jpg)
Primus commenced operations in 1994 intent on being a global, facilities based service provider. They entered the U.S market in 1995 by assembling their core management team and beginning operations.
In 1996, Primus began its global expansion by acquiring Australia's then-fourth largest telecommunications service provider, Axicorp. The same year, Primus obtained a long-distance carrier license in the then-newly deregulated United Kingdom and also released their initial public offering. They completed their public listing the following year with the completion of the sale of more than US$225 million in senior notes and warrants.
Global expansion (1997–1999)
Primus' global expansion continued in 1997 with key acquisitions and international network expansion. They completed the build and activation of their Australian switched network, international gateway switches in New York and Los Angeles and trans-Pacific links. 1997 was also the beginning of Primus' growth through acquisitions. In April, Primus purchased Cam-Net Communications Network Inc. to allow them to enter the Canadian long distance market. Later that year, Primus acquired Telepassport LLC and the assets of USFI Inc; this expanded Primus' long distance services operations into Germany, Japan, Austria, Switzerland and South Africa.
1998 saw Primus expand their operations further in Australia with the acquisition of Eclipse Telecommunications Pty. Ltd. and Hotkey Internet Services Pty Limited. These acquisitions, along with Primus' new Australian Carriers License, meant they were able to offer Internet and data services to Australians. This, however, was not Primus' most significant activity in 1998. In February that year they announced the acquisition of TresCom International Inc. for a sum of US$125 million which was later completed for US$150 million. The completion of this acquisition increased Primus' customer base to approximately 200,000 corporate, small and medium-sized business, residential and wholesale customers in the North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific regions. That same year, Primus received international carrier status from Canada's Radio and Telephone Commission and signed a significant deal with
Qwest for fibre and increased bandwidth capacity for their U.S points of presence.
In March 1999, Primus' Canadian subsidiary purchased Toronto-based London Telecom Group Inc. Earlier in the year Primus also purchased GlobalServe Communications, a privately owned Canadian Internet Service Provider. These acquisitions were closely followed by the purchase of many of the retail operations of Telegroup Inc, including their Australian subsidiary. A long-distance telephone company based in
Fairfield, Iowa with 350,000 customers around the world, Telegroup was in
Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...
before Primus purchased their assets for $72 million. Primus' growth did not end there. In March the same year they were granted a Type 1 Telecommunications Carrier License in Japan, which made them one of the first foreign-based carriers to be awarded the license. They were also approved for a Public Telecommunications Operations license to offer voice telephony services in France and to capitalise on their agreement to interconnect with
Deutsche Telekom
Deutsche Telekom AG (; short form often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a German telecommunications company that is headquartered in Bonn and is the largest telecommunications provider in Europe by revenue. Deutsche Telekom was ...
they purchased German
Internet Service Provider
An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...
, TCP/IP GmbH. These developments and Primus' investment in pan-European fibre optic systems such as their Atlantic Crossing 1, Aphrodite Aphrodite, Arianne, CANTAT, Gemini and TAT12/13 meant Primus at the time offered services to 25 major cities located in 11 countries, including Austria, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. Primus continued to pursue growth through the purchase of assets in 1999. They purchased a 51% controlling stake in Brazil's fifth largest Internet Service Provider, Matrix Internet S.A to gain access to the Brazilian market; they also acquired DSL provider DigitalSelect LLC to improve their residential broadband capabilities and firm 1492 Technologies to add e-commerce and web services capabilities to the organisation.
Peak (2000–2001)
In January Primus won the Washington Technology Fast 50 award. Later that year they were recognised by
Deloitte & Touche
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (), commonly referred to as Deloitte, is an international professional services network headquartered in London, England. Deloitte is the largest professional services network by revenue and number of profession ...
as the fastest growing technology company according to their Fast 500 ranking, an award subsequently won by eBay in 2001 and Google in 2004. Primus continued their network expansion by furthering their relationship with
Qwest, they signed an agreement to purchase capacity for their nationwide fiber optic cable ring and connecting routes. This agreement came on the back of announcements that Primus had begun strategic alliances with
Akamai Technologies and
Hewlett Packard
The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...
. Their relationship with Akamai involved an agreement to jointly deploy Akamai servers in select Primus points of presence to further Akamai's global content delivery capabilities. Primus' venture with Hewlett Packard involved both parties joining forces to provide business services through HP-powered data centres across Primus' global network, the relationship involved a US$50 million investment by Hewlett Packard. While Primus continued expanding their ATM and IP networks in the U.S and internationally they also continued their acquisition growth strategy by purchasing LCR Telecom Group, a London-based voice and data reseller; Infinity Online Systems Inc., a Canadian Internet Service Provider; a 38% stake in Bekkoame Internet Inc., a Japanese Internet Service Provider;
Shore.Net, a New-England based Internet Service Provider with data centre facilities and InterNeXt S.A., a French Internet Service Provider with national operations. These acquisitions also coincided with Primus entering the Puerto Rico market by partnering with Virtual Inc. and receiving a Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) license.
At its peak in March 2000, Primus' stock price was valued at US$51.69 per share and the business was generating US$1.2 billion in revenue annually.
U.S. financial downturn (2001–2004)
Following the
dot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble (dot-com boom, tech bubble, or the Internet bubble) was a stock market bubble in the late 1990s, a period of massive growth in the use and adoption of the Internet.
Between 1995 and its peak in March 2000, the Nasdaq Compo ...
"bursting" in 2000, and the subsequent U.S financial downturn and stock market crash in 2001 after September 11, Primus reportedly began scaling back growth plans and reducing their debt in response to their stock value dropping to US$0.54 in June 2002.
This pre-emptive measure allowed Primus to avoid bankruptcy at the time and continue to remain profitable and record a full year earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $101 million in 2002. Primus did make some acquisitions in this period purchasing the U.S. retail voice customer base of
Cable & Wireless in 2002, Canadian Internet provider Magma Communications Ltd and in Australia the internet service and interactive media businesses of AOL/7 as well as small Australian
dot-com firms UseOz, Blue Mountains Internet and Standard.net.
This period was still a period of growth and relative success for Primus. In 2003, Primus was added to the Russell 3000 index, a U.S. equity indexes that captures the 3,000 largest U.S. stocks based on market capitalisation. They were included in the 2004 'Fortune 1000', Forbes magazines ranking of the largest public companies, based on revenue, in the United States and a 2002 TeleGeography study found Primus was on aggregate the world's fifth largest carrier of international public switched telephone network (PSTN) voice traffic. Primus also used this period of growth to move their stock from the
NASDAQ
The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...
SmallCap Market to the
NASDAQ
The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...
National Market to gain more transparency.
Financial issues (2005–2009)
Towards the end of 2004, Primus' stock fell 69% and continued to fall in 2005 as their core revenue streams of long-distance telephone service, dial-up Internet connections and prepaid calling began shrinking.
To remedy this trend Primus announced they would be shifting their focus from their,
...long distance voice heritage to become a fully integrated service provider--capable of delivering and bundling high growth telecommunication services, including local, wireless and broadband...with the capability of offering arrays of bundled wireline/wireless/broadband/VOIP products in its major markets...
In 2004, Primus made their first product release in line with their new vision by releasing a high-speed
VoIP
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also called IP telephony, is a method and group of technologies for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. The terms Internet t ...
Internet phone service dubbed 'Lingo'. Designed to leverage Primus international data network to provide a cost-effective retail voice service, Lingo offered U.S. customers unlimited calling in the U.S., Canada and Western Europe for only $19.95 per month.
Despite 6% revenue growth in Primus' new services, broadband and VOIP, on March 14, 2006, Primus Telecommunications stock was transferred from the
NASDAQ
The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...
National Market to the
NASDAQ
The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...
Capital Market due to the value of the stock dropping below $1.00. This setback, however, did not stop the business from continuing to roll out their own DSLAM network internationally especially in Australia.
In 2007, Primus Telecom admitted paying more than $22 million to settle a lawsuit alleging illegal or fraudulent transfers of funds. Primus Telecom has also been named as a defendant in additional federal litigation.
As of 2008, the company's stock had dropped more than 99% from its peak in early 2000, amid declining revenue and accelerating losses.
According to the company's SEC filings:
...Primus did not maintain effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2006, due to the material weakness in the Company’s internal control over accounting for income taxes...
Bankruptcy and recovery (2009-2010)
Primus' struggles finally culminated in the company filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on March 16, 2009.
Months later, however, Primus successfully emerged from Chapter 11 on July 1, 2009. The value recovered by shareholders of old common stock (ticker NASDAQ:PRTL) will depend on the company's financial performance over the four years following their emergence from Chapter 11. As a result of the reorganisation, Primus's creditors have also become significant share holders in the organisation.
...Under the terms of the plan of reorganization Primus has reduced its debt by $316 million, or 55%, and will emerge from bankruptcy with approximately $255 million of debt. Additionally, Primus reduced interest payments by approximately
50% and extended certain debt maturities...
...None of Primus' operating companies in the United States, Australia, Canada, India, Europe or Brazil were included in the restructuring. The operating units have and will continue to manage and to operate their businesses normally...
The newly emerged
public company
A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (l ...
was not listed on any stock exchange until June 23, 2011 when it began trading under the ticker PTGI on the NYSE.
Acquisition of Arbinet (2010-2013)
As of March 4, 2010, Primus appeared on the recovery track as they reported 2009 net revenue of US$814 million and free cash flow of $27.9 million; revenue increases they claim are partly the result of:
...sales of IP-PBX, data hosting and other managed services to small and medium enterprises...
On 11 November 2010, Primus announced the acquisition of Arbinet Corporation. A provider of international voice and IP solutions to carriers and service providers globally, Arbinet provides platform intelligence, call routing and credit management and settlement capabilities. The deal was reportedly worth approximately $28 million in a stock-for-stock transaction, reportedly Arbinet shareholders will own approximately 23% of the combined company and Primus shareholders are expected to own approximately 77% of the combined company.
With more than 1,100 carriers across the world utilizing the Arbinet network Primus expects the deal to add $300 million a year in revenue to its global wholesale group and deliver costs savings of $3 million to $7 million for each of the first two years.
Primus delists from NYSE (2013-2014)
On November 8, 2013, Primus's board of directors decided to delist from the NYSE and de-register its common stock saying that the savings that would benefit shareholders and the company outweighed the advantages of continuing as a NYSE listed and a reporting company. Without the annual accounting and legal costs, and administrative burdens associated with SEC reporting obligations and compliance with Sarbenes-Oxley Act, Primus said it would be able to reduce its costs while still maintaining an environment with appropriate financial controls.
Primus renamed HC2 Holdings (2014-2021)
On January 7, 2014, HRG Group Inc. purchased a 40.5% stake in Primus. On April 14, 2014, Primus was
renamed HC2 Holdings, Inc.
HC2 Holdings Renamed INNOVATE Corp. (2021-present)
On July 9, 2021, HC2 announced it would rename to INNOVATE Corp., stating the name "reflects the Company’s focus on innovative growth businesses".
United Kingdom operations
Primus had a subsidiary in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. A management buyout of the UK business in 2010 saw this subsidiary separate from Primus Telecom to form New Call Telecom.
Broadcast Expansion
2017 Deals
![Logo_of_HC2_Holdings](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Logo_of_HC2_Holdings.png)
In July 2017, HC2 announced intentions to acquire over 50% of
DTV America, which owns and operates over 50
low-power television (LPTV) stations in 42 markets in the US.
In September, HC2 acquired the holdings of Mako Communications and its 38 low-power television stations. October followed with the purchase of
Three Angels Broadcasting Network
The Three Angels Broadcasting Network, or 3ABN, is a Christian media television and radio network which broadcasts Seventh-day Adventist religious and health-oriented programming, based in West Frankfort, Illinois, United States. Although it is ...
's 14 LPTV stations.
Further, in October 2017, as a result of a consent decree from the FCC, HC2 agreed to purchase LPTV stations and permits from
DTV America, King Forward, Tiger Eye Broadcasting Corporation, Tiger Eye Licensing and Bella Spectra Corporation.
In November 2017, HC2 acquired the
Azteca América network, founded by the 2nd largest producer of Spanish-language programming in the world,
TV Azteca
TV Azteca, S.A.B. de C.V. is a Mexican multimedia conglomerate owned by Grupo Salinas. It is the second-largest mass media company in Mexico after Televisa. It primarily competes with Televisa as well as some local operators. It owns two national ...
, which sold its assets of
Azteca America to focus its efforts on the Mexican market. In addition, HC2 acquired Northstar Media, LLC, which operates 19 television stations, including two full-power stations, eight Class A stations and eight low-power television stations. HC2 also acquired 7 stations from
OTA Broadcasting, and 2 from Abrahantes Communications LLC in Florida, all in November.
Also in November,
WTAM-LD
WTAM-LD, virtual channel 30 ( UHF digital channel 35), is a low-powered Estrella TV owned-and-operated television station licensed to Tampa, Florida, United States and also serving St. Petersburg. The station is owned by HC2 Holdings. The sta ...
of
Tampa
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...
and
WATV-LD of
Orlando, Florida
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...
were purchased from Abrahantes Communications LLC for $750,000.
In December 2017, HC2 purchased 7 stations from Jericho Partners LLC for $411,318 for
KPDF-CA in
Phoenix,
KDFQ-LP in
Prescott, Arizona;
KEMO-TV
KEMO-TV (channel 50) is a television station licensed to Fremont, California, United States, serving the San Francisco Bay Area as an affiliate of the Spanish-language network Estrella TV. Owned by HC2 Holdings, the station maintains studios on ...
,
KSBO-CD
KSBO-CD, virtual channel 42 ( UHF digital channel 36), is a low-powered, Class A Estrella TV affiliate television station licensed to San Luis Obispo, California, United States. Founded on December 29, 1994, the station is owned by HC2 ...
,
KLDF-CD
KLDF-CD, virtual and UHF digital channel 17, is a low-powered, Class A Estrella TV-affiliate television station serving Santa Barbara, California, United States that is licensed to Lompoc. The station is owned by HC2 Holdings
INNOVATE Co ...
and
KDFS-CA
KSBO-CD, virtual channel 42 (UHF digital terrestrial television, digital channel 36), is a low-power broadcasting#Television, low-powered, Class A television service, Class A Estrella TV affiliate television station city of license, license ...
in California; and
WXAX-CD
WXAX-CD, virtual and UHF digital channel 26, is a low-powered, Class A BeIN Sports Xtra- owned-and-operated television station licensed to Clearwater, Florida, United States. The station has been on the air intermittently since January ...
in
Clearwater, Florida
Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, northwest of Tampa and St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2020 census, the city had a populat ...
, all
Azteca America affiliates.
2018 Deals
KMOH-TV of
Kingman, Arizona
Kingman is a city in, and the county seat of, Mohave County, Arizona, United States. It is named after Lewis Kingman, an engineer for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. It is located southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, and northwest of Arizona's ...
and
KEJR-LD of
Phoenix were purchased in January 2018 from HERO Broadcasting for $2.7 million.
WRNT-LD
WRNT-LD, virtual and UHF digital channel 32, is a low-powered television station licensed to Hartford, Connecticut, United States. The station is owned by HC2 Holdings, and carries the public domain network Timeless TV on its primary channe ...
of
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
and
WTXX-LD
WTXX-LD, virtual channel 34 (UHF digital channel 29), is a low-powered Timeless TV- owned-and-operated television station licensed to Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. The station is owned by HC2 Holdings. The station's transmitter is ...
of
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...
were purchased from Tyche Media LLC for $2,325,000.
KADF-LD of
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
was purchased from Joseph W Shaffer in February 2018 for $1,239,170.
WPSJ-CD
WPSJ-CD, (channel 8) is a low-power Class A television station serving Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, that is licensed to Hammonton, New Jersey. The station is owned by HC2 Holdings, with a transmitter located in Waterford Township, ...
of
Hammonton, New Jersey
Hammonton is a town in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, that has been referred to as the "Blueberry Capital of the World". As of the 2020 U.S. census, the town's population was 14,711, a decline of 80 from the 2010 census coun ...
was purchased from Prime Time Partners LLC for $1.7 million.
WFWC-CD of
Fort Wayne, Indiana was purchased for Tran Star LLC for $225,000.
March 2018 saw deals to purchase
KHFW-LD of
Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...
from Iglesia Manmin Toda La Creacio USA Inc for $500,000,
KSFW-LD of Dallas De Mujer A Mujer International for $500,000, and
WYHB-CD
WYHB-CD, virtual channel 39 (ultra high frequency, UHF Digital terrestrial television, digital channel 25), is a Low-power broadcasting#Television, low-power television station city of license, licensed to serve Chattanooga, Tennessee, United Sta ...
of
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...
from Benns Family for $450,000.
In April 2018,
KCEB of
Longview, Texas was purchased from London Broadcasting Co for $225,000.
KSKJ-CD of
Van Nuys, California was purchased from NRJ TV for $9.25 million. A multi-station deal for $2.15 million from One Ministries Inc which included
KQRO-LD
KQRO-LD (channel 45) is a Low-power broadcasting#Television, low-powered television station city of license, licensed to Morgan Hill, California, United States, serving the San Francisco Bay Area as an affiliate of BeIN Sports (American TV cha ...
,
KFTY-LD
KFTY-LD (channel 45) is a low-power television station licensed to Middletown, California, United States, affiliated with BeIN Sports Xtra. The station is owned by HC2 Holdings.
History
The station’s construction permit
Planning ...
and
KQRM-LP of California.
In June 2018, HC2 Holdings agreed to buy
Iowa City, Iowa
Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...
's
KWKB
KWKB (channel 20) is a religious television station licensed to Iowa City, Iowa, United States, serving the Eastern Iowa and Quad Cities television markets as an owned-and-operated station of Tri-State Christian Television (TCT). The station's ...
from KM Communications for $1.85 million. Also in June,
WDWO-CD
WDWO-CD (channel 18) is a low-power, Class A television station in Detroit, Michigan, United States, affiliated with the Spanish-language network Visión Latina. The station is owned by Innovate Corp., and maintains a transmitter on West 11 Mi ...
of
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
was purchased from
TCT Ministries for $4 million,
KPNZ-TV
KPNZ (channel 24) is a religious broadcasting, religious television station licensed to Ogden, Utah, United States, serving the Salt Lake City area as an owned-and-operated station of Tri-State Christian Television (TCT). The station's studios ar ...
of
Ogden, Utah
Ogden is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau, making it Utah's eighth ...
from
Estrella Media for $3,325,000.
WPVN-CD
WPVN-CD (channel 24) is a low-powered, Class A television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The station is owned by HC2 Holdings. WPVN-CD's studios are located on West Belmont Avenue in northwest Chicago, and its transmitter is locate ...
of
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
was purchased from Polnet Communications for $7 million.
Deals announced in August 2018 were
WVTT-CD
WVTT-CD, virtual channel 34 (VHF digital channel 11), is a low-powered, Class A television station serving the Twin Tiers that is licensed to Olean, New York. The station is owned by HC2 Holdings. The station's transmitter is located on Warner H ...
of
Olean, New York
Olean ( ) is a city in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. Olean is the largest city in Cattaraugus County and serves as its financial, business, transportation and entertainment center. It is one of the principal cities of the Southern ...
from Woodland Communications LLC for $1.5 million, and
WGCE-CD
The following is a list of stations owned by Innovate Corp. either under the HC2 Broadcasting, HC2 Holdings or DTV America holding company names. Innovate owns and operates 251 television stations, 248 of which are low-power facilities (with 39 ...
of
Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...
from Milachi Media for $1,172,661. Also,
KGBS-CD
KGBS-CD, virtual channel and UHF digital channel 19, is a low-powered, Class A Stadium- affiliated television station licensed to Austin, Texas, United States. The station is owned by HC2 Holdings.
History
The station was built and signed o ...
of
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
was purchased for $1.75 million from CNZ Communications, and
WWCI-CD of
Vero Beach, Florida from V1 Productions Inc for $503,000.
WPVS-LP of
Sheboygan, Wisconsin was purchased from Polnet Communications for $400,000.
September 2018 saw the announcement of the purchase of
WJFB
WJFB (channel 44) is a television station licensed to Lebanon, Tennessee, United States, broadcasting the classic television network MeTV to the Nashville area. Owned and operated by Weigel Broadcasting, the station maintains transmitter facil ...
in
Lebanon, Tennessee
Lebanon is the county seat of Wilson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 38,431 at the 2020 census. Lebanon is located in Middle Tennessee, approximately east of downtown Nashville. Lebanon is part of the Nashville Metropolit ...
from Radiant Life Ministries for $5.75 million. HC2 also purchased
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
station
WDEM-CD
WDEM-CD, virtual channel 17 (UHF digital terrestrial television, digital channel 24), is a low-power broadcasting#Television, low-powered, Class A television service, Class A Estrella TV- television station city of license, licensed to Columbus, O ...
from Minority Brands for $850,000. Also in September, a multi-station deal in
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
was announced with HC2 buying
WOST,
WQQZ-CD and
WWKQ-LD from Corporate Media Consultants Group LLC for $2.85 million.
In October, HC2 purchased
K20JX-D
K20JX-D (channel 27) is a low-power, Class A television station licensed to Sacramento, California, United States, affiliated with 3ABN. Founded on August 21, 1990, the station was owned by Abundant Life Broadcasting, Inc., which had sold it to ...
from
Amazing Facts
Amazing Facts is a non-profit Seventh-day Adventist evangelistic ministry based in Granite Bay, California, which broadcasts daily television programming worldwide. It is based on the teachings of Scripture, and especially focuses on the Three ...
Inc for $800,000.
2019 Deals
In May 2019, HC2 Holdings announced they were acquiring a full-power station from Lowcountry Media for $2.6 million.
WSCG of
Baxley, Georgia
Baxley is a city in Appling County, Georgia, Appling County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 4,942. The city is the county seat of Appling County.
Histor ...
serves the
Savannah
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...
market. The purchase of two low-power stations was announced in June 2019.
WBEH-CD of
Miami, Florida
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
and
WSPF-CD
WSPF-CD, virtual channel 35 (UHF digital channel 36), is a low-powered, Class A television station serving Tampa, Florida, United States that is licensed to St. Petersburg as an owned-and-operated station of Tri-State Christian Television (TCT). ...
of
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...
were sold by WPMF Miami LLC for $3.7 million.
See also
*
iPrimus
iPrimus is an Australian telecommunications company and wholly owned subsidiary of Vocus Communications.
iPrimus primarily focuses on fixed, mobile, and broadband services. Primus Telecom was the first telecommunications carrier to receive ...
*
Primus Canada
Primus (Latin, 'first') may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities
* Primus (DC Comics), a character in the Omega Men team
* Primus (Marvel Comics), a character created by Arnim Zola
* Primus, a character in the novel ''Stard ...
References
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