Estrella TV
Estrella TV is an American Spanish-language broadcast television network owned by the MediaCo subsidiary of HPS Investment Partners, LLC. The network primarily features programs, the vast majority of which are produced by the network itself, aimed at Hispanic and Latino American audiences – featuring a mix of entertainment series, reality television series, drama series, news, sports, and imported Mexican-produced feature films.
Estrella TV's programming, production and advertising operations are headquartered in the Los Angeles suburb of Burbank, California. The network's operations are overseen by MediaCo CEO Peter Markham, who has been in the post since the departure of co-founder Lenard Liberman amid a corporate reorganization in October 2019. The network is available in many media markets via low-power and some full-power over-the-air broadcast television stations, and on select cable television providers through either a local broadcast affiliate or the network's default national feed.
History
Beginnings
Estrella TV's beginnings trace back to 1998, when Liberman Broadcasting – owner of Spanish language radio stations in several media markets with large Spanish language populations, including four radio stations in the third-largest U.S. market – made its entry into television broadcasting when its founders, Mexican-born media executive Jose Liberman and his son Lenard, purchased KRCA in Los Angeles, California, a television station affiliated with the Shop at Home Network at the time.On August 31, 1998, Liberman converted KRCA into an independent station with a dual-ethnic programming format. The station ran a block of Spanish language programs during its daytime schedule – running from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekdays – originally consisting largely of dubbed versions of drama series from the Universal Television library and Mexican-produced feature films; the remainder of KRCA's schedule consisted of Asian-imported programming from Japan and various South Asian countries. By 2002, KRCA dropped its Asian-imported programming and became a Spanish language outlet full-time. Liberman acquired two additional stations over the next six years; in 2001, the company bought English Shop-at-Home affiliate KZJL in Houston, Texas. Then in 2004, it purchased KMPX in Dallas–Fort Worth, which then served as the original flagship owned-and-operated station of religious broadcaster Daystar ; Liberman also purchased low-power station KSDX-LP in San Diego, California that same year.
In 1999, the Liberman family hired Miguel Banojian, an ex Vice President of Univision and ex member of Univision's board of directors, to form what became LBI's television division which under such corporate structure, developed a television division under LBI, and subsequently structured the production division within its LBI Media unit to produce original programming content. Such move was the result of Mr. Banojian understanding of the lack of Mexican programming availability and the need to produce original content under the newly formed LBI studios. Such corporate division was solely supervised and launched by Mr. Banojian, and subsequently later distributed to other stations purchased by LBI Media. LBI Studios went on to produce more than 4,000 hours a year under Mr. Banojian's helm at the company, focusing on a mix of variety series, sketch comedy, scripted drama and music programs, talk shows and game shows. One of its earliest programs, the reality game show Gana la Verde, caused controversy after several immigrant advocacy groups and California U.S. House Reps. Xavier Becerra, Hilda Solis and Linda Sánchez complained that the format – which debuted in July 2004, and featured undocumented people competing in extreme Fear Factor-style competitions for the opportunity to win one year of legal assistance from an immigration attorney to help them obtain a green card – put its participants in danger of deportation by immigration authorities aware of the show. Programming production ramped up in 2004 with series that included:
- Estudio 2, a variety series conducted from a multi-stage studio that mainly featured performances from Mexican Regional and some contemporary Latin music artists, recurring comedic sketches and the karaoke-style elimination game "Aficiandos";
- José Luis sin Censura, a conflict talk show hosted by Jose Luis Gonzalez;
- Fábrica de la Risa, featuring various self-contained comedic sketches performed primarily by a troupe of five actors;
- Secretos, a Cheaters-style scripted drama focusing on a team of private investigators tasked with solving mysteries and crimes, and uncovering deceptions by family members and significant others;
- ¡A que no puedes!, a game show featuring teams of contestants conducting physical challenges and dares to bank monetary prizes;
- Los Ángeles al Día, a magazine hosted by Penélope Menchaca.
- and El Show de Don Cheto, a music- and game-based variety series emceed by comedian/host Juan Razo as his character Don Cheto.
By 2006, the company had adopted a consistent branding for its three television stations under the brand "Estrella TV". Liberman expanded the Estrella TV format to other markets where it acquired television stations, featuring much of the same programs as those aired by the Los Angeles, Dallas and Houston outlets. On May 30, 2007, Liberman Broadcasting purchased KPNZ in Salt Lake City, Utah from Utah Communications, LLC for $10 million ; then on August 18, 2008, the company purchased low-power station KVPA-LP in Phoenix, Arizona from Latin America Broadcasting, Inc. for $1.25 million.
As Liberman expanded its programming to other O&Os, its mix of programming shifted to appeal towards various Hispanic and Latino audiences and helped the pseudo-network beat its major competitors. In the Los Angeles market, the programs helped KRCA become a strong ratings competitor, even beating Telemundo owned-and-operated station KVEA for second place among the market's Spanish language stations during the November 2008 sweeps period, at which time KMPX and KZJL also beat the respective Telemundo outlets for second in all key adult demographics among the Spanish stations in the Houston and Dallas markets. In all five markets, the Estrella TV-branded stations ranked in second place among Hispanic adults in the 18–34, 18-49 and 25-54 demographic, beating Telemundo's ratings by as much as 100% and Telefutura's by as much as 64% during the weekday early fringe and prime time periods.
National expansion
On January 27, 2009, at the National Association of Television Program Executives Convention in Las Vegas, Liberman Broadcasting announced that it would turn the Estrella TV concept into a full-fledged national network that would launch at a then-yet-determined date later that year, which would be targeted at adults between the ages of 18 and 49 years old. Liberman had explored the possibility of developing a national network in 2007, when it raised $200 million in capital to acquire additional television stations and expand programming production. LBI Media's decision to launch the network came despite experiencing revenue declines that affected other broadcasting companies during the Great Recession.To counterprogram networks that already established a foothold with the Hispanic and Latino demographic, Liberman chose to maintain the existing format used by the company's independent stations and have Estrella TV rely on the company's extensive library of original programming that originated on the six outlets as well as newer content for its inaugural schedule – including Estudio 2; Secretos; !A Que no Puedes¡; José Luis sin Censura; Los Chuperamigos, a sketch comedy series led by Lilliana Arriaga and a cast of popular Mexican comedic actors including Luis De Alba, Alejandro Suarez, Maribel "La Pelangocha" Fernandez and Carlos Bonavides; El Show de Lagrimita y Costel, a variety series hosted by father and son comedians Costel and Guillermo Cienfuegos in clown attire; and two daily news programs and Alarma TV. The initial original programming-focused slate made up the majority of its schedule, running for a total of 56 hours per week from early-afternoon through prime time on Monday through Saturday.
Liberman had set July 1 as the date for Estrella TV's projected national launch by March 2009, however the company ultimately delayed the rollout by 3½ months; the national Estrella TV network formally commenced programming on September 14, 2009. On March 8, 2010, Nielsen began to include Estrella TV in the ratings provider's People Meter sample reports, alongside the other major Spanish language broadcast networks; the network was initially not listed in the daily "Television Index" reports that incorporate the other networks.
Over time, Estrella TV made major inroads in approaching viewership parity with Univision, Telemundo and Telefutura. By November 2012, Estrella TV ranked in fourth place in total viewers among all Hispanic broadcast networks, with an average of around 200,000 viewers. It was the only Spanish language network to experience an increase in viewership year-over-year during October 2013, the network placed third during prime time in total viewership among Hispanic audiences and in the demographic of Hispanic adults between the ages of 25 and 54, with the newsmagazine Alarma TV and late-evening national newscast Noticiero Enrique Gratas ranking within the 20 highest-rated Spanish-language television programs. On January 7, 2014, former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was appointed by Liberman Broadcasting to serve as a senior advisor for the network, helping provide input in its programming, community and advertiser relations. In hiring Villaraigosa, Liberman CEO Lenard Liberman cited the company's need to "increase our sensitivity and understanding of the needs of the Hispanic community," with Villaraigosa citing in part that he was drawn to the "human capital" behind the network.
On May 15, 2015, Liberman Broadcasting announced that Estrella TV would launch a multichannel production firm, Fenómeno Studios, which would develop programming content targeted at millennials between the ages and 18 and 34. The studio, which launched that June, would produce specialized genre-based content from a facility near Liberman's corporate headquarters and production studios in Burbank, featuring separate production soundstages, edit bays and offices, with the intent to use existing performers from Estrella TV shows with a broad presence on social media and attract existing YouTube talent that would have their content distributed on the Fenómeno online network – with the possibility of some newer talent curated on the Fenómeno networks being considered for program development crossover to the linear Estrella TV network. On May 31, 2019, Liberman Broadcasting shut down Fenomeno Studios due to their bankruptcy from the network, its unknown whether or not Fenomeno Studios will return later this year. Estrella TV assumed a permanent channel slot on DirecTV on October 4, 2016, taking over the channel 442 slot previously occupied by Azteca México, which was discontinued by Mexican network TV Azteca in favor of focusing on its domestic Azteca América broadcast network.
With the demise of Spanish network MundoMax, Estrella TV has seen significant growth when it acquired 2 of the former network's affiliates.
In 2018, Estrella TV was the only American television network to experience total day ratings growth in cable viewership among viewers over age 12 between the same period in 2016. That year saw Estrella TV begin producing new drama and comedy series such as LOL and Tarde lo Conocí. On October 10, 2018, Estrella TV re-ordered the Hispanic television landscape, when it bumped UniMás for third place among the national Spanish language networks in the weeknight prime time period, accomplishing a goal that Liberman had wanted for the network since its launch. However, it is unknown whether or not the network is still ranked as third place after it was confirmed that Unimas finished the 2018/2019 season as third.
On November 21, 2018, Liberman Broadcasting filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The company—which claimed assets worth between $100 million and $500 million and liabilities worth between $500 million and $1 billion—sought to reduce its overall debt by more than $350 million and secured $38 million in debtor-in-possession financing. On April 17, 2019, Liberman obtained approval of its reorganization plan from the Delaware bankruptcy court, with the expectation that it would be able to clear its balance sheet within the following several months. As a result, Estrella TV suspended production of or cancelled outright several series on its schedule; among them, the talk show Noches con Platanito, which was temporarily replaced by the telenovela La Esclava Blanca for three months beginning on June 20, while its morning news programs Primera Edición and Buenos Dias Familia were discontinued and replaced by a double-run of telenovelas and a rebroadcast of the previous weeknight's edition of Cierre de Edición.
On October 15, 2019, Liberman Broadcasting completed its reorganization plan, turning over ownership of the company—which was formally renamed LBI Media, Inc.—to its first lien lender, private equity firm HPS Investment Partners, LLC, which sponsored the reorganization plan; the reorganization eliminated more than $350 million of debt from its balance sheet. As part of the corporate reorganization, co-founder/CEO Lenard Liberman divested his equity in LBI, and was replaced as the company's CEO by former Granite Broadcasting and Communications Corporation of America Chairman Peter Markham. On February 3, 2020, LBI Media rebranded as Estrella Media, borrowing its name from the network, with the network and its corporate parent adopting a unified logo brand utilizing a four-pointed star. On the same day was the launch of a new late night talk show hosted by popular Mexican YouTuber and voice actor Alex Montiel titled "Nos Cayó la Noche", which replaces Noches Con Platanito citing updated changes to the network's programming ever since it was under new management. On October 22 Estrella TV premiered another late night talk hosted by Mexican Actor Omar Chaparro replacing Alex Montiel. Its predecessor "Nos Cayo la Noche" had confirmed a second season since March but it's likely plans for the second season have been discarded.
In 2021, Estrella launched two advertising-supported streaming networks, the news channel Estrella News, and the game show-oriented channel Estrella Games. The two networks are also carried on the digital subchannels of Estrella O&Os.