Acme Communications To Sell, Close Shop, Execs Say

Top executives at small, CW-oriented station owner Acme Communications were pretty clear Tuesday that they plan to sell their portfolio and cease operations.

Chairman-CEO Jamie Kellner, the former head of the WB who led the formation of the group with the goal of acquiring stations to link with that now-defunct network, said Acme has retained media broker CobbCorp to shop its six stations. A prospectus has been prepared, and despite the roiling debt markets, the company is moving forward in assessing interest levels.

"Obviously, the marketplace is very confused ... and values are difficult to figure out right now," Kellner said on a conference call to discuss second-quarter results.

After steadily selling off stations recently--including in Salt Lake City and Ft. Myers, Fla. and a pending deal in Decatur, Ill.--the group will be down to five CW affiliates and a MyNetworkTV station in Albuquerque (where it has a CW-MNTV duopoly).

Kellner said the stations may have more value if sold piecemeal to station groups with a presence in a market that could use them to form duopolies. The stations are in DMAs ranging from 45 (Albuquerque) to 85 (Madison).

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Gocom Media, which is purchasing the Decatur station for $4 million, already owns the Fox affiliate in that market.

A better performance by the CW network in its coming second season could raise values; Acme lost money in the second quarter.

Kellner also said Acme would eventually look to sell its syndicated morning news show "The Daily Buzz," if ratings and distribution increase. The three-hour show (which airs on Acme stations and 136 others) has signed an unannounced major advertiser for the coming season in a $1.2-million upfront deal as it seeks to break even later this year.

In the second quarter, Acme's revenues declined 4% to $8.3 million (hurt by a nearly 11% drop in the auto category)--although "The Daily Buzz," which accounts for a small portion, posted a 27% increase. Overall, the company posted a net loss of $1.8 million.

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