BHC Communications
Encyclopedia
BHC Communications, Inc. was the holding company for the broadcast property of Chris-Craft Industries. BHC is said to stand for "broadcasting holding company".
to hold its two existing incorporated independent television stations, KCOP Television (KCOP in Los Angeles
) and Oregon Television (KPTV
in Portland, Oregon
), within BHC's Chris-Craft Television subsidiary. That same year, Chris-Craft purchased a share of 20th Century Fox
. In 1981, the 20th Century Fox share, then at 20 percent, was traded for 19% of United Television. United owned three other television stations: independent KMSP-TV
in Minneapolis
, ABC
affiliate KTVX in Salt Lake City, and NBC
-affiliated KMOL-TV (now WOAI-TV
) in San Antonio
.
Warner Communications, Inc. purchased a 42.5 percent share in BHC for $200 million in convertible preferred stock. With the Time, Inc./Warner Communications, Inc. merger into Time-Warner, Inc., BHC got a return of some stock held by Warner, cash, and Time Warner convertible preferred stock in Time Warner, a total of valued at $2.3 billion over a six-year period. With this settlement, BHC was reincorporated as BHC Communications, Inc. with stock restructured with two classes of stock giving Chris-Craft most of the voting power. Some BHC's shares were distributed to other Warner stockholders made it a publicly traded corporation. Some the payment were used to buy back BHC class A shares. WWOR-TV
, an independent station (and national superstation
) in the New York City
area, was purchased in 1992 for $313 million. In 1995, United Sales Enterprises was formed to hand national spot advertising time for all BHC/United stations.
In the early 1990s, BHC Television formed an alternative programming consortium, Prime Time Entertainment Network
, with other station groups and Time Warner-owned Warner Bros. Domestic Television
that was planned to expand into the fifth television network.
In January 1995, BHC affiliated all of its stations, except the Salt Lake City and San Antonio outlets, with the newly-launched United Paramount Network
, which it fully owned and financed but ran with Paramount
/Viacom, the network's producer. In December 1996, Paramount exercised its option to buy half of the Network by paying half of the losses ($160 million). Included in the deal was to continue selling UPN "Star Trek: Voyager" instead of than placing it in syndication.
KMOL-TV in San Antonio later aired UPN programming as a secondary affiliation from 1998 to 2000.
In 2000, a lawsuit was filed by BHC against the Viacom
CBS merger as BHC saw this as a breach of the UPN partnership. BHC lost the suit and sold its remain ownership in UPN to Viacom for $5 million. Shortly thereafter, Chris-Craft announced that it was getting out of broadcasting after losing $500 on UPN, the possiblity of UPN shutting down or having their affiliation pulled. Many industry observers thought Viacom would end up getting the stations, but Viacom's bid lost out to News Corporation
's Fox Television Stations, resulting in a sale which closed in 2001.
Footnotes:
in Minneapolis. In 1975, United purchased KTVX-TV, a Salt Lake City ABC affiliate, and KMOL-TV, a San Antonio NBC affiliate. Fox purchased an interest in the company making it a subsidiary. In 1981, BHC purchased a 19% interest in United from Marvin Davis
and Marc Rich
. BHC up its stake in United to 50.1 percent of common stock in 1983. An UHF station was acquired that same year in San Francisco. In the final quarter of 1985, United started a new UHF station in Phoenix
, KUTP
. Loaning its name to a network joint venture of its parent corporation BHC with Paramount Pictures
, most of United stations switch programming to United Paramount Network. In January 1998 United Television acquired a third UHF station in Baltimore for $80 million, changed its call letters to WUTB, and made the station a UPN affiliate. United, in October 1997, agreed to purchase WRBW, a UHF station and UPN affiliate in Orlando, Florida, for $60 million and possible further considerations.
History
The firm was originally incorporated in 1977 as BHC, Incorporated by Chris-Craft IndustriesChris-Craft Industries
Chris-Craft Industries, Inc., formerly National Automotive Fibers, Inc., was a publicly-held American corporation traded on the New York and Pacific Stock Exchanges. It later took on the name of one of its acquisitions, Chris-Craft Boats...
to hold its two existing incorporated independent television stations, KCOP Television (KCOP in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
) and Oregon Television (KPTV
KPTV
KPTV is the Fox-affiliated television station serving the Portland, Oregon market, which includes most of the state of Oregon and portions of Southwest Washington. KPTV is owned by the Meredith Corporation in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate KPDX , with its studios located in Beaverton and...
in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
), within BHC's Chris-Craft Television subsidiary. That same year, Chris-Craft purchased a share of 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
. In 1981, the 20th Century Fox share, then at 20 percent, was traded for 19% of United Television. United owned three other television stations: independent KMSP-TV
KMSP-TV
KMSP-TV, channel 9, is the Fox-owned-and-operated television station serving the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota designated market area, owned in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate WFTC...
in Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
, ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
affiliate KTVX in Salt Lake City, and NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
-affiliated KMOL-TV (now WOAI-TV
WOAI-TV
WOAI-TV, virtual channel 4 , is the NBC affiliate television station serving the San Antonio, Texas metropolitan area. Its transmitter is located in Elmendorf, Texas, with its studios located in downtown San Antonio....
) in San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
.
Warner Communications, Inc. purchased a 42.5 percent share in BHC for $200 million in convertible preferred stock. With the Time, Inc./Warner Communications, Inc. merger into Time-Warner, Inc., BHC got a return of some stock held by Warner, cash, and Time Warner convertible preferred stock in Time Warner, a total of valued at $2.3 billion over a six-year period. With this settlement, BHC was reincorporated as BHC Communications, Inc. with stock restructured with two classes of stock giving Chris-Craft most of the voting power. Some BHC's shares were distributed to other Warner stockholders made it a publicly traded corporation. Some the payment were used to buy back BHC class A shares. WWOR-TV
WWOR-TV
WWOR-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the flagship station of the MyNetworkTV programming service, licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey and serving the Tri-State metropolitan area. WWOR is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network flagship...
, an independent station (and national superstation
Superstation
Superstation in United States television can have several meanings. In its most precise meaning, a superstation is defined by the Federal Communications Commission as "A television broadcast station, other than a network station, licensed by the FCC that is secondarily transmitted by a satellite...
) in the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
area, was purchased in 1992 for $313 million. In 1995, United Sales Enterprises was formed to hand national spot advertising time for all BHC/United stations.
In the early 1990s, BHC Television formed an alternative programming consortium, Prime Time Entertainment Network
Prime Time Entertainment Network
The Prime Time Entertainment Network was a United States television network launched in 1993 by the Prime Time Consortium, a joint venture between Warner Bros. Domestic Television and the Chris-Craft group of independent stations...
, with other station groups and Time Warner-owned Warner Bros. Domestic Television
Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television is the television production arm of Warner Bros. Entertainment, itself part of Time Warner. Alongside CBS Television Studios, it serves as a television production arm of The CW Television Network , though it also produces shows for other networks, such as Shameless on...
that was planned to expand into the fifth television network.
In January 1995, BHC affiliated all of its stations, except the Salt Lake City and San Antonio outlets, with the newly-launched United Paramount Network
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
, which it fully owned and financed but ran with Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
/Viacom, the network's producer. In December 1996, Paramount exercised its option to buy half of the Network by paying half of the losses ($160 million). Included in the deal was to continue selling UPN "Star Trek: Voyager" instead of than placing it in syndication.
KMOL-TV in San Antonio later aired UPN programming as a secondary affiliation from 1998 to 2000.
In 2000, a lawsuit was filed by BHC against the Viacom
Viacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
CBS merger as BHC saw this as a breach of the UPN partnership. BHC lost the suit and sold its remain ownership in UPN to Viacom for $5 million. Shortly thereafter, Chris-Craft announced that it was getting out of broadcasting after losing $500 on UPN, the possiblity of UPN shutting down or having their affiliation pulled. Many industry observers thought Viacom would end up getting the stations, but Viacom's bid lost out to News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
's Fox Television Stations, resulting in a sale which closed in 2001.
Former BHC/United television stations
| Market | Station | Years Owned | Subsidiary | Affiliation when Owned |
| Portland, Oregon Portland, Oregon Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States... |
KPTV KPTV KPTV is the Fox-affiliated television station serving the Portland, Oregon market, which includes most of the state of Oregon and portions of Southwest Washington. KPTV is owned by the Meredith Corporation in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate KPDX , with its studios located in Beaverton and... 12 1 |
1959-1977-2001 | Chris-Craft Television: Oregon Television |
Independent (1977–1986) Fox Fox Broadcasting Company Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the... (1986–1988) Independent (1988–1993) PTEN Prime Time Entertainment Network The Prime Time Entertainment Network was a United States television network launched in 1993 by the Prime Time Consortium, a joint venture between Warner Bros. Domestic Television and the Chris-Craft group of independent stations... (1993–1995) UPN(1995–2001) |
| Los Angeles Los Ángeles Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants... |
KCOP 13 1 | 1960-1977-2001 | Chris-Craft Television: KCOP Television |
independent (1977–1993) PTEN (1993–1995) UPN(1995–2001) |
| Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States... |
KMSP-TV KMSP-TV KMSP-TV, channel 9, is the Fox-owned-and-operated television station serving the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota designated market area, owned in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate WFTC... 9 3 |
1981–2001 | United Television | independent (1981–1986) Fox (1986–1988) independent (1988–1993) PTEN (1993–1995) UPN (1995–2001) |
| Salt Lake City | KTVX 4 3, 4 | 1981–2001 | United Television | ABC American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948... |
| San Antonio San Antonio, Texas San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,... |
KMOL-TV 4 3, 5 (now WOAI-TV WOAI-TV WOAI-TV, virtual channel 4 , is the NBC affiliate television station serving the San Antonio, Texas metropolitan area. Its transmitter is located in Elmendorf, Texas, with its studios located in downtown San Antonio.... ) |
1981–2001 | United Television: UTV of San Antonio | independent (1981–1998) UPN (1998–2000) independent (2000–2001) |
| San Francisco | KBHK-TV 44 (now KBCW) |
1982–2001 | United Television: UTV of San Francisco | independent (1982–1993) PTEN (1993–1995) UPN (1995–2001) |
| Phoenix Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data... |
KUTP KUTP KUTP, channel 45, is a MyNetworkTV-affiliated station in Phoenix, Arizona. It is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox outlet KSAZ-TV . The two stations share studio facilities in Phoenix, and KUTP's transmitter is located on South... 45 2 |
1985–2001 | United Television | Independent (1986–1993) PTEN (1993–1995) UPN (1995–2001) |
| New York City New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and... |
WWOR-TV WWOR-TV WWOR-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the flagship station of the MyNetworkTV programming service, licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey and serving the Tri-State metropolitan area. WWOR is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network flagship... 9 |
1993–2001 | Pinelands | PTEN (1993–1995) UPN (1995–2001) |
| Orlando Orlando, Florida Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States... |
WRBW WRBW WRBW is the MyNetworkTV owned and operated station serving the Orlando/Daytona Beach/Melbourne, Florida television market. It is owned by the Fox Television Stations Group, along with Fox station WOFL Channel 35. Known on-air as "My65", the station offers sitcoms, cartoons, court shows, and... 65 |
1998–2001 | United Television | UPN |
| Baltimore Baltimore Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore... |
WUTB WUTB WUTB, digital channel 41, is the MyNetworkTV owned-and-operated television station for Baltimore, Maryland. Its transmitter is located near Gilson Park in Catonsville. The station has studios on Seton Drive in Baltimore near the city and county line... 24 |
1998–2001 | United Television: UTV of Baltimore | UPN |
Footnotes:
- 1 KCOP-TV and KPTV were owned directly by Chris-Craft prior to the formation of BHC in 1977.
- 2 KUTP is the only station built and signed-on by Chris-Craft/United.
- 3 KMSP-TV, KTVX, and KMOL-TV were owned by United Television prior to its merger with Chris-Craft in 1981.
- 4 KTVX is the only station that never affiliated with UPN in the timeframe Chris-Craft owned stations in the mid-to-late 1990s.
- 5 KMOL-TV, a primary NBC affiliate, had a secondary affiliation to UPN in 1998-2000 when another station dropped it.
United Television
United Television was a corporation operating multiple television stations founded in 1956 to run station KMSP-TVKMSP-TV
KMSP-TV, channel 9, is the Fox-owned-and-operated television station serving the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota designated market area, owned in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate WFTC...
in Minneapolis. In 1975, United purchased KTVX-TV, a Salt Lake City ABC affiliate, and KMOL-TV, a San Antonio NBC affiliate. Fox purchased an interest in the company making it a subsidiary. In 1981, BHC purchased a 19% interest in United from Marvin Davis
Marvin Davis
Marvin H. Davis was an American industrialist and philanthropist...
and Marc Rich
Marc Rich
Marc Rich is an international commodities trader and entrepreneur. He is best known for founding the commodities company Glencore. He was indicted in the United States on federal charges of illegally making oil deals with Iran during the late 1970s-early 1980s Iran hostage crisis and tax evasion...
. BHC up its stake in United to 50.1 percent of common stock in 1983. An UHF station was acquired that same year in San Francisco. In the final quarter of 1985, United started a new UHF station in Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, KUTP
KUTP
KUTP, channel 45, is a MyNetworkTV-affiliated station in Phoenix, Arizona. It is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox outlet KSAZ-TV . The two stations share studio facilities in Phoenix, and KUTP's transmitter is located on South...
. Loaning its name to a network joint venture of its parent corporation BHC with Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, most of United stations switch programming to United Paramount Network. In January 1998 United Television acquired a third UHF station in Baltimore for $80 million, changed its call letters to WUTB, and made the station a UPN affiliate. United, in October 1997, agreed to purchase WRBW, a UHF station and UPN affiliate in Orlando, Florida, for $60 million and possible further considerations.