UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
(Mark One)
| x | ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15 (d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 | |
| For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004 | ||
| OR | ||
| ¨ |
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15 (d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 | |
For the transition period from to
Commission file number 333-110122
LBI MEDIA HOLDINGS, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| Delaware | 05-0584918 | |
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | |
| 1845 West Empire Avenue, Burbank, CA | 91504 | |
| (Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) | |
Registrants telephone number, including area code: (818) 563-5722
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
None
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
Yes x No ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).
Yes ¨ No x
Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrants knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K x
As of March 30, 2005, no shares of LBI Media Holdings, Inc.s voting stock were held by non-affiliates.
As of March 30, 2005, there were 100 shares of common stock, $0.01 par value per share, of LBI Media Holdings, Inc. issued and outstanding.
Documents Incorporated by Reference: None.
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| ITEM 1. | BUSINESS |
Market data and other statistical information included in this Business section are based on industry publications, government publications and reports by market research firms or other published independent sources, including the United States Census Bureau, Arbitron and Nielsen surveys, Hispanic Business, Inc. and Television Bureau Advertising (TVB).
Overview
We are one of the largest owners and operators of Spanish-language radio and television stations in the United States based on revenues and number of stations. We own 16 radio stations (ten FM and six AM) and four television stations in Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth and San Diego, the first, fourth, sixth and thirteenth largest Hispanic markets in the United States, respectively, based on Hispanic television households. We operate radio and television stations in markets that comprise approximately 28% of the U.S. Hispanic population.
Our Los Angeles cluster consists of five Spanish-language radio stations, one AM radio station with time-brokered programming and a television station. Our Houston cluster consists of seven Spanish-language radio stations, two AM radio stations with time-brokered programming and a television station. Our Dallas-Fort Worth cluster consists of one radio station and one television station. We also own a television station serving San Diego, California. In addition, we operate a television production facility, Empire Burbank Studios, in Burbank, California that we primarily use to produce most of our television programming, and we have television production facilities in Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth that will allow us to produce local programming for those markets.
We seek to own and operate radio and television stations in the nations largest and most densely populated Hispanic markets. Our strategy is to increase revenue and cash flow in our markets by reformatting acquired stations with locally focused programming, providing creative advertising solutions for clients, executing targeted marketing campaigns to develop a local audience and implementing strict cost controls. We had a substantial debt balance of $327.6 million at December 31, 2004.
Liberman Broadcasting, Inc., a Delaware corporation, currently has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission a registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-112773) for the initial public offering of its Class A common stock. Immediately before the anticipated offering, Liberman Broadcasting, Inc. will merge with our parent, LBI Holdings, I, Inc., a California corporation. Liberman Broadcasting, Inc. will survive the merger and effectively reincorporate our parent into a Delaware corporation. In this annual report, Liberman Broadcasting refers to LBI Holdings I, Inc. before the merger and Liberman Broadcasting, Inc. after the merger, each on an unconsolidated basis. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we can provide no assurance that the anticipated initial public offering will be consummated in the near future, or at all.
Operating Strategy
The principal components of our operating strategy are set forth below:
Develop popular stations by targeting the local community
Not all Hispanics have the same cultural and ethnic backgrounds. As a result, we create radio and television programming specifically tailored to the preferences of the Hispanic populations living in our markets to create a highly recognizable local station identity. We believe that we are particularly adept at programming to the tastes and preferences of the Hispanics of Mexican heritage, which comprise 81%, 81%, 87% and 88% of the Hispanic populations in Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth and San Diego, respectively, according to a 2003 survey by the U.S. Census Bureau. We believe our ability to produce locally targeted programming gives us an advantage over most other Spanish-language broadcasters that develop and distribute their programming on a national or regional basis and, as a result, we have generally been able to achieve and maintain strong station ratings in our markets.
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Cross-promote our radio and television stations
We utilize a portion of our commercial inventory time at both our radio and television stations to run advertisements promoting our other stations and programming, which helps us capitalize on the strong ratings and targeted audience of our stations with no incremental cash outlay. In addition, we utilize our radio and television stations to create complementary programs that attract our radio listeners to our television programs and our television viewers to our radio stations. For example, in Los Angeles and Houston, we produce music variety television shows hosted by our radio station disc jockeys that feature music industry news, interviews and videos of songs played on our popular radio stations in those markets.
Capitalize on our complementary radio and television stations to capture a greater share of advertising revenue
We create cross-selling opportunities by offering our advertisers a customized package that allows them to cross-advertise on radio and television, as well as to cross-merchandise through product integration in our programming. This allows us to effectively compete for a significant portion of an advertisers Hispanic budget since advertisers have historically spent over 80% of these budgets on radio and television. We believe that we are able to capture a larger share of advertising revenues in our markets because of our ability to cross-sell and cross-promote our radio and television stations.
Develop a diverse local advertiser base
Consistent with our locally targeted programming strategy, our sales strategy is focused on establishing direct relationships with the local advertising community. Local advertising accounted for approximately 84% of our gross advertising revenue in 2004. We believe that local advertisers are more responsive to Hispanic advertising opportunities in our markets. Other advantages of our locally focused sales strategy include:
| | our cash flows have been generally less vulnerable to ratings fluctuations as a result of our strong relationships with our advertisers; |
| | our cash flows have been relatively more recession resistant because local advertising has historically been less cyclical than national advertising; and |
| | our large and diverse client base has resulted in no single advertiser accounting for more than 5% of our net revenues in 2004. |
Offer cost-effective advertising and value-added services to our advertisers
We believe that we differentiate ourselves from other Spanish-language broadcasters by offering advertisers the greatest value for their advertising dollar. By supporting advertisers media campaigns with creative promotions and offering our studio facilities to provide value-added services, we are able to cross-sell our broadcasting properties and attract new customers currently not advertising on radio or television. As a result, we have been able to significantly increase our advertiser base.
Utilize cost-effective television programming to drive cash flow growth
Our television programming consists of both internally produced and purchased programming which creates a compelling programming line-up for our television stations. Our in-house television production facilities provide us with an efficient cost structure to create programming, such as our popular talk show José Luis Sin Censura, our reality-based programs Buscando Amor and Gana LaVerde and our scripted dramas Secretos and Divorcio USA. In addition, we realize programming synergies between our radio and television assets by featuring our radio formats and on-air radio personalities in our television programming. Furthermore, we supplement our internally produced programming with purchased programs, primarily Spanish-language movies, which we obtain from numerous producers in Latin America. As we acquire additional television stations, we are able to further leverage our programming library across a broader base of stations, thereby potentially increasing our profitability.
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Acquisition Strategy
Our acquisition strategy focuses on identifying and acquiring selected assets of radio and television stations in the largest, most densely populated and fastest growing U.S. Hispanic markets to build market-leading Hispanic radio and television clusters. Although these stations often do not target the local Hispanic market at the time of acquisition, we believe they can be successfully reformatted to capture this audience. In analyzing our acquisition opportunities, we consider the following criteria for a station:
| | the size and density of the Hispanic population and general economic conditions in the market; |
| | our ability to expand coverage in an existing cluster or develop a new cluster in a market where we believe we can acquire a meaningful share of the Hispanic audience, particularly where we can own both radio and television stations in a market as a result of such acquisition; |
| | our ability to acquire underdeveloped properties that offer the potential for significant improvement in revenues and cash flow through the application of our operating, administrative and programming expertise; and |
| | the power and quality of the stations broadcasting signal. |
We have built a long-term track record of acquiring and developing underperforming radio and television stations that has enabled us to achieve significant increases in our net revenue over the past decade. Since our founding in 1987, we have developed 16 Spanish-language, start-up radio and television stations by reformatting acquired stations with locally focused programming, providing creative advertising solutions for clients, executing targeted marketing campaigns to develop a local audience and implementing strict cost controls. For example, we entered the Houston market in March 2001 and within two and one-half years, we built the second-highest rated Hispanic radio station group and the second-highest rated Hispanic television station in that market. We believe that our record of successfully executing our acquisition strategy in new Hispanic markets will position us to continue creating top-ranked Hispanic station groups in other Hispanic markets. On January 12, 2004, we entered the Dallas-Fort Worth market with the acquisition of selected assets of KMPX-TV for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $37.6 million (including acquisition costs). In addition, on July 20, 2004, we completed the acquisition of the selected assets of a Dallas-Fort Worth radio station for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $16.1 million (including acquisition costs).
Hispanic Market Opportunity
We believe the Hispanic community represents an attractive market for future growth. In 2003, the U.S. Hispanic population was the largest minority group in the United States and, from 2000 to 2003, it was the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population, growing at approximately seven times the rate of the non-Hispanic U.S. population, as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau. The U.S. Hispanic population grew 9.8% from April 2000 to July 2002, accounting for 50% of all U.S. population growth during this period, and is expected to reach approximately 43.7 million people, or 15% of the total U.S. population, by 2010 according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
In addition, advertisers have begun to direct more advertising dollars towards U.S. Hispanics and, consequently, Spanish-language radio and television advertising has grown at more than twice the rate of total radio and television advertising from 1998 to 2003. Spanish-language advertising rates have been rising faster in recent years when compared to the general media, yet these rates are still lower than those for English-language media. As advertisers continue to recognize the buying power of the U.S. Hispanic population, especially in areas where the concentration of Hispanics is very high and where a growing percentage of the retail purchases are made by Hispanic customers, we expect the gap in advertising rates between Spanish-language and English-language media to narrow. As U.S. Hispanic consumer spending continues to grow relative to overall consumer spending, industry analysts expect that advertising expenditures targeted to Hispanics will increase significantly, eventually closing the gap between the current level of advertising targeted to Hispanic station audiences and the current level of advertising targeted to general market station audiences.
We believe we are well positioned to capitalize on the growing Hispanic advertising market given the concentration of the Hispanic population in certain markets in the United States, our attractive position in three of the six largest Hispanic markets in the United States based on Hispanic television households, Los Angeles, Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth, and our record of successfully executing our acquisition strategy in new Hispanic markets.
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Our Markets
The following table sets forth certain demographic information about the markets in which our radio and television stations operate.
| Market |
Total Population |
Hispanic Population |
% Hispanic Population |
% Hispanic Population of Mexican Descent |
Hispanic Population Growth(5) |
||||||||
| Los Angeles(1) |
16,952,160 | 7,215,362 | 43 | % | 81 | % | 51 | % | |||||
| Houston(2) |
4,429,695 | 1,445,772 | 33 | % | 81 | % | 87 | % | |||||
| Dallas(3) |
5,565,609 | 1,353,352 | 24 | % | 87 | % | 158 | % | |||||
| San Diego County(4) |
2,828,365 | 821,952 | 29 | % | 88 | % | 61 | % | |||||
| Total U.S. (for comparison) |
282,909,885 | 39,194,837 | 14 | % | 65 | % | 75 | % |
Source: American Community Survey Profile 2003 by the U.S. Census Bureau
| (1) | Represents the Los Angeles consolidated metropolitan statistical area. |
| (2) | Represents the Houston consolidated metropolitan statistical area. |
| (3) | Represents the Dallas-Fort Worth consolidated metropolitan statistical area. |
| (4) | Represents the San Diego consolidated metropolitan statistical area. |
| (5) | Represents growth from 1990 to 2003. |
Our Radio and Television Stations
The following tables set forth certain information about our radio and television stations and their broadcast markets.
Radio Stations
| Market/Station(1) |
Market Rank(2) |
Hispanic Market Rank(3) |
Frequency |
Format |
Station Audience Share(4) | |||||
| Los Angeles |
2 | 1 | ||||||||
| KBUE-FM/KBUA-FM/KEBN-FM(5) |
105.5/94.3/94.3 | Norteña | 3.3 | |||||||
| KHJ-AM |
930 | Ranchera | 0.9 | |||||||
| KWIZ-FM |
96.7 | Sonidero, Cumbia | 0.5 | |||||||
| KVNR-AM(6) |
1480 | Time Brokered | | |||||||
| Total |
4.7 | |||||||||
| Houston |
11 | 4 | ||||||||
| KTJM-FM/KJOJ-FM(7) |
98.5/103.3 | Norteña | 2.5 | |||||||
| KQQK-FM/KIOX-FM(8) |
107.9/96.9 | Spanish Pop | 1.2 | |||||||
| KQUE-AM |
1230 | Ranchera | 0.8 | |||||||
| KEYH-AM/KXGJ-FM(9) |
850/101.7 | Sonidero, Cumbia | 0.4 | |||||||
| KSEV-AM(6) |
700 | Time Brokered | 1.3 | |||||||
| KJOJ-AM(6) |
880 | Time Brokered | | |||||||
| Total |
6.2 | |||||||||
| Dallas-Fort Worth |
||||||||||
| KNOR-FM(10) |
7 | 6 | 93.7 | Hip Hop | N/A | |||||
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| (1) | Our radio stations are in some instances licensed to communities other than the named principal community for the market. |
| (2) | Represents rank among U.S. designated market areas by television households. Designated market areas are geographic markets as defined by A.C. Nielsen Company based on historical television viewing patterns and are updated annually. |
| (3) | Represents rank among U.S. Hispanic markets by Hispanic television households. A ranking of 1, for example, means that Los Angeles has the most Hispanic television households in the United States. |
| (4) | Represents the average share of listeners, ages 12 and older, listening to our radio stations during a specified period of time from the four most recent Arbitron surveys (Winter 2004, Spring 2004, Summer 2004 and Fall 2004). A 3.3 station audience share means that 3.3% of all radio listeners in the stations market listen to that station. |
| (5) | KBUA-FM and KEBN-FM (formerly KMXN-FM) currently simulcast the signal of KBUE-FM in the San Fernando Valley and Orange County, respectively. We have upgraded the signals of KBUA-FM and KEBN-FM from 3kW to 6kW, thereby improving our coverage of the Los Angeles market and enabling us to use the stations for purposes other than to simulcast with KBUE-FM, if we so choose. Applications for approval of these upgrades were granted by the FCC. |
| (6) | Three of our stations, KVNR-AM, KSEV-AM and KJOJ-AM, are operated by third parties under time brokerage agreements. We receive a monthly fee from the third parties for the air time and the third parties receive revenues from their sale of advertising spots. |
| (7) | KJOJ-FM simulcasts the signal of KTJM-FM. We expect to upgrade KJOJ-FMs signal by increasing its antenna height to 1,954 feet from 994 feet. The stations coverage of the Houston market will improve, which will enable us to use the station for other purposes than to simulcast KTJM-FM, if we so choose. An application for approval of the upgrade is pending at the FCC, but there can be no assurance that the FCC approval of the upgrade will be obtained. |
| (8) | KIOX-FM simulcasts the signal of KQQK-FM. We will upgrade KIOX-FMs signal by increasing its antenna height to 1,476 feet from 981 feet, thereby improving our coverage of the Houston market along with its simulcast partner, KQQK-FM. An application for approval of the upgrade has been granted by the FCC. |
| (9) | KXGJ-FM simulcasts the signal of KEYH-AM. We will upgrade KXGJ-FMs signal by increasing its antenna height to 1,476 feet from 981 feet, thereby improving our coverage of the Houston market along with its simulcast partner, KEYH-AM, if we so choose. An application for approval of the upgrade has been granted by the FCC. |
| (10) | We acquired KNOR-FM in July 2004. We are currently broadcasting an English-language hip hop music format on KNOR-FM and as a result, its station audience share does not yet reflect our planned operation of the station. We plan to convert KNOR-FM into one of our Spanish language formats once we have completed construction of a new tower site. |
Television Stations
| Station |
Channel |
Market |
DMA Rank(1) |
Hispanic Market Rank(2) |
Number of Hispanic TV Households | |||||
| KRCA |
62 | Los Angeles | 2 | 1 | 1,718,730 | |||||
| KZJL |
61 | Houston | 11 | 4 | 454,560 | |||||
| KMPX(3) |
29 | Dallas-Fort Worth | 7 | 6 | 388,860 | |||||
| KSDX |
29 | San Diego | 26 | 13 | 215,980 |
Source: Nielsen Media Research, January, 2005
| (1) | Represents rank among U.S. designated market areas by television households. Designated market areas are geographic markets as defined by A.C. Nielsen Company based on historical television viewing patterns and are updated annually. |
| (2) | Represents rank among U.S. Hispanic markets by Hispanic TV households. A ranking of 1, for example, means that Los Angeles has the most Hispanic television households in the United States. |
| (3) | We are currently moving KMPX-TV to the most common broadcast tower site in Dallas, Texas. KMPX-TV will benefit from an increase in its antenna height to 1,785 feet from 525 feet. This relocation has been approved by the FCC and will improve the stations coverage of the Dallas-Fort Worth market. |
Programming
Radio. Our Spanish-language radio stations are targeted to the Spanish-speaking portion of the Hispanic population that is dominant in the local markets in which we operate. We tailor the format of each of our radio stations to reach a specific target demographic in order to maximize our overall listener base without causing direct format competition among our stations. We determine the optimal format for each of our stations based upon
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extensive local market research. To create brand awareness and loyalty in the local community, we seek to enhance our market positions by sending on-air talent to participate in local promotional activities, such as concerts and live special events or promotions at client locations and other street level activities. These types of events also provide attractive promotional and advertising opportunities for our clients. We also promote our radio stations in our television programming airing in these markets.
The following provides a brief description of our Spanish-language radio station formats:
| | KBUE-FM/KBUA-FM/KEBN-FM (Que Buena) plays contemporary, up-tempo, regional Mexican music that includes Norteña, Banda, Corrido and Ranchera music. The target audience for these stations is adult listeners aged 18 to 34. |
| | KHJ-AM (La Ranchera) plays traditional Ranchera, also known as Mariachi music. The target audience for this station is adult listeners aged 25 to 54. |
| | KWIZ-FM (Sonido) plays Cumbia and Mexican Salsa music. The target audience for this station is adult listeners aged 18 to 49. |
| | KTJM-FM/KJOJ-FM (La Raza) plays contemporary, up-tempo, regional Mexican music, similar to the music played on Que Buena, which includes Norteña, Banda, Corrido and Ranchera music. The target audience for these stations is adult listeners aged 18 to 34. |
| | KQUE-AM (Radio Ranchito) plays traditional Ranchera music. The target audience for this station is adult listeners aged 25 to 54. |
| | KQQK-FM/KIOX-FM (XO) plays contemporary, up-tempo, Spanish pop music. The target audience for these stations is adult listeners aged 18 to 34. |
| | KEYH-AM/KXGJ-FM (Sonido) plays Cumbia and Mexican Salsa music. The target audience for these stations is adult listeners aged 18 to 49. |
Our newly acquired Dallas-Fort Worth radio station, KNOR-FM, currently plays an English-language hip hop music format. We plan to convert KNOR-FM into one of our Spanish-language formats once we have completed construction of a new tower site.
Three of our radio stations are operated by third parties under time brokered agreements. Our time brokered stations are a source of stable cash flow given that they are typically operated under long-term contracts with annual price escalators, and we do not incur any of the programming costs associated with these stations. Currently, stations KVNR-AM in the Los Angeles market and KJOJ-AM in the Houston market broadcast Vietnamese-language programming. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, Los Angeles and Houston represent the first- and third-largest Vietnamese markets, respectively, in the United States. KSEV-AM in Houston broadcasts an English-language talk format.
Television. Our programming content consists primarily of internally produced programs such as single topic talk shows, reality dating shows, local news, and musical variety shows, as well as purchased programs including Spanish-language movies. We own or have the rights to a library of more than 3,200 hours of Spanish-language movies, childrens shows and other programming content available for broadcast on our television stations.
We seek to maximize our television groups profitability by broadcasting internally produced Spanish-language programming, marketing commercial time to advertisers and selling infomercial advertising.
Production Facilities
We own Empire Burbank Studios, a fully equipped television production complex next to our corporate offices in Burbank, California. The studio provides us with all of the physical facilities needed to produce our own Spanish-language television programming without the variable expense of renting these services from an outside vendor. We believe this enables us to produce our programming at a very low cost relative to our competitors. Owning our own production facilities also enables us to control the content of the programs we produce on air. During 2004, we produced the following Spanish-language programs at our Burbank facilities:
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| | Noticias 62 En Vivo: two local newscasts airing in Los Angeles and anchored by Emmy Award winner, Jesús Javier, that airs on KRCA-TV every weekday from 12:00 PM to 12:30 PM and from 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM; |
| | Los Angeles En Vivo: a local Los Angeles live entertainment variety show hosted by Marco Valdez that airs on KRCA-TV every weekday from 12:30 PM to 1:00 PM; |
| | Que Buena TV: a music-oriented variety show centered around the music played by our KBUE-FM, KBUA-FM and KEBN-FM (Que Buena) radio stations that airs on KRCA-TV every weekday from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM; |
| | Divorcio USA: a courtroom series featuring a variety of relationship issues that airs on KRCA-TV from 4:30 PM to 5:00 PM, on KSDX-TV every weekday from 8:00 PM to 8:30 PM and 9:00 PM to 9:30 PM, and on KZJL-TV and KMPX-TV every weekday from 3:30 PM to 4:00 PM; |
| | Buscando Amor: a reality-based dating show that airs on KRCA-TV every weekday from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM, on KSDX-TV every weekday from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM, and on KZJL-TV and KMPX-TV every weekday from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM; |
| | José Luis Sin Censura: a fast-paced single topic talk show hosted by well-known Spanish television personality José Luis Gonzáles that airs on KRCA-TV every weekday from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM, on KSDX-TV every weekday from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM and 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM, and on KZJL-TV and KMPX-TV every weekday from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM and 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM; |
| | Segunda Cita: the sequel to Buscando Amor that takes participants on their second date and airs on KRCA-TV every weekday from 8:30 PM to 9:00 PM, on KSDX-TV every weekday from 8:30 PM to 9:00 PM, and on KZJL-TV and KMPX-TV every weekday from 9:30 PM to 10:00 PM; |
| | Gana La Verde: a reality-based program that challenges six participants to various physical activities that airs on KRCA-TV every weekday from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM, and on KSDX-TV, KZJL-TV and KMPX-TV every weekday from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM; and |
| | Secretos: a half-hour undercover investigative program that airs on KRCA-TV every weekday from 4:00 PM to 4:30 PM and 8:00 PM to 8:30 PM, on KSDX-TV every weekday from 8:00 PM to 8:30 PM and 9:00 PM to 9:30 PM, and on KZJL-TV and KMPX-TV every weekday from 3:00 PM to 3:30 PM and 7:00 PM to 7:30 PM. |
In addition, we produce La Raza TV, a music-oriented variety show centered around Norteña music played by our KTJM-FM/KJOJ-FM (La Raza) radio station, in Houston. The show airs on KZJL-TV and KMPX-TV weekdays from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM.
We sell three of our shows, El Show de María Laria, José Luis Sin Censura and Buscando Amor, to independent broadcasters outside of our markets which allows us to recoup a portion of the production costs. We also periodically lease space in Empire Burbank Studios to third parties which offsets a portion of the cost associated with that facility.
We have moved into new studios and production facilities in Houston and Dallas, enabling us to produce local programming. We plan to begin producing additional local programming in the Houston and Dallas markets in 2005.
Sales and Advertising
Most of our net revenues are generated from the sale of local, regional and national advertising for broadcast on our radio and television stations. For the year ended December 31, 2004, approximately 84% of our gross advertising revenues were generated from the sale of local advertising and approximately 16% of our gross
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advertising revenues were generated from the sale of regional and national advertising. Local sales are made by our sales staff located in Los Angeles, Orange County, Houston, and Dallas. National sales are made by our national sales representative, Spanish Media Rep Team, Inc., an affiliate of our two principal stockholders, in exchange for a commission from us that was based on a percentage of our net revenues from the national advertising sold. We intend to consolidate SMRTs operations into our operations within the next year on terms we believe will be on an arms length basis.
We believe that advertisers can reach the Hispanic community more cost effectively through radio and television broadcasting than through printed advertisements. Advertising rates charged by radio and television stations are based primarily on:
| | A stations audience share within the demographic groups targeted by the advertisers; |
| | The number of radio and television stations in the market competing for the same demographic groups; and |
| | The supply and demand for radio and television advertising time. |
A radio or television stations listenership or viewership is reflected in ratings surveys that estimate the number of listeners or viewers tuned to the station. Each stations ratings are used by its advertisers to consider advertising with the radio or television station and are used by us to, among other things, chart audience growth, set advertising rates and adjust programming.
Competition
Radio and television broadcasting are highly competitive businesses. The financial success of each of our radio and television stations depends in large part on our ability to increase our market share of the available advertising revenue, the economic health of the market and our audience ratings. In addition, our advertising revenue depends upon the desire of advertisers to reach our audience demographic.
Our Spanish-language radio stations compete against other Spanish-language radio stations in their markets for audiences and advertising revenue. In Los Angeles, our radio stations compete primarily against Univision Radio (formerly Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation), Spanish Broadcasting Systems, Inc. and Entravision Communications Corporation, three of the largest Hispanic group radio station operators in the United States. In Houston, our radio stations compete primarily against Univision Radio.
Our television stations primarily compete against Univision Communications, Inc. and Telemundo Communications Group, Inc. for audiences and advertising revenue in the Los Angeles, San Diego, Houston, and Dallas-Fort Worth markets.
On September 22, 2003, two of our competitors, Univision Communications, Inc. and Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation, merged with each other. The combined company has resources substantially greater than ours and is our first competitor to operate both radio and television stations in the Los Angeles, Houston, and Dallas-Fort Worth markets.
Employees
As of December 31, 2004, we had approximately 516 employees, of which approximately 363 were full-time employees. We had approximately 184 full-time employees in television and approximately 179 full-time employees in radio. None of our employees are represented by labor unions, and we have not entered into any collective bargaining agreements. We believe that our relations with our employees are good.
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REGULATION OF TELEVISION AND RADIO BROADCASTING
General
The FCC regulates television and radio broadcast stations pursuant to the Communications Act of 1934, as amended. Among other things, the FCC:
| | determines the particular frequencies, locations and operating power of stations; |
| | issues, renews, revokes and modifies station licenses; |
| | regulates equipment used by stations; and |
| | adopts and implements regulations and policies that directly or indirectly affect the ownership, changes in ownership, control, operation and employment practices of stations. |
A licensees failure to observe the requirements of the Communications Act or FCC rules and policies may result in the imposition of various sanctions, including admonishment, fines, the grant of renewal terms of less than eight years, the grant of a license with conditions or, in the case of particularly egregious violations, the denial of a license renewal application, the revocation of an FCC license or the denial of FCC consent to acquire additional broadcast properties.
Congress and the FCC have had under consideration or reconsideration, and may in the future consider and adopt, new laws, regulations and policies regarding a wide variety of matters that could, directly or indirectly, affect the operation, ownership and profitability of our television and radio stations, result in the loss of audience share and advertising revenue for our television and radio broadcast stations or affect our ability to acquire additional television and radio broadcast stations or finance such acquisitions. These matters may include:
| | changes to the license authorization and renewal process; |
| | proposals to impose spectrum use or other fees on FCC licensees; |
| | changes to the FCCs equal employment opportunity regulations and other matters relating to involvement of minorities and women in the broadcasting industry; |
| | proposals to change rules relating to political broadcasting including proposals to grant free air time to candidates; |
| | changes regarding enforcement of the FCCs rules on broadcasting indecent or obscene material, including increases in fines and changes in procedures for revocation of licenses; |
| | proposals to require broadcasters to air certain types and quantities of local programming; |
| | proposals to ban the broadcast of violent material; |
| | new, expanded obligations regarding childrens television programming on digital television channels; |
| | proposals to adopt new public interest obligations on television broadcasters during and after the transition to digital television; |
| | proposals to restrict or prohibit the advertising of beer, wine and other alcoholic beverages; |
| | changes in broadcast multiple ownership, foreign ownership, cross-ownership and ownership attribution policies; and |
| | proposals to alter provisions of the tax laws affecting broadcast operations and acquisitions. |
We cannot predict what changes, if any, might be adopted, nor can we predict what other matters might be considered in the future, nor can we judge in advance what impact, if any, the implementation of any particular proposal or change might have on our business.
9
FCC Licenses
Television and radio stations operate pursuant to licenses that are granted by the FCC for a term of eight years, subject to renewal upon application to the FCC. During the periods when renewal applications are pending, petitions to deny license renewal applications may be filed by interested parties, including members of the public. The FCC may hold hearings on renewal applications if it is unable to determine that renewal of a license would serve the public interest, convenience and necessity, or if a petition to deny raises a substantial and material question of fact as to whether the grant of the renewal applications would be inconsistent with the public interest, convenience and necessity. However, the FCC is prohibited from considering competing applications for a renewal applicants frequency, and is required to grant the renewal application if it finds:
| | that the station has served the public interest, convenience and necessity; |
| | that there have been no serious violations by the licensee of the Communications Act or the rules and regulations of the FCC; and |
| | that there have been no other violations by the licensee of the Communications Act or the rules and regulations of the FCC that, when taken together, would constitute a pattern of abuse. |
If as a result of an evidentiary hearing, the FCC determines that the licensee has failed to meet the requirements for renewal and that no mitigating factors j