Azteca America Inks New Agreement with Pappas

LOS ANGELES, January 18: Azteca America has inked a new
five-year agreement with Pappas Telecasting, keeping the U.S. Hispanic
broadcaster’s content on the Los Angeles flagship station KAZA-TV Channel 54
until December 2012.

In April 2007, Pappas Telecasting, the largest
privately-held commercial television broadcast group in the U.S., said it was
ending its affiliation agreement with Azteca America for several stations,
noting that the Spanish-language content had not delivered significant enough
ratings gains to warrant continuing the alliance. At the time, Pappas carried
Azteca America on KAZH-TV (Houston), KTNC-TV (San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose
and Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto), KAZR-CA (Reno), KAZO-LP (Omaha) and KAZJ-LP/KAZS-LP
(Sioux City, Iowa). As of June 30, 2007, Azteca America programming ceased
airing on these stations. KAZA-TV was not included in the termination. Azteca
America’s flagship station was operated under a Local Marketing Agreement (LMA)
that was set to expire June 30, 2008.

Under the new contract, the US$129 million payable by Pappas
Telecasting to Azteca America has been adjusted and extended. The station is
full power and covers the entire Los Angeles television market, including Los
Angeles and Orange counties. As part of the FCC mandate to convert from analog
to digital by 2009, Pappas and Azteca America have included in this new
agreement an option that allows for TuVision, the channel owned and distributed
by Pappas, to be broadcast on one of KAZA-DT’s secondary digital channels
alongside Azteca America’s primary channel as part of a digital package.

“The agreement ensures a long-term presence in the nation’s
largest and most important U.S. Hispanic market at favorable conditions,” said
Adrian Steckel, the president and CEO of Azteca America. “It consolidates our
solid market positioning, and allows to continue adding increased value for the
network, and steadily raise overall profitability.”

In related news, Azteca America has expanded into its 62nd
market, Eugene, Oregon, in an alliance with Churchill Media. Over-the-air
coverage is effective immediately on KXOR, channel 36. Churchill expects the
channel to soon be available on Comcast. This is the second Azteca America
affiliate for Churchill Media, following a deal to carry the Spanish-language
broadcaster’s content on KXPD channel 52 in Portland last year.

—By Mansha Daswani