LocusPoint Networks
{{more citations needed|date=April 2014}}
{{Infobox company
| name = LocusPoint Networks LLC
| logo =
| type = Private
| genre =
| foundation = 2012
| defunct = 2019
| fate =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| founder =
| location_city =
| location_country = United States
| location = Pleasanton, California
| locations =
| area_served =
| key_people = Ravi Patharlanka, President
| industry = Broadcast television
| products =
| services =
| market cap =
| revenue =
| operating_income =
| net_income =
| assets =
| equity =
| owner = Blackstone Group (99%)
| num_employees =
| parent =
| divisions =
| subsid =
| homepage = [http://www.locuspointnetworks.com locuspointnetworks.com]
| footnotes =
| intl =
}}
LocusPoint Networks LLC was an owner of television stations in the United States. The company is 99% owned by The Blackstone Group. After selling off most of their in 2017 and 2018 in the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) spectrum auction and to other broadcasters, they owned one remaining station, WLEP-LD in Erie, Pennsylvania, whose license they turned in to the FCC effective February 12, 2019.
One of the company's acquisitions, WMGM-TV, was rumored to have been purchased only to be sold in a spectrum auction in 2015.[http://www.mediabistro.com/tvspy/viewers-voice-fear-south-new-jersey-nbc-station-being-sold-for-its-spectrum_b108820 Viewers Voice Fear South Jersey NBC Station being sold for its Spectrum] When the FCC auction finally occurred LocusPoint failed to successfully win a bid to sell the station's spectrum to the FCC. On June 26, 2017, LocusPoint Networks agreed to sell WMGM-TV to Univision Communications, through its Univision Local Media subsidiary, for $6 million.{{cite web|title=APPLICATION FOR CONSENT TO ASSIGNMENT OF BROADCAST STATION CONSTRUCTION PERMIT OR LICENSE|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1759903&Service=DT&Form_id=314&Facility_id=61111|website=CDBS Public Access|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|accessdate=July 7, 2017|date=July 6, 2017}} The deal will make WMGM-TV a sister station to WUVP-DT and WFPA-CD.
On April 12, 2017, LocusPoint Networks, hired by the San Mateo Community College District to sell KCSM-TV in the spectrum auction, claimed fiscal mismanagement by school officials and administrators to fulfill their basic duties to facilitate the sale properly. The station was to be sold in the auction due to the college's $1 million annual losses. In turn, the District counter-sued LocusPoint and its partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers, for failure to enter KCSM-TV into the FCC auction.{{cite news|title=Failed KCSM-TV sale forces lawsuits: College district and contractor point fingers over who dropped the ball on auction|url=http://www.smdailyjournal.com/articles/lnews/2017-04-12/failed-kcsm-tv-sale-forces-lawsuits-college-district-and-contractor-point-fingers-over-who-dropped-the-ball-on-auction/1776425178673.html|accessdate=April 21, 2017|work=San Mateo Daily Journal|date=April 12, 2017|language=en}} In September 2017 the San Mateo Community College District reached a deal to sell KCSM-TV to the Northern California Public Media owned KRCB.{{cite web|title=Who will pay for KCSM in the end?|url=http://aft1493.org/october-2017-advocate-who-will-pay-for-kcsm-in-the-end/
|website=The American Federation of Teachers, Local 1493|publisher=American Federation of Teachers|accessdate=March 15, 2021|date=October 2017}} On October 24, 2017, LocusPoint filed an injunction to stop the sale, citing violations of provisions in the original contract governing sale rights should the auction not go forward, while the San Mateo Community College District maintained that LocusPoint's role in the failed auction voided the entirety of the contract.{{cite web|title=SPECTRUM SPECULATOR LOCUSPOINT FILES INJUNCTION TO STOP SALE OF KCSM-TV|url=https://media-alliance.org/2017/11/spectrum-speculator-locuspoint-files-injunction-to-stop-sale-of-kcsm-tv/|website=Media Alliance|publisher=Media Alliance|accessdate=March 15, 2021|date=November 10, 2017}} The lawsuits were settled in 2019, with the district receiving $5.5 million from PricewaterhouseCoopers and $4.5 million from LocusPoint, and KCSM-TV was sold to KRCB for an additional $12 million. The district did not have to pay anything to either PricewaterhouseCoopers or LocusPoint.{{cite news|title=College district gets a $10 million settlement in $140 million KCSM-TV sale fiasco|url=https://padailypost.com/2019/03/19/college-district-gets-a-10-million-settlement-in-140-million-kcsm-tv-sale-fiasco/|accessdate=March 15, 2021|work=Palo Alto Daily Post|date=March 19, 2019|language=en}}
On April 13, 2017, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that LocusPoint's WLPH-CD and WQVC-CD were successful bidders in the spectrum auction. WLPH-CD, which had already been silent since LocusPoint acquired it in 2014, would be surrendering its license in exchange for $3,994,492 and WQVC-CD would be surrendering its license in exchange for $11,196,327.[https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-17-314A2.pdf FCC Broadcast Television Spectrum Incentive Auction — Auction 1001 Winning Bids] LocusPoint surrendered the licenses for both stations to the FCC for cancellation on August 8, 2017.
Former stations
- Stations are arranged in alphabetical order by state and city of license.
class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Stations owned by LocusPoint Networks ! scope="col" | Media market ! scope="col" | State ! scope="col" | Station ! scope="col" | Purchased ! scope="col" | Sold ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes | ||
San Francisco
! KCNZ-CD | 2012 | 2017 | |
Miami
| rowspan="2" | Florida ! WLPH-CD | 2014 | 2017 | {{Efn|Ceased operations on this date.|name=Dark}} |
Orlando
! WRCF-CD | 2013 | 2017 | |
Plano
| Illinois ! WLPD-CD | 2013 | 2018 | |
Towson
| Maryland ! WMJF-CD | 2013 | 2018 | |
rowspan="2" | Detroit
| rowspan="2" | Michigan ! WHPS-CD | 2014 | 2018 | |
WDWO-CD | ||
---|---|---|
Atlantic City
| rowspan="2" | New Jersey ! WMGM-TV | 2014 | 2017 | |
Edison
! WDVB-CD | 2013 | 2018 | |
Buffalo
| New York ! WBNF-CD | 1 | 2016 | |
Erie
| rowspan="2" | Pennsylvania ! WLEP-LD | 2015 | 2019 | {{Efn|Ceased operations on this date.|name=Dark}} |
Greensburg
! WQVC-CD | 2015 | 2017 | {{Efn|Ceased operations on this date.|name=Dark}} |
Milwaukee
! WMKE-CD | 2014 | 2018 |
{{notelist}}
- 1Translator of TCT owned-and-operated station WNYB, Sold to HME Equity Fund II on February 19, 2016.