Multicultural Broadcasting

Multicultural Broadcasting began in 1982 under the name Multicultural Radio Broadcasting Inc. The company was founded by Arthur Liu, a Chinese-American businessman, and entered the U.S. radio broadcasting industry with a focus on serving multilingual and ethnic audiences. Its business model centered on owning or operating radio stations in large metropolitan markets where immigrant communities created demand for programming in languages other than English and for culturally specific news, entertainment, religious, and community content. Over time, the company assembled a broad radio portfolio. Documented stations were located in California, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington. The markets included New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, San Jose, Miami, Philadelphia, Dallas–Fort Worth, Houston, and Seattle. Several stations served Asian American communities, and the company became identified with Asian American ownership in U.S. broadcasting. Reference material describes it as the largest Asian American-owned media group in the United States, though the current validity of that description cannot be confirmed from the available sources. The company attracted national attention in 2004 through a dispute with Air America Radio shortly after that network launched. Air America programming was removed from Multicultural stations in Chicago and Santa Monica/Los Angeles following disagreements about contracts, airtime sales, and payment. Air America alleged that Multicultural had sold Los Angeles airtime to both Air America and another party. Multicultural responded that Air America had bounced a check and owed the company more than $1 million. Air America brought a breach-of-contract action in New York Supreme Court and briefly obtained an injunction affecting carriage on WNTD in Chicago. The dispute was settled in April 2004, with April 30 reported as Air America's final broadcast date on WNTD. The court subsequently determined that the injunction had been improvidently entered, dismissed Air America's complaint, and awarded Multicultural more than $250,000 in damages and legal fees. Multicultural later claimed in another lawsuit that Air America had not paid the sums ordered. Multicultural expanded into television in the middle of the decade. On September 26, 2006, it agreed to acquire five Scripps broadcast stations associated with Shop at Home or Jewelry Television for $170 million. The properties were KCNS in San Francisco, WOAC in Canton, Ohio, WRAY-TV in the Raleigh–Durham market, WMFP in Boston, and WSAH in Bridgeport, Connecticut. KCNS, WOAC, and WRAY-TV changed ownership in December 2006, with the remaining transactions following. The stations had adopted or were moving toward 24-hour infomercial operations. KHIZ, later renamed KILM, was also added to the group after Federal Communications Commission approval, although it retained a SonLife Broadcasting Network affiliation. The expansion placed substantial financial strain on the company. In November 2008, Multicultural defaulted on $135 million in loans and entered a trust under Lee W. Shubert. The stated purpose of the arrangement was to sell assets and satisfy creditors. The television assets were progressively sold: WOAC went to Tri-State Christian Television through Radiant Life Ministries in June 2009; WRAY-TV was sold in October 2009; and KCNS, WMFP, and WSAH were sold to NRJ TV in January 2011. KILM remained associated with the group until Ion Media acquired it in 2018 and converted it into an Ion Life affiliate. In 2012, Liu sold the company's former headquarters at 449 Broadway in New York City. The company's executive offices and studios moved to 40 Exchange Place in the Financial District. The available documentation does not identify a current station portfolio, owner, chief executive, or operating status. The historical record therefore supports describing Multicultural Broadcasting as a significant former U.S. ethnic-broadcasting group, while leaving its present corporate status unresolved.

• 2018

  KILM leaves the group

  [1]Multicultural Broadcastingen.wikipedia.org

  Ion Media acquired KILM, identified as the last remaining television station in the Multicultural group, and converted it to an Ion Life affiliate.

• 2012

  New York headquarters relocated

  [1]Multicultural Broadcastingen.wikipedia.org

  Arthur Liu sold the former headquarters at 449 Broadway, and the company's executive offices and studios moved to 40 Exchange Place.

• 2008

  Loan defaults and trust restructuring

  [1]Multicultural Broadcastingen.wikipedia.org

  The company defaulted on $135 million in loans and entered a trust arrangement intended to facilitate asset sales and creditor repayment.

• 2006

  Television expansion announced

  [1]Multicultural Broadcastingen.wikipedia.org

  Multicultural agreed to acquire five Scripps broadcast stations for $170 million, expanding from radio into television ownership.

• 2004

  Air America carriage and contract dispute

  [1]Multicultural Broadcastingen.wikipedia.org

  A dispute over station carriage, airtime sales, and payments escalated into litigation in New York and ended with the court dismissing Air America's complaint and awarding damages and attorneys' fees to Multicultural.

• 1982

  Company founded as Multicultural Radio Broadcasting Inc.

  [1]Multicultural Broadcastingen.wikipedia.org

  Arthur Liu founded the company to operate in the United States radio broadcasting industry, with an emphasis on multilingual and ethnic audiences.

A U.S. ethnic-media and broadcast-station group focused on multilingual radio and service to immigrant and multicultural audiences, particularly Asian American communities.

• Radio broadcasting · 1982

  Multilingual ethnic radio stations

  The company's core offering was a portfolio of terrestrial radio stations serving immigrant and multicultural communities in major U.S. metropolitan areas. Stations operated under individual call signs and could carry locally produced or syndicated programming in multiple languages. Asian American audiences were an especially important part of the company's historical positioning.

• Television broadcasting · 2006

  Owned broadcast television stations

  During the 2000s, Multicultural owned a group of commercial television stations, including KCNS, WOAC, WRAY-TV, WMFP, WSAH, and later KILM. The portfolio included stations associated with infomercial, shopping, and network-affiliate programming, but the television assets were sold or transferred after the company's 2008 financial difficulties.

• 2004

  Air America Radio contract dispute

  Shortly after Air America Radio launched, its programming was removed from Multicultural stations in Chicago and the Los Angeles area amid disagreements over carriage contracts, airtime sales, and payment. Air America sued, but the New York Supreme Court ultimately dismissed the complaint and awarded Multicultural more than $250,000 in damages and attorneys' fees.

  Source

Read more

• 2012

  Relocate headquarters and studiosStrategy

  Background

  Following the sale of the company's former property at 449 Broadway, Multicultural changed its New York office location.

  Action taken

  Executive offices and studios were moved to 40 Exchange Place in Manhattan's Financial District.

  Aftermath

  The available references do not provide later details about the company's office footprint or operating activities.

  Source

• 2008

  Enter trust arrangement and sell assetsStrategy

  Background

  The company defaulted on $135 million in loans after its television expansion and broader broadcasting operations came under financial pressure.

  Action taken

  Multicultural's assets were placed under a trust administered by Lee W. Shubert for sale and creditor repayment.

  Aftermath

  The television portfolio was progressively dismantled, with stations sold to Tri-State Christian Television, other buyers, NRJ TV, and eventually Ion Media in the case of KILM.

  Loan defaults. $135 million in defaults (2008)

  Source

• 2006

  Acquire five Scripps television stationsM&A

  Background

  Multicultural sought to broaden its ethnic-radio business into television ownership and agreed to purchase five Shop at Home or Jewelry Television-affiliated broadcast stations from The E. W. Scripps Company.

  Action taken

  The company agreed to pay $170 million for KCNS, WOAC, WRAY-TV, WMFP, and WSAH, with the transactions closing in stages.

  Aftermath

  The television expansion was followed by loan defaults and a trust restructuring in 2008. Most of the acquired stations were sold between 2009 and 2011.

  Acquisition price. $170 million (2006 announced acquisition)

  Source

1. 1Multicultural Broadcastingen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Multicultural Broadcasting official websitemrbi.net