Friday, Latino Media Network (LMN) announced its formation. Founded by social entrepreneurs Stephanie Valencia and Jess Morales Rocketto and backed by several Latino luminaries, they also announced their first major deal with Univision to acquire a set of radio assets to reach nearly a third of the US Latino population.
In one of the largest capital raises of a Latina owned & operated startup in the U.S with over $80m in capital raised from a diverse set of investors, Latino Media Network will be a media company serving the Latino community, owned by Latinos for Latinos. Its mission is to help Latinos make sense of the world and their place in it by inspiring, informing and celebrating Hispanics through an audio focused multimedia network. The network will embrace cultural pride by telling Latino stories, addressing community concerns and talking about opportunities for a better future.
To coincide with its launch, LMN also announced that they have signed a definitive agreement with TelevisaUnivision to purchase 18 radio stations in 10 cities from coast to coast in a $60 million all cash deal. This deal is one of the largest single acquisitions of stations by a Latino owned and operated company in history.
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| George Soros |
“As Latinos drive population growth in the United States they continue to navigate the ocean of information on what is happening in the world and their place in it. With minority media on the decline, now is the time to be investing in more resources to create content for Latinos by Latinos. Through the unique combination of creative content and new and existing media platforms to serve our community, we can embrace cultural pride and collectively empower Latinos,” said LMN Founder Stephanie Valencia. “I want to thank TelevisaUnivision for the great work they have done building these stations in Latino communities and entrusting us to grow them moving forward.”
“Our company, and these stations, are for our community,” said LMN Founder Jess Morales Rocketto. “We believe in the power and reach of radio and it remains a main source of media for a significant number of our community. We hope to create relevant content for radio and other audio platforms with content that our community can trust and rely on. Latino Media Network is going to ensure that the Latino community continues to be served with the news and information that local communities deserve.”
The 18 stations in the deal are a combined set of AM and FM stations in the largest US markets, and 8 of the top 10 Latino markets, reaching 33% of U.S. Latinos: LA, NYC, Miami, Houston, Chicago, Dallas, San Antonio, McAllen, Fresno, and Las Vegas. These stations primarily consist of sports, entertainment and music programming.
The 18 stations in the deal are a combined set of AM and FM stations in the largest US markets, and 8 of the top 10 Latino markets, reaching 33% of U.S. Latinos. The stations included are:
- New York - WADO-AM 1280
- Los Angeles - KTNQ-AM 1020
- Chicago - WRTO-AM 1200
- Dallas - KFLC-AM 1270; KFZO-FM 99.1
- Houston - KLAT-AM 1010
- Miami - WAQI-AM 710; WQBA-AM 1140
- Fresno - KOND-FM 107.5; KRDA-FM 92.1; KLLE-FM 107.9
- Las Vegas - KLSQ-AM 870; KISF-FM 103.5; KRGT-FM 99.3
- San Antonio - KXTN-AM 1350
- McAllen - KGBT-AM 1530; KGBT-FM 98.5; KBTQ-FM 96.1
Transition of the stations will happen following FCC approval and a one year transition agreement between TelevisaUnivision and Latino Media Network, which is expected to conclude in Q4 of 2023. LMN is in the process of recruiting outstanding talent and will make an announcement about the senior management team later this year. LMN intends to retain current TelevisaUnivision employees who work at the stations included in this acquisition.
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