LATV Launch
In mid-2006, Adam Ware reached out to me and asked me to meet him at the local TV station KJLA in West Los Angeles. He had been approached by Walter Ulloa to develop a launch plan for a digital-tier broadcast network. The 24/7 network would be built around the block of original programming that aired on the station, called LATV. Adam needed production, operations, engineering, and budgeting expertise to help build out the launch model. We had previously worked together at USA Broadcasting, where Adam was the Executive Vice President. The challenge here was how to build out the network operation based on very low revenue projections. The channel would air on digital sub-channels, which were unfamiliar to most people at the time. For instance, finding “57.4” was a challenge. Back then, this was a real issue. We spent two months developing financial models, exploring options from outsourcing everything except programming to building everything from scratch.
During the gap between presentation and commitment, Adam took another job. I agreed to a contract as Co-President and COO. Now the real challenge began. The decision had been made to build LATV as a separate business and operation alongside the TV station. The other Co-President would handle Sales, Marketing, Programming, Traffic, and Scheduling, while I would oversee Production, Operations, Engineering, Business, Legal, and Accounting. We shared distribution responsibilities.
Oh, and by the way, the network was to be bilingual, in both Spanish and English. I didn’t speak Spanish and was not Latino.
With the network’s target audience being second-generation Latinos, I wanted to staff up accordingly. Instead of bringing in my old team, it was time to search for new talent who understood the network’s goals. I was able to fill three of the top positions with young bilingual talent. Starting with Business Affairs and Legal, we hired Gisselle Mencia, who, besides brilliantly handling talent and distribution deals, she created a comprehensive list of Spanish words we would not allow on the air. Jennifer Ibarra led production, ensuring that we gave young Latinos their first opportunities in television. Jasmine Mejia joined as my administrative assistant, managing office operations and acting as a translator when needed.
At the time, finding a qualified head of engineering and technical operations with network startup experience was challenging. This was especially tricky because I wanted to push the boundaries with the latest “Master Control in a Box” software system. I was introduced to Patrick Osterman, who came onboard and was willing to take on the challenge. This was my initial team for the launch.
We had less than six months to launch the network. Fortunately, some factors worked in our favor. The network and production operations would originate from inside the KJLA TV station facility. Though we would operate independently, we had access to fully built-out production studios. The network’s technical infrastructure would be set up in a retired audio sweetening room, which we gutted and reconfigured. We would feed through the station’s existing uplink, reducing startup time. The existing station offices were full, so we had to secure and set up office space in a nearby rental location within walking distance of the station.
The existing programming provided a base amount of content, so the initial launch only required developing and producing three or four original productions. When I say “only,” it required development, casting, staffing, rehearsing, etc. We also had to establish an on-air promotions group and create and approve the brand identity and network elements.
Our biggest challenge was building master control. We used an advanced system built by Miranda (a Canadian company), but unfortunately, it had a few bugs. Even an urgent visit from me to the CEO of Miranda couldn’t get the system fully operational in time for launch. They continued patching it, but we still experienced failures. Two days before launch, Patrick loaded all the programming onto hard drives. We enlisted Jasmine to take a red-eye flight to Atlanta, where Encompass would put us on the air from their multi-channel distribution room. They managed to get us up and running, giving us some breathing room. We then ran the systems side-by-side until Patrick determined it was safe to bring control back in-house.
When I said this was an interesting launch, it truly was. Technical glitches are normal in startups, but I was also going out with our head of distribution, Starrett Barry, to help close deals with station groups and individual stations. Meanwhile, the network’s ownership purchased American Latino Television, adding their shows to our content library and launching us into the syndication business overnight. They produced two successful half-hour shows under Robert Rose’s expert leadership: American Latino and Latination.
The acquisition of the syndication company added an office in New York and a staff that needed to be integrated—all while handling ongoing technical issues, which led to some very challenging nights. To Starrett’s credit, we closed a deal with the Tribune company in Chicago for carriage on several of their stations, securing a substantial footprint at launch.
In early 2009 I found myself representing LATV (a Hispanic owned bilingual channel) on a panel at NATPE. I was discussing opportunities for Hispanics in television while not being Hispanic. It was a clear sign to me that as my contract neared its end it was time for the channel to have Hispanic leadership, the launch phase was complete.
The lesson learned on this launch was to be a little less aggressive with new technology when up against a fixed time frame. Had we started with the outsourcing option and rolled into our own infrastructure when it was up, running and stable, we would have had a lot less headaches.BEOND.TV