It was originally the home of The Box, a 24/7 music video channel. Craig Fox then sold the property to the former Paxson Communications, and in August 2007 was acquired by Miami-headquartered Caribevision Station Group.
Since then, this low-power TV station has been home to the now-defunct MundoFOX and MundoMax networks, and today is home for America TeVe programming supplied by South Florida-based stations.
That will soon change, as Caribevision has sold WPXO-LD.
WPXO, which uses digital channel 4 and has a PSIP of Channel 34, is being acquired by SagamoreHill, the licensee led by Matthew Davidge.
Caribevision is selling the station as it seeks to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and currently maintains debtor-in-possession status with the FCC.
SagamoreHill is paying $405,000 for the East Orange, N.J.-licensed facility, with a $40,000 deposit being held by Shainis & Peltzman. At closing, $176,000 will be paid. Six months after closing, $189,000 will be paid by SagamoreHill.
Shainis & Peltzman is serving as the buyer’s legal counsel. Representing the seller is Francisco Montero of Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth.
WPXO has a highly directional signal pattern designed to place a broadcast signal over the New York metropolitan area, stretching to the Tappan Zee Bridge in the north to Elizabeth, N.J. to the south. Its western signal is highly directional and can be seen in Morristown but not Mahwah, N.J., and WPXO’s eastern signal extends to the middle of Long Island.
Davidge considers himself a “media entrepreneur,” and in February 2016 acquired the Little Rock-based media communications center previously owned by Soul of the South Network that serves as the home for Media Gateway, which he co-owns. Media Gateway is an outsourced master control and news-reading company.
Based at the Arkansas facilities is “Frixxer,” founded in September 2015 as “a network of short-form (under :30) microvideo content for the channel-hopping TV audience.”
Davidge has also been a digital strategy consultant to MTV Networks, and owned in-hospital TV networks housed under The Wellness Network through the end of 2015. He’s also been associated with Roseland Broadcasting.