Bill Horton, general counsel of Luken Communications, LLC, a Chattanooga-based television network provider, said the company will successfully emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy by the end of October. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Chattanooga entered an order today "confirming the company’s plan to resolve all disputed claims and pay in full all legitimate vendor bills and allowable claims."
Attorney Horton said, "During the past 15 months, Luken’s team has streamlined its business and experienced growth in many levels of the company. Luken has added affiliate stations, greatly improved its signal quality, added new delivery methods, bolstered its networks’ programming and improved relationships with vendors."
David Leach, president and CEO of Luken Communications, said, “We have been very fortunate to have vendors and affiliates that have stuck by us while we resolved what Luken viewed as an unjust verdict. We appreciate the support of our affiliates, vendors and employees during this difficult time and look forward to continuing exceptional growth.”
Luken Communications offers diverse, family-friendly programming with its collection of networks reaching approximately 80 percent of all U.S. households via a blend of over-the-air, cable and satellite television. The current network offerings include Retro TV, The Heartland Network, The Family Channel, TUFF TV, PBJ and Frost Great Outdoors (FGO). Luken Communications’ flagship Retro TV was one of the first digital broadcast networks launched in 2005.
The bankruptcy petition was filed in June 2013 a few days after a federal jury in Arkansas returned a $47.4 million verdict against CEO Henry Luken for "fraudulent transfer."
Mr. Luken was the former CEO of Equity Media Holdings Corp., and he bought its Retro Television Network for $18.5 million. Bankruptcy Trustee Randy Rice said Equity Media was valued at $115.8 million just seven months prior to the Luken transfer.
The bankruptcy settlement says a $2 million payment will be made to settle the Rice claim.