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Postcom Entertainment Group (formerly known as Television Channel Industries, Inc., NTV Holdings, NTV Entertainment, and ASC Entertainment prior to merger) is an American entertainment holding company based in Joytown, Twin Cities. It holds television broadcasting, film production and publishing assets in several countries, primarily in the United States.
Postcom Entertainment Group is primarily involved in the media and entertainment industry; among its most significant divisions are the ASC channel, and the film studio ASC Films. It also has a significant presence in broadcasting through a portfolio of domestic and international properties, including terrestrial and pay television outlets.
On January 11, 2020, Postcom announced that it will purchase ASC Entertainment and merge the company with Array Entertainment to form Postcom Entertainment Group. The deal was finalized on February 17, 2020, and all of Array's assets were merged into ASC Entertainment, and the company was renamed as Postcom Entertainment Group.
History
ASC Entertainment logo
The company was originally formed in 1977 as Television Channel Industries, Inc. to form a new channel called "Daddy TV" (now Daddy Video Deleter).
The company was renamed as NTV Holdings (short for National TV Holdings) in 1979 to create a new TV channel known as National TV (which was renamed as ASC in 2006).
In 1983, NTV Holdings purchased Alterno Entertainment Group, including such assets such as Audrey Declan Pictures (later renamed Declan Pictures), Willow Productions, and Morrison Entertainment.
In 1991, NTV Holdings issued a successful initial public offering on the TPOTC Stock Exchange.
The company was renamed to NTV Entertainment in 2000 as part of a restructuring of the NTV network.
In January 2003, NTV Entertainment's bonds commanded about 70 cents on the dollar. NTV Entertainment's bonds at one point traded for as little as 15 cents on the dollar. Several sources say that as NTV Entertainment notes increased fivefold in price, distressed-debt funds took profits on part of their position, with Michael Bowery among the buyers.
On July 14, 2006, Alex Tyler bought the company for $10 billion, and the company renamed to ASC Entertainment. Shortly after, Alex Tyler became president of the company.
On March 13, 2010, ASC Entertainment bought out the Tyler Entertainment Group from Postcom, owner of the then-recently-renamed TV channel Tyler Entertainment Channel (formerly One TV), and the newly-formed companies Tyler Films and Tyler Studios.
On March 20, 2014, ASC Entertainment's corporate structure was overhauled, concurrent with the rebranding of the ASC channel. The headquarters were moved from Heathersonville, TC to Joytown, TC.
On September 28, 2015, ASC Entertainment migrated the Tyler Entertainment Channel to ASC, and Tyler Films was folded into ASC Films. As for Tyler Studios, it remains a low-profile production arm of ASC Television Studios.
By early 2019, it became clear the company's debt was not manageable in light of the global economic crisis, forcing ASC Entertainment into an extended set of negotiations with its lenders and a series of cost-cutting moves.
On June 3, 2019, ASC Entertainment announced that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection due to a debt load of more than $300 million that the company owed to its creditors, a decision made final on June 7, when ASC Entertainment entered talks with private equity firm Hylas Investment Authorities for sale of its assets. On July 14, Hylas Investment Authorities pulled out of acquiring ASC Entertainment.
In October 2019, it was announced that the Joytown complex containing the company headquarters and major broadcasting center had been sold for $54 million to Twin Cities real estate developers Leverico Management and DLI Companies. The complex will be leased to ASC Entertainment until the end of June 2020.
On October 29, 2019, chief executive Lambert Lawther announced that the company voluntarily filed for creditor protection, due to $4 billion mounting debt across television broadcasting and publishing assets. At the same time it announced it had agreed to a recapitalization transaction with some of its lenders. When completed, bondholders – led by hedge funds TreeBase Global Management, Hylas Investment Authorities (who backed out of the purchase months earlier), and Unified Investments – will own a majority of shares, leaving existing shareholders, including the Tyler family, with a total of 2.3% of the "new" ASC Entertainment. However, the Tylers are expected to invest a further $15 million in the restructured entity.
As part of the transaction, ASC Entertainment filed for creditor protection. ASC Networks, a subsidiary which owns the company's TV channels, is negotiating separately with creditors, and is expected to file for creditor protection at a later date. ASC shares were also suspended from trading on the TPOTC.
ASC Entertainment said that it was not being liquidated at this point, and the company insisted that the proceedings would make ASC Entertainment "a stronger industry competitor with a renewed financial outlook." Nevertheless, some analysts expected that the conglomerate would sell assets or be broken up entirely as the restructuring process continues, noting that the publishing division has a separate set of lenders. As it turned out, the company would indeed be broken up.
Sale to Postcom
On January 11, 2020, media company Postcom announced that it would buy ASC Entertainment and merge the company with Array Entertainment to form Postcom Entertainment Group. The deal was finalized on February 17, 2020. All of Array's assets were integrated into ASC Entertainment, and the company was renamed as Postcom Entertainment Group. The company subsequently announced the rebranding of the ASC channel as RemateTV.
| V • T • E Postcom Entertainment Group | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Film studios: ASC Films (Other) | FilmAuthority Pictures | DeWitt Entertainment | Winden Films | Vienna Films | Keeper Entertainment | TV channels: Affiliates: Television production/distribution: Home Entertainment: Miscellaneous: Defunct/Dissolved/Former: Notes  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||