Azteca Branches Out

Starting July 1, Hispanic network Azteca America will be seen on KSTV Sacramento and KBWB San Francisco. Radio company Bustos Media bought the Sacramento station from Cocola Broadcasting for $1.4 million, while in San Francisco, Azteca has worked out an agreement with Granite Broadcasting to run its programming as a digital multicast.

"This is part of our commitment to viewers and advertisers alike to guarantee continuity in San Francisco, the eighth largest Hispanic market in the country," said Azteca America chairman Luis J. Echarte.

Azteca airs telenovelas, news, reality and Mexican soccer, among other fare. Azteca CEO Adrian Steckel called the deals "an important piece of our national footprint."

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.