What Cordillera Communications does

Cordillera Communications is a family-owned operator of broadcast television stations and digital media properties, founded in 1986 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Evening Post Industries, a diversified, family-controlled conglomerate headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina. The company owned and operated 16 television stations across 11 geographically diverse small- and medium-sized U.S. markets in Montana, Colorado, Kentucky, Texas, Arizona, Louisiana, and California, reaching more than 2.3 million households through affiliations with NBC, CBS, ABC, CW, Telemundo, WeatherNation, MeTV, and Cozi TV. Cordillera stations collectively produced more than 250 hours of local news weekly and ranked first or second in total viewership in essentially all of their markets, with leadership in both ratings and revenue in 10 of 11 markets.

The company's product portfolio spans linear television broadcasting, a wholly-owned Cordillera Digital subsidiary (formed in 2012) that develops and operates digital sales and content enterprises for all stations, and a digital marketing services line that provides SEO, social media marketing, video production, mobile app development, targeted web/mobile display advertising, search engine marketing, email marketing, and business reputation management to local businesses. Cordillera Digital's senior leadership team brings more than 80 years of combined digital media experience. The technology foundation is conventional broadcast infrastructure extended to web, mobile, and social platforms, with no disclosed proprietary AI/ML capabilities, APIs, or developer-facing integrations.

The business model operates on three revenue pillars: (1) local advertising revenue from small and mid-market businesses purchasing broadcast and digital airtime, (2) recurring retransmission consent fees paid by cable and satellite providers for the right to carry Cordillera signals, and (3) project-based digital marketing services revenue through Cordillera Digital. Pricing for advertising and digital services is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. In October 2018, Cordillera announced the sale of 15 of its 16 stations to The E.W. Scripps Company and its Tucson station KVOA to Quincy Media, Inc., pending federal regulatory approval with expected close in Q1 2019 — a transaction that effectively represented a strategic exit from the broadcast owner-operator business.

Name

Cordillera Communications

Legal name

Cordillera Communications, LLC

Website

https://cordillera.tv

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cordillera Communications is a family-owned operator of 16 broadcast television stations across 11 U.S. small- and medium-sized markets, serving more than 2.3 million households. It also operates Cordillera Digital, a digital marketing services subsidiary supporting local businesses alongside broadcast operations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Television Broadcasting

NAICS

Television Broadcasting Stations (51612), Radio and Television Broadcasting Stations (5161), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Television Broadcasting Stations (4833)

akta.pro primary industry

Network-Affiliated Local TV Stations (ABC/CBS/NBC/FOX/CW/Telemundo/Univision, etc.) (MPABACAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Consumer News & Digital Newsrooms (Web/App-First) (MPAJADAD)

Keywords

• Local television broadcasting
• Broadcast television stations
• Digital marketing services
• Local news production
• Television advertising sales

Headquarters

HQ city

Duluth

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices16 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Advertising Revenue: Television stations generate advertising revenue from local businesses purchasing airtime for commercials across broadcast and digital platforms
2. Retransmission Consent: Fees paid by cable and satellite providers for the right to retransmit Cordillera's broadcast signals to their subscribers
3. Digital Marketing Services: Cordillera Digital provides digital marketing solutions to local businesses including SEO, social media marketing, mobile app development, targeted advertising, and content strategy

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cordillera Communications owns and operates 16 local broadcast television stations (NBC, CBS and ABC affiliates) across 11 small- and medium-sized U.S. markets, producing more than 250 hours of local news and information weekly and serving over 2.3 million households. Through its Cordillera Digital subsidiary, the company sells digital marketing services (SEO, social media, programmatic display, mobile, email, content strategy and reputation management) to local and regional businesses in each of its markets.

Product overview

Cordillera Communications is a family-owned television broadcasting company that operates as a single unified platform consisting of 16 television stations across 11 geographically diverse small- and medium-sized markets in the United States, along with its digital division Cordillera Digital. The company also owns Clear Night as a marketing services subsidiary. Stations are organized as individual market-level products (WLEX, KVOA, KOAA, KATC, KSBY, KRIS-KZTV, KPAX-KAJ18, KTVQ, KXLF, KBZK, KRTV-KXLH, KTVH-KBGF), each serving distinct local communities while sharing corporate resources and digital services infrastructure. Cordillera Digital provides centralized digital marketing, content strategy, and sales services that integrate with all station operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Cordillera Digital: Digital division that develops and operates digital sales and content enterprises for all Cordillera TV stations.

Products and services

• Cordillera Communications Broadcast Television Stations
• Cordillera Digital
• Digital Marketing Services
• Clear Night Marketing Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 2.3 million households served across 11 markets
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• The E.W. Scripps CompanyminorOthers · 29 October 2018Scripps agreed to purchase 15 of Cordillera's 16 stations pending federal regulatory approval. Deal expected to close by Q1 2019.
• Quincy Media, Inc.minorOthers · 29 October 2018Quincy Media agreed to purchase Cordillera's Tucson station KVOA pending federal regulatory approval. Deal expected to close by Q1 2019.
• Methuselah AdvisorsminorOthers · 29 October 2018Methuselah Advisors acted as financial advisor to Cordillera Communications, LLC in connection with the station sales transaction.
• Cooley LLPminorOthers · 29 October 2018Cooley LLP acted as legal advisor to Cordillera Communications, LLC in connection with the station sales transaction.
• Clear NightminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMarketing services holding company and subsidiary of Evening Post Industries. Clear Night owns Ackmann & Dickenson and Modern Climate, marketing and technology services firms based in Twin Cities, Minnesota. Jay Small serves as COO of Clear Night.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• The E.W. Scripps Company: E.W. Scripps is a major publicly-traded operator of local TV stations plus national networks (ION, Court TV). Scripps was the named acquirer of 15 of Cordillera's 16 stations in 2018, validating it as a directly comparable broadcast operator and portfolio consolidator at scale.
• Sinclair Broadcast Group: Sinclair operates one of the largest U.S. portfolios of local television stations and is the most active consolidator in the segment. Cordillera's multi-market, multi-affiliate group operating model closely mirrors Sinclair's broadcast group structure and acquisition playbook.
• Nexstar Media Group: Nexstar is the largest local television broadcaster in the United States, operating hundreds of stations across large and small markets. It overlaps with Cordillera's broadcast operating model at far greater scale and serves as a representative broad-incumbent acquirer of station portfolios like Cordillera's.
• Hearst Television: Hearst Television is a privately-held subsidiary of Hearst Corporation operating local broadcast stations across the U.S. Like Cordillera, it focuses on affiliated local news and operates under family-controlled ownership, making it a comparable private-model broadcaster.
• Graham Media Group: Graham Media Group is a subsidiary of Graham Holdings operating local TV stations plus digital and marketing services. The pairing of broadcast stations with integrated digital marketing services maps structurally to Cordillera Communications paired with Cordillera Digital.
• Tegna Inc. Tegna is a major publicly-traded local broadcast TV operator with stations concentrated in mid-sized U.S. markets plus digital marketing assets. The combined broadcast-plus-digital operating mix is structurally analogous to Cordillera Communications plus Cordillera Digital.
• Hubbard Broadcasting: Hubbard Broadcasting is a privately-held, family-controlled operator of local TV stations across multiple U.S. markets. The combination of private family ownership and multi-market local broadcast focus makes it directly comparable in corporate structure to Cordillera.

Direct peers

• Gray Television: Gray Television operates a large portfolio of local television stations concentrated in small and medium U.S. markets with a similar business model to Cordillera: market leadership in non-top markets, affiliated network programming, retransmission consent revenue, and integrated digital sales operations.
• Quincy Media: Quincy Media is a privately-held operator of local broadcast TV stations in small and medium U.S. markets, directly comparable in size and market focus to Cordillera. Quincy was also the named acquirer of Cordillera's Tucson station KVOA in the 2018 transaction, confirming direct strategic overlap.

Regional players

• Mission Broadcasting: Mission Broadcasting operates a smaller portfolio of local TV stations in select U.S. markets, often in shared-services arrangements with Nexstar. Comparable to Cordillera at a smaller scale within the local-broadcast station group ownership model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/cordilleradigital
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cordillera-communications

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cordillera Communications