Fiktiv USA - Estrella Media

Estrella Media (formerly known as Liberman Broadcasting, Inc. from 1987 to 2019 and LBI Media, Inc. from October 2019 until February 2020) is an American media company based in Burbank, California that is owned by private equity firm HPS Investment Partners, LLC. Estrella Media primarily caters to the Spanish-speaking Hispanic community, owns television and radio stations in several of the top Hispanic markets, and is the parent company of the Estrella TV network.

José Liberman, and his son Lenard founded the company in 1987, as Liberman Broadcasting, Inc.. Between them, they had more than 55 years of operating experience in the broadcasting industry. The father/son pair co-founded radio and television clusters in Los Angeles and Houston, and in the late 1990s to early 2000s, expanded their assets to include broadcast properties in Dallas and San Diego. Although their television stations were considered part of the Liberman Television Network, they were still classified as independent stations and by 2006, the company had adopted a consistent branding for its three television stations under the brand "Estrella TV" (or "Star TV"), mirroring the television system model in the Canadian television industry. Liberman expanded the Estrella TV format to other markets where it acquired television stations, featuring much of the same programs as those aired by the Los Angeles, Dallas and Houston outlets (some of which aired in different timeslots than they did on KRCA, KMPX and KZJL).

In 1999, Liberman formed a production division within its LBI Media unit to produce original programming content that would be distributed to the stations, focusing on a mix of variety series, sketch comedy, scripted drama and music programs, talk shows and game shows. One of its earliest programs, the reality game show Gana la Verde ("Win the Green"), caused controversy after several immigrant advocacy groups (including the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the Central American Resource Center, the Latina Lawyers Bar Association and the Mexican American Bar Association) and California U.S. House Reps. Xavier Becerra, Hilda Solis and Linda Sánchez complained that the format – which debuted in July 2004, and featured illegal immigrants competing in extreme Fear Factor-style competitions for the opportunity to win one year of legal assistance from an immigration attorney to help them obtain a green card – put its participants in danger of deportation by immigration authorities aware of the show.

On August 4, 2006, Liberman Broadcasting reached an agreement with Entravision Communications to buy the company's five Dallas-area radio stations. On May 30, 2007, Liberman Broadcasting announced that it would expand into Utah through its purchase of KPNZ (channel 24) in Salt Lake City from Utah Communications, LLC for $10 million (although it would continue to operate as an English language independent station from after the purchase was finalized that November until February 2008); then on July 19, 2007, Liberman bought KWIE (now KRQB and at the time maintaining a Rhythmic CHR format) in the Los Angeles suburb of Riverside, California from Magic Broadcasting for $25 million. On August 18, 2008, the company purchased low-power station KVPA-LP (channel 42) in Phoenix, Arizona from Latin America Broadcasting, Inc. for $1.25 million.

On January 27, 2009, at the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) Convention in Las Vegas, Liberman Broadcasting announced that it would turn the Estrella TV concept into a full-fledged national network that would launch at a then-yet-determined date later that year, which would be targeted at adults between the ages of 18 and 49 years old. Liberman had explored the possibility of developing a national network in 2007, when it raised $200 million in capital to acquire additional television stations and expand programming production. The network was originally scheduled to launch on July 1, though its debut was subsequently delayed to September 14, 2009.

On February 3, 2010, LeSea Broadcasting announced the sale of KWHD to Liberman for $5.75 million; the station became an Estrella TV owned-and-operated station following completion of the sale, under the callsign KETD, on June 1. On February 22, 2010, Liberman Broadcasting acquired W40BY (now WESV-LD) Chicago from Trinity Broadcasting Network, intending to convert it to serve as the Estrella TV O&O for the market. The sale was closed on December 6. On January 23, 2012, Liberman Broadcasting announced the sale of KNTE-FM (96.9, now KXBJ) in the Houston suburb of El Campo, Texas to the KSBJ Educational Foundation for $2.1 million; the sale was completed that April. Subsequently, on May 2, Liberman pared back its Houston-area radio cluster further with the sale of KJOJ (880, now KJOZ) in Conroe to Aleluya Christian Broadcasting (a subsidiary of DAIJ Media LLC) for $1 million. On February 11, 2013, Liberman Broadcasting announced the sale of Spanish CHR KTCY (101.7 FM, now KYDA) in the Dallas–Fort Worth suburb of Azle, Texas to the Educational Media Foundation for $6 million.

On November 21, 2018, Liberman Broadcasting filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The company—which claimed assets worth between $100 million and $500 million and liabilities worth between $500 million and $1 billion—sought to reduce its overall debt by more than $350 million and secured $38 million in debtor-in-possession financing. On April 17, 2019, Liberman obtained approval of its reorganization plan from the Delaware bankruptcy court, with the expectation that it would be able to clear its balance sheet within the following several months. On October 15, 2019, Liberman Broadcasting completed its reorganization plan, turning over ownership of the company—which was formally renamed LBI Media, Inc.—to its first lien lender, private equity firm HPS Investment Partners, LLC, which sponsored the reorganization plan; the reorganization eliminated more than $350 million of debt from its balance sheet. As part of the corporate reorganization, co-founder/CEO Lenard Liberman divested his equity in LBI, and was replaced as the company's CEO by former Granite Broadcasting and Communications Corporation of America Chairman Peter Markham. On February 3, 2020, LBI Media rebranded as Estrella Media, borrowing its name from flagship Spanish-language network Estrella TV.

Estrella-owned stations:
Television stations
Note: All stations listed below are Estrella TV owned-and-operated stations.
Castle Rock–Denver, Colorado
KETD 53 (46)

Chicago, Illinois
WESV-LD 40 (40)

Decatur–Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas
KMPX 29 (30)

Houston, Texas
KZJL 61 (25)

Miami–Fort Lauderdale, Florida
WVFW-LD 34 (34)

Phoenix, Arizona
KVPA-LD 42 (34)

Port Jervis–New York City, New York
WASA-LD 24 (24)

Riverside–Los Angeles, California
KRCA 62 (35)

San Diego, California
KSDX-LD 29 (9)

Radio stations
Note: All stations listed below are owned by Estrella through its radio broadcasting division, Estrella Radio.
Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas
KNOR 93.7 Regional Mexican
KBOC 98.3 Spanish CHR
KZMP-FM 104.9 South Asian music
KZMP 1540 Classic Regional Mexican (simulcast of KZZA)
KZZA 106.7 Regional Mexican

Houston, Texas
KEYH 850 Regional Mexican
KJOJ-FM 103.3 Regional Mexican
KNTE 101.7 Regional Mexican

Beaumont–Port Arthur, Texas
KQQK 107.9 Regional Mexican
KTJM 98.5 Regional Mexican

San Bernardino, California
KRQB 96.1 Regional Mexican

Los Angeles, California
KBUE 105.5 Regional Mexican
KBUA 94.3 Regional Mexican
KEBN 94.3 Regional Mexican
KWIZ 1480 Classic Regional Mexican
KWIZ 96.7 Vietnamese