| |
Across The Universe:
Universal Media Holdings
by Glenn Wilkins - AllPennyStocks.com News Reporter
July 13, 2005 (AllPennyStocks.com Media, Inc.) - In the 1980s
feature film, "Pump Up the Volume", Christian Slater's
character is that of a high-school loner who suddenly gains
power over his classmates by broadcasting subversive messages
over pirate radio. The community is turned upside down by what
it hears, before the kid realizes one stark message:
information is powerful, and the transmission of it even more
so.
Lately, so-called Low Power Television has come into vogue in
hamlets all over America. The technology has been out there
since the early 1980s, when the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) relaxed its regulations on translating
programs for longer than 60 seconds per hour from a distant
station's system, allowing translators to broadcast from any
suitable source. LPTV - that is, a station with a signal of
less than 1,000 watts, was the result of this liberalization.
Universal Media Holdings (OTCBB:UMHD)
maintains that it is one of the fastest growing media outlets
in America today, delivering a full spectrum of creative
production and targeted media distribution. Headquartered in
Hendersonville, North Carolina, Universal has under its
umbrella Universal Broadcast Network (UBN), which owns and
operates a growing stable of LPTV broadcast stations. It
currently holds the rights to broadcasting in 16 markets
across the U.S., with potential reach topping one million
households.
In the early days of LPTV the medium was seen as a local
community service, primarily focusing on rural areas and niche
audiences. LPTV service began to expand as the equipment
manufacturers were introducing significant cost and feature
improvements for all broadcasting components.
Every major television network, including NBC, CBS, ABC and
FOX, now has LPTV affiliates in a number of Nielsen rated
markets. Other networks, such as Univision, UPN, WB,
TeleFutura, and PAX also have LPTV affiliates in many markets.
The slow and steady growth of LPTV is important to potential
investors, since LPTV is not likely to be a flash in the pan.
When its vast potential is realized, UBN networks will
penetrate a huge, and still largely untapped, Hispanic market.
UBN will be helped largely by its partnership with Turner
Media Group and its subsidiary, the Networks Group (TNG), for
which it's creating and producing what it calls "engagement
branding content" for six series of shows. The aim is to
create what UBN calls "sticky" viewers, more interactivity
driving higher response rates, and more revenue through direct
response and VOD/Interactive television.
The network also appeals to clients in need of high-quality
corporate videos, news releases, streaming video, Internet
digital media, infomercial, or state-of-the-art web design,
not just those out to escape to quality TV programming when
they get home from the work world.
In particular, the Hispanic market is already big in the
United States, and only growing. According to experts on
economic growth, Hispanic buying power for 2002 totaled $580
billion (all figures in U.S. dollars unless specified
otherwise), with a predicted compound annual growth rate of
8.7%. (The standard rate for non-Hispanics is 4.8%.) This
growth is ignored at one's peril.
The key element for a fledgling business is partnerships,
and Universal has been busy forging them. Among its latest
converts is Serefex Corporation, a company, whose product line
includes Fridge Tapes, Fridge Notes and Fridge Pics, and which
has found a following in several national retailers such as
Walgreens and Ace Hardware stores. For Serefex, UBN will be
producing a national TV marketing campaign, one that was
announced in April.
On the program side: UBN carries The Men's Channel (fairly
self-explanatory; stuff that guys want to watch), as well as
iShop TV for those who would otherwise "shop till they drop",
and a host of religious programs on Hope TV and Almavision
(focused primarily on Hispanic Christian viewers).
Universal Broadcast Networks has 33,000 square feet of
broadcast currently at its disposal and claims to include the
very latest in cutting-edge technology, including special
effects, graphics and 3-D animation. The networks have
authorization to broadcast in 10 states, with new stations
being started up in Texas, New Mexico, California, Oklahoma
and Florida.
While for the revenue and profit figures for this company
remain elusive, things are potentially explosive for the stock
(which trades on Pink Sheets under the symbol UMDH), even
though shares have remained in the low end of a 52-week range
from 20 cents to below a penny. Given its partnerships, the
fact that the industry and market are growing almost
exponentially, investors might be advised to take a peek at
UMDH, while its price remains as low as its broadcasting
power.
Copyright © 2007 AllPennyStocks.com. All
rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of
AllPennyStocks.com's content is expressly prohibited without
the prior written consent of AllPennyStocks.com.
AllPennyStocks.com shall not be liable for any errors or
delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance
thereon.
|
|
