Bortz Media offers valuation services to buyers and sellers of media properties, content owners, financial institutions and other investors, and in connection with litigation.
Marrying Industry Knowledge with Valuation Expertise
Bortz Media is not, first and foremost, an appraisal firm. Rather, we are media industry consultants with the financial expertise necessary to assist clients in determining the fair market value of media properties in the context of the market prospects for those properties. As such, we bring a unique perspective to property valuation – derived from years of experience in assessing business opportunities and understanding the challenges faced by both new and established business ventures. Ours is not a “cookie cutter” approach – instead, we are uniquely suited to address the most challenging of valuation assignments.
Service Offerings
Cable Systems and Other Subscription TV Distributors
Bortz Media principals have analyzed the prospects for and value of well over 100 cable systems, along with other subscription TV distributors including MMDS providers, DTH services and overbuilders both domestically and internationally. Clients have included Warburg Pincus, The Blackstone Group, Citibank, Wesphere Capital, Videotron Ltee., Providence Journal, Buford Television, Times Mirror and Comcast.
In estimating fair market value, comprehensive due diligence is typically provided including in-depth assessment of market penetration and growth prospects, competitive impacts, pricing assumptions, expectations for new revenue streams, expense assumptions and upgrade plans/capital budgeting. Assignments have encompassed properties with a few thousand to more than a million customers, and markets that feature wide-ranging demographic characteristics and divergent stages of subscription TV evolution.
Programming Networks
Bortz Media & Sports Group has prepared business plans, evaluated prospects and/or estimated the value of more than 50 proposed cable programming ventures and existing basic cable networks. Properties analyzed have ranged from start-ups seeking to launch (e.g. Outdoor Life, Noggin, ZDTV/TechTV/64) to “niche” services in the early stages of development (e.g., Classic Sports/ESPN Classic, Country Music Television and E!) to widely penetrated networks such as A & E, Lifetime and ESPN. Assignments have included fair market appraisals for prospective buyers and sellers of established networks, development of business plans and detailed pro forma financial projections for start-ups, analysis of program service growth prospects for early stage networks and potential investors, and expert testimony addressing the value of and/or lost profits associated with programming ventures.
Programming/Content Rights
Bortz Media is the industry leader in performing media rights assessments within the NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS and PGA Tour. On behalf of our professional and college clients, Bortz Media has performed valuations representing over $18 billion in rights values. We have also valued and/or negotiated agreements for other programming content for distribution on major cable/broadcast outlets. Our media rights assessment services range from valuation to direct participation in contract negotiations. Our rights valuations are provided for national cable, broadcast, DBS and Web distribution, as well as local/regional OTA, cable and radio. For more information on these services, visit the media rights valuation section of this website.
Content-Based Websites
Examples of recent Internet assignments with valuation components include:
- We have analyzed the future financial prospects of two major content-based sites — projecting advertising/sponsorship, e-commerce and premium service (streaming, content syndication, etc.) revenue streams.
- We assisted a broadcasting client in the development of a business plan for an e-commerce-driven Internet “infomediary” concept. This assignment addressed issues related to e-commerce execution, managing a national infrastructure to support local station commerce and content elements, and establishing partnership parameters in the context of securing investment capital.
- We assisted a cable programming entity in developing a detailed business model for an on-line component that would function in tandem with its digital channel. In addition to development of a “stand-alone” plan, we assessed merger and acquisition opportunities and estimated the fair market value of this asset.
Broadcast Stations
Bortz Media has completed fair market valuations for well over 100 broadcast television stations and groups. Assignments have ranged from assessments of individual small market operations to major station groups including Hearst-Argyle, Belo and Providence Journal. Clients have included Citibank, Bank of America, Landmark Communications, Group W and Providence Journal.