Channel America Stops Operations at Glendale Studios

The Channel America Television Network, which moved into Glendale Studios in June with plans to use the facility as its programming base, has stopped operations at the studio and owes creditors and former employees about $200,000.

Daniel Boyar, a lawyer who represents Evro Corp., a Florida company that owns 51% of Channel America, said the network currently has no cash to pay its bills. Evro plans to acquire the remaining 49% of Channel America, and to sell additional stock that could be used to fund the network, he said.

But approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission to proceed with the transactions took much longer than expected, he said.

“We just jumped the gun a little bit” in starting Channel America’s expansion in Glendale, Boyar said.

Channel America, formerly based in Darien, Conn., was started in 1988. The 24-hour network ran its programming--old movies and television shows, talk shows and home shopping programs--on local broadcast and cable channels.

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Boyar acknowledged that Channel America owes back rent at Glendale Studios, employee wages and other debts totaling “a couple hundred thousand dollars.”

“We do intend to pay them in full,” he said.

The companies received SEC approval two weeks ago. A shareholders meeting is set for Oct. 11, when the Channel America purchase and stock sale will be put to a vote.

Boyar said several institutional investors stand ready to buy stock in Evro, which operates a home shopping network that sells sports memorabilia. After the acquisition, the company is to be renamed Channel America Broadcasting Corp., with administrative offices in New York and programming operations in Glendale.

Meanwhile, some former employees say they’re waiting to be paid.

Among them is Bill Feuchtinger, who in July left his job of eight years at Keystone Communications in Culver City to become operations supervisor for Channel America. He then hired six workers to run the equipment that kept Channel America’s programming on the air.

Feuchtinger said he was paid once, covering the period through Aug. 3. But no more checks were issued after that, he said, and by about mid-August he was told to lay off the other workers.

By then, Feuchtinger said, Channel America was rerunning the same programming every week because its editing equipment was not picked up from a repair shop. By the end of August, it stopped transmitting from Glendale altogether, he said.

Feuchtinger finally stopped going to work Sept. 5. He estimates that Channel America owes him more than $6,000 in back wages and for medical benefits the company agreed to cover.

“I want to get my money,” said Feuchtinger. “My wife is freaking out about it. She’s the one that looks at the checkbook and says we’re running out of money.”

Jeff Cellars, who leased an apartment based on his expectation of working at Channel America, said he is owed $800 by the company.

Lucas Gutman, who said Channel America owes him $1,040 in back pay, said he can’t afford to pay for his auto insurance now. He recalled when he was still working at the studio receiving calls from other people who identified themselves as former employees and complained that they were owed money by the company.

Boyar said Channel America had already been in dire financial straits when Evro acquired its position in the company a year ago. Since then, he said, Evro has pumped $2 million into Channel America; Evro reported a net loss of $7.9 million on revenue of $1.6 million in 1995.

Boyar stepped down as president and chief executive of Evro a year ago, but said his resignation was unrelated to his legal troubles involving another company.

In March, Boyar was indicted by a federal grand jury in Florida on fraud, conspiracy and money laundering charges in connection with Members Service Corp. The indictment alleges that Boyar and two other officials of Members Service made false and misleading statements about the company’s finances to induce investors to buy stock. It also accuses Boyar of issuing stock to pay personal debts.

Boyar, who faces a maximum sentence of 60 years, is due to go to trial Feb. 1. He denied the allegations and said he expects to be “completely vindicated at trial.”

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Thomas Jensen, Evro’s chairman, is acting as that company’s CEO. Boyar said the firm is looking for two executives to run the company.

He said Channel America is currently testing a home shopping program being transmitted by a Torrance company, Panda America. If Channel America receives the needed cash infusion, he expects to resume broadcasting from Glendale with a mix of entertainment and home shopping programming.