Belo (pronounced "BEE-low") is a Dallas, Texas-based media company that owns 20 television stations, four daily newspapers and two regional cable television news channels. The company was previously known as A.H. Belo after one of the early owners of the company, Alfred Horatio Belo. The current and long-time head of the company is Robert Decherd.
The company traces its roots back to 1842 with the introduction of The Daily News in Galveston, Texas, and its flagship, The Dallas Morning News, has been publishing since 1885. The name A.H. Belo Corporation was applied to the company in 1926. The name was shortened to Belo Corp. in 2002.
The company is the oldest continually-operated corporation in the state of Texas.
On July 8, 2005, Belo announced its newest acquisition, WUPL-TV, the UPN affiliate in New Orleans from CBS/Viacom. The addition of WUPL creates a duopoly in New Orleans with Belo's market-leading CBS affiliate, WWL-TV, strengthening Belo's presence in the market. Belo currently has five duopoly operations in the United States.
- NWCN (NorthWest Cable News) - Northwest U.S region
- TXCN (Texas Cable News) - Texas
- 24/7 - Boise, ID
- LNC - Virginia
- NewsWatch 15 - Louisiana
- Mas Arizona - Spanish language, Phoenix, AZ
- AZ NewsChannel - Phoenix, AZ
Online presence
In addition, Belo operates websites for each of its properties. The sites were formerly part of a separate company, known as Belo Interactive. In late 2004, the company began the process of reintegrating the sites in to sister media properties. One of its most infamous investments was in the failed CueCat and its parent company, Digital Convergence. Belo integrated its media properties to be able to use the device, but it never took off.
