A Colorado company is purchasing Draper-based U.S. Digital Television from bankruptcy for $1 million cash.

In September, a Delaware bankruptcy judge approved the sale of USDTV to U.S. Digital Inc., whose primary investor is Denver-based NexGen Telecom. USDTV filed for bankruptcy protection in July.

On Friday, Steve Lindsley, who was chief executive officer of USDTV, said he also would be CEO of U.S. Digital. Lindsley said U.S. Digital would continue to emphasize "family-friendly" content in the channels the company offered.

As part of that commitment, the company announced it would add the MountainWest Sports Network to its current lineup of roughly 33 channels, which include The Disney Channel, Discovery and Starz. USDTV has about 5,000 subscribers along the Wasatch Front. The company also has customers in Albuquerque, Dallas and Las Vegas.

The company bills itself as a low-cost alternative to satellite or cable services. Channels are bundled in Salt Lake City and then sent by satellite to various markets. Subscribers receive the broadcasting signal from a set-top boxprimarily sold through Wal-Mart.

"The reason why we have worked so hard to save this thing is because we believe that cable is too expensive," Lindsley said. "Cable takes advantage of their strong position. Big cable charges people too much money for the product they give."

NexGen, through U.S. Digital, had been financing USDTV's operations to the tune of $920,000 while USDTV was in bankruptcy, according to court documents. The $920,000 advance was deducted from the $1 million purchase price, leaving a final purchase price of $80,000. NexGen, however, will pay roughly $1.5 million in curing arrearages owed by USDTV to various creditors.

Charles McNeil, the chairman of NexGen, said the hiring of Lindsley was a critical step needed to move the company forward.

"Steve and his management team have led the industry and were the first group in the U.S. to distribute cable networks over the air using the digital spectrum of local broadcasters," McNeil said in a statement.

According to court documents, McNeil also had served on USDTV's board of directors.

As part of the sale, NexGen agreed to pay $222,600 to Hisense USA Corp., a Los Angeles-based electronics manufacturer. The $222,600 payment conveys to NexGen Hisense's right to reclaim 4,200 HDTV receivers sold for $648,690 to USDTV.

Hisense originally had objected to the sale of USDTV to U.S. Digital, saying USDTV's bankruptcy case appeared to be "nothing more than a ruse" for insiders and related parties to acquire USDTV's business operations "free from the debt they incurred."

Lindsley said all the objections had been resolved.

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E-mail: danderton@desnews.com