KOCE considers 10 bids

Jenny Marder

Ten prospective buyers are vying for ownership of KOCE-TV, leaving

board members with the daunting task of weighing cash against the

station’s legacy as Orange County’s local news source.

Supporters, who feel its programming is vital and would like to

keep it local, are praying that it doesn’t go to the highest bidder.

Of the 10 bids, the highest have come from religious ministries,

said Mel Rogers, president of the station located at Golden West

College.

One of the bidders, Community Educational Television Inc. is

affiliated with the Trinity Broadcasting Network, which claims to be

the world’s largest Christian television network. Other religious

bidders are a Spanish Christian station called Almavision Hispanic

Network and LeSEA Broadcasting Corp., a Christian broadcasting

network based in South Bend, Ind.

Other prospective buyers are fellow PBS stations, Hollywood-based

KCET-TV and San Diego-based KPBS-TV, and the KOCE-TV Foundation, a

nonprofit organization that exists to raise and spend money on behalf

of the station.

Orange County developer Frank Jao, creator of Westminster’s Asian

Garden Mall put in a bid and Hunter Wise Financial Group put in a bid

for a private investor.

The source of the remaining two bidders, Community Television

Educators of Orange County and Orange County Public Television

Foundation are unknown.

Coast Community College District’s board of trustees opted to

postpone discussions of the bids at its Friday meeting, as one member

was out because of a family illness.

KOCE-TV has been the only source of local TV news coverage in the

county since the Orange County News Channel went under two years ago.

But faced with budget constraints, the college district is no longer

able to shoulder its $2 million of the station’s $7.9 million annual

budget, which it has been subsidizing.

This, compounded with the station’s costly conversion to digital

programming, underscores KOCE’s need for another funding source.

District officials are faced with some tough decisions, trustee

Jerry Patterson said.

“Do we want to sell it to the highest bidder, or do we want to

sell it to the best one that will retain the status of a PBS

qualified station?” Patterson asked. “We’re faced with 10 bids, and

not all are PBS qualified. It raises the questions, will we sell to a

non-PBS qualified station, and does Orange County need an educational

station?”

Education has always been central to KOCE’s mission. KOCE has such

extensive telecourse programs that Coast Community College students

can get an associate’s degree simply by watching the station.

Whether KOCE has a responsibility to serve its viewers will be a

consideration, Rogers said.

“Does the responsibility end at the board, or does the

responsibility extend to the viewing area of television that they

own?” Rogers asked. “This is Orange County’s only TV station that

pays attention to it.”

The idea of selling KOCE doesn’t sit well with Patterson. He hopes

that it will remain an educational station in Huntington Beach.

“For 30 years, it’s been a PBS educational TV station. It’s

performed educational services and it’s provided local news,” he

said. “My preference is not to sell it.”

But since the market seems to be its fate, Patterson said he

favors a joint proposal by KCET and the KOCE-TV Foundation. The

foundation raises $4.5 to $5 million per year.

“It would save the day if that were chosen,” Rogers said.

Whoever buys the station will assume all costs, including current

debts, operating expenses and the station’s license. The Federal

Communications Commission, which will have to approve the license

transfer, will only approve a sale to a nonprofit entity that plans

to operate the station for educational purposes, said Erin Cohn,

district director of public affairs.

When KOCE flipped the switch for the first time on Nov. 20, 1972,

it became the first PBS station in Orange County, and the 231st in

the nation. Based on the campus of Golden West College, it broadcasts

24 hours a day and reaches 4.5 million viewers.

Public comments are welcome at the next meeting, scheduled to be

held at 6 p.m. on Aug. 20 at the district offices in Costa Mesa. The

final decision will be made by the board of trustees and approved by

the Federal Communications Commission.