KOCE-TV’s license renewed

The Federal Communications Commission has granted KOCE-TV a seven-year renewal of its broadcast license, the president of the Huntington Beach-based public television station said Tuesday.

Mel Rogers, the president and general manager of KOCE, said the commission had awarded his station a new license even though it was aware of the channel’s ongoing legal battle.

The commission was closed Tuesday in honor of former President Gerald Ford, who died Dec. 26.

Rogers said he didn’t know how the renewed license would impact the fight over KOCE’s ownership. The KOCE-TV Foundation has owned the station since buying it from the Coast Community College District in 2004, but an appellate court recently declared the sale invalid. The Daystar Television Network, a nationwide Christian broadcaster, is claiming rightful ownership of the station due to its higher cash bid.

“I wish I could say that it clears everything up, but I don’t know that it does,” Rogers said about the renewal.

He added that the district, the foundation and Daystar were still mired in trying to appoint a mediator to help settle their dispute. He estimated that it might take until March to begin negotiations.