KOCE Sale Talk Gets Scrambled by Political Static

Calling it an asset worth protecting, several prominent local politicians expressed opposition Thursday to the possible sale of KOCE, Orange County’s public television station.

At the very least, their concerns could complicate talks between KOCE and representatives of USC and Chapman University, two schools that have independently expressed interest in acquiring the station--valued at between $29 million and $35 million, according to a recent appraisal.

Paul Berger, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Coast Community College District, the holder of the PBS affiliate’s broadcast license, said KOCE raises the district’s profile and benefits students.

“I don’t want to sell it,” he said. “I think it’s a valuable asset to the district and brings us a lot of prestige. Money alone would not convince me to sell. I’m not sure anything would.”

Trustee Jerry Patterson said KOCE’s programming and distance learning courses are of great value to Orange County and that the district should remain the station’s guardian. “I’m hearing all these great reasons why Chapman and USC should buy it, but those are the same reasons we should hold on to it,” he said. “My initial reaction is no, not to sell.”

Armando R. Ruiz, president of the Board of Trustees, said he has yet to decide how he would vote on a proposed sale.

The five-member Board of Trustees, which must approve any sale, will take up the matter for the first time at its Aug. 18 meeting. Two trustees could not be reached for comment Thursday.

The district operates Coastline, Golden West and Orange Coast colleges.

KOCE, located on the Golden West College campus in Huntington Beach, is among the 15 most-watched public television stations in the country, with 2.5 million viewers per week. The station has won 27 Emmy awards. Its signal reaches as far south as San Clemente, as far north as Van Nuys and as far east as Corona.

But its $5.5-million budget is a fraction of KCET’s $49 million. KCET-TV, the powerful Los Angeles PBS station, also has more viewers than KOCE.

Huntington Beach City Councilwoman Shirley S. Dettloff said her constituents favored keeping the station in the district’s hands to ensure that it retains its high quality programming.

Similarly, Huntington Beach Mayor Peter M. Green said he hoped “KOCE will continue to provide quality educational shows no matter who owns the station.”

To cut costs and stave off a sale, KOCE should consider producing more programs with HBTV-3, a local channel operated by the city of Huntington Beach, Councilman Dave Garofalo said. “They ought to be talking to us about areas where we could partner,” he said.

Trustee Patterson criticized district Chancellor William M. Vega for holding talks with USC and Chapman without first informing the trustees. “In all my years of public service, I’ve never experienced something like this,” said Patterson, a former congressman. “It’s like a kick in the teeth. They totally left us in the dark about what’s going on.”

Vega did not respond to several calls from The Times on Thursday. USC Chief Financial Officer Dennis Dougherty, meanwhile, said the university is simply “gathering information” about KOCE and is a long way from making an offer for the station. He said he had concerns about the annual $1.5-million subsidy the station requires from the college district and the millions that must be invested in the next few years to upgrade equipment to meet Federal Communications Commission standards on digital television.

USC has a $1.5-billion endowment.