KOCE Going Digital but Lacks Funds for a Full HDTV Future

Orange County’s public television station is on track to go digital next month as required by federal mandate, but it could be stuck in television’s stone age if it doesn’t come up with the money to compete in a digital broadcast world.

Station managers at KOCE-TV Channel 50 say they soon plan to flip the switch on a $4-million digital transmitter atop Mt. Wilson. The Federal Communications Commission is requiring all public television stations to add a digital signal by May or go off the air.

But transmitting is only the beginning of the costs involved with entering the digital age, said KOCE President Mel Rogers.

“There are a lot of parts in the digital chain. We didn’t have the money for the whole thing, so we built the last part first,” he said. “This initial launch allows us to do what we have to do to be legal and keep the FCC happy.”

The new transmitter, at 6,000 feet, will expand KOCE’s reach from 10 million homes in Orange and Los Angeles counties to an additional 5 million homes in the San Fernando and San Bernardino valleys.

Right now, Rogers said, the station is prepared to operate standard-definition television -- the most basic form of digital broadcasting. As with all stations, KOCE must continue broadcasting its analog signal until 2006, or until 85% of American households can receive digital signals.

But to remain competitive, he said, the station must offer a high-definition broadcast. Though it’s not a legal requirement, Rogers said, high definition is necessary if the station hopes to broadcast simultaneous streams of education and communication services, workforce and teacher training and prime-time national programming, in addition to interactive and text data.

Those ambitions, and the anticipated higher cost of operating a digital station, have proved too expensive for the Coast Community College District, the current license holder. The station was put up for sale last May. No buyer has been found.

“The mandated conversion to digital is a daunting financial challenge, and KOCE could become a lot more than it is today,” said district spokeswoman Erin Cohn. “But we don’t have to resources to make that happen.”

Until a buyer is found, the district will continue to operate the station, Cohn said.

The college district is responsible for 25% of the station’s budget. Thirty percent comes from memberships, and 45% comes from the Corp. for Public Broadcasting, production underwriting and foundations.

The KOCE Foundation, a nonprofit group seen as the front-runner to take over the station’s license, has yet to prove it has the financial backing to subsidize the station’s digital aspirations. KOCE needs another $4.5 million to upgrade to digital equipment, Rogers said. The station has an annual operating budget of about $7.9 million.

While waiting for the station to be sold, KOCE managers have applied for a $600,000 grant and have raised $4 million in capital campaign pledges, money that has yet to be collected.

To consolidate operations and expand viewership, KOCE also plans to move its current analog transmitter to Mt. Wilson pending FCC approval. Station owners hope that more viewers will bring more donations, Rogers said.

Public television officials estimate the national cost of conversion at more than $1.7 billion. Congress has contributed more than $90 million to the effort, and state aid has reached nearly half a billion -- including $7 million from California.

The Corp. for Public Broadcasting said 119 of its 353 member stations currently provide a digital signal to 65% of households. KPBS in San Diego and KCET in Los Angeles have already gone digital.

“It’s the biggest change the broadcast industry has ever faced,” said Ed Calecka, vice president of technology, operations and distribution for PBS. “For public television, it was a challenge in that it was an unfunded mandate: Make the transition or lose your license.”

For KOCE, the gap between vision and reality is still millions of dollars away.

“We’re hopeful that we’ll get there eventually,” Rogers said.

“We can keep doing what we’re doing indefinitely, but the worst-case scenario is that we won’t be able to afford our future.”