TV 45 Shuts Down in Lake Havasu

[dhett]

Class A station KLHU-CD channel 45 in Lake Havasu City, surrendered its license to the FCC last Thursday, marking the end of local television in Lake Havasu City. The station had been on the air since 1984. The station's website, http://www.klhu.tv, is still up, and they posted the last edition of the station's local newcast, which was a farewell retrospective. Not sure what the reason was for shuttering the station, other than owner Jolene Jensen's remark about retiring, but I would imagine that finances have something to do with it as well. As a Class A station, TV 45 was required to be operating in digital by September 1, 2015, and operating on RF channel 45, they would have been required to go through the expense of switching to another RF channel during the repacking process. The spectrum was not needed by the FCC for the incentive auction, so there was no help there.

Sorry to see any locally-operated station shut down, but the station came about due to an FCC policy change in the early 1980s, allowing low power stations to originate programming, and now the station may have fallen victim to another FCC policy change favoring wireless telecommunications at the expense of broadcast television.

 

[K.M. Richards]

I have been in contact with Lee Shoblom, who built what was then K45AJ back in 1982, and he has given me permission to share his thoughts with all of you.

Lee says the heart went out of for Joline when her husband died so young. Having the huge expense of converting to digital freaked her out as she was barely hanging on. He had traveled there recently, at the request of their DC attorney, to consult and provide some hands on help with some technical issues.

He says they had tried to tie KLHU with the three schools in Havasu as well, and thinks that if he lived there he might have been successful (Lee moved to Prescott in 1997). He has heard rumblings that a group of Lake Havasu businessmen are considering filing an application for the open channel.

Lee is saddened by channel 45 going dark. He never had one of "his" stations go dark/silent in 40 years of construction and ownership. It's even harder for him as this was the only television facility he ever built.

 

[Frequency1]

I have been in contact with Lee Shoblom, who built what was then K45AJ back in 1982, and he has given me permission to share his thoughts with all of you.

Lee says the heart went out of for Joline when her husband died so young. Having the huge expense of converting to digital freaked her out as she was barely hanging on. He had traveled there recently, at the request of their DC attorney, to consult and provide some hands on help with some technical issues.

He says they had tried to tie KLHU with the three schools in Havasu as well, and thinks that if he lived there he might have been successful (Lee moved to Prescott in 1997). He has heard rumblings that a group of Lake Havasu businessmen are considering filing an application for the open channel.

Lee is saddened by channel 45 going dark. He never had one of "his" stations go dark/silent in 40 years of construction and ownership. It's even harder for him as this was the only television facility he ever built.

The license is canceled. I do not think there will be a LPTV filing window for a long time. Looks like the channel is gone. Wonder where the equipment will end up at, E Bay?

 

[K.M. Richards]

Lee has asked me to add that Jolene told him she saw little incentive to transition to digital as the station was to be excluded from the spectrum auction.

 

[1069_KIFR]

Did they shut down for the Winter?

 

[Frequency1]

They shut down in November 2015.