Cold Feet About KUSF Sale?

[DToTheJ]

USF faculty are apparently having second thoughts about the sale of 90.3 KUSF and are asking the FCC and the university to cancel it:
http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2011/02/usf_faculty_opposes_kusf_sale.php#

 

[MarioMania]

Do you really think the FCC going to cancel it? Maybe..Maybe not

Is KDFC broadcasting on 90.3 now

 

[uncamark]

Do you really think the FCC going to cancel it? Maybe..Maybe not

Is KDFC broadcasting on 90.3 now

It has since Jan. 19. In case you've forgotten, the cops came in and shut KUSF's studios that morning. After a few hours, the transmitter came back to life carrying KDFC.

 

[recto101]

Do you really think the FCC going to cancel it? Maybe..Maybe not

Is KDFC broadcasting on 90.3 now

It has since Jan. 19. In case you've forgotten, the cops came in and shut KUSF's studios that morning. After a few hours, the transmitter came back to life carrying KDFC.

lets hope KUSF live on in Web Radio and KDFC.

 

[MarioMania]

Now, some its own faculty is asking the university to reverse the sale. A committee with the San Francisco University Faculty Association, a union representing 300 faculty members and librarians, has signed off on a resolution, requesting that USF and the Federal Communications Commission cancel the sale of 90.3 FM, and give the community a chance to obtain the radio station itself.


Last week, angry faculty members showed up to a USFFA meeting, asking that the governing board pass a resolution opposing the sale of KUSF. It was approved, and today, members of the union will attend the Board of Supervisors hearing to show their support for the radio station, which was abruptly shutdown on Jan. 18. The university decided to sell 90.3 FM to a classical public radio network, which is starting a noncommercial classical music station in the Bay Area.

Without consulting the community, the university decided that shifting KUSF to an online only format would increase its listening base. However, music directors, had told SF Weekly that they were having trouble pulling listeners into the station, and as of last week, there were only 15 people tuning into KUSF online.

"They are hoping to put pressure on the FCC to reject the sale," said Elliot Neaman, a history professor and president of USFFA. "It will be difficult, nobody has any illusions about that, but they want to turn this ship around."

Last week, Gary McDonald, spokesman for the university, told SF Weekly, that it was not possible for USF to rescind the $3.75 million sale of KUSF, even if it wanted to. The fate of the radio station is now in the hands of the FCC, which is expected to review the transaction later this month.

"There's no backtracking for us at this point," McDonald told us. "You can't just decide you can't go through with the contract you've signed. The FCC can undo the deal. USF can't undo the deal."

I don't know about the deal...

KDFC is already on 90.3..Can it be reversed??

 

[uncamark]

I don't know about the deal...

KDFC is already on 90.3..Can it be reversed??

The sale has not been approved yet by the FCC--Basically, the USF gave Classical Music Network an LMA for the frequency and they are technically the operators. Since FCC policy has been not to mess in programming policies and format changes in license transfers, barring any surprises, they will liekly approve the sale.

 

[Mediafrog+]

The sale has not been approved yet by the FCC--Basically, the USF gave Classical Music Network an LMA for the frequency and they are technically the operators. Since FCC policy has been not to mess in programming policies and format changes in license transfers, barring any surprises, they will liekly approve the sale.

Here in Houston, we're seeing pretty much the same thing with Rice University selling KTRU to The University of Houston, which will relaunch the station as a fulltime Classical outlet, while converting their existing KUHF over to an all spoken word public format. Check the Houston boards for the various goings on.

The KUSF sale will be approved, as will the sale of KTRU. The two universities own the respective stations, not the students or faculty. Willing seller, willing buyer.

 

[TheBigA]

The article states:

"they were having trouble pulling listeners into the station, and as of last week, there were only 15 people tuning into KUSF online."

So much for the assumption that online radio will replace terrestrial.

Or perhaps this is indicative of how much community support there was for the station in the first place.

 

[RadioJunkieMike]

The article states:

"they were having trouble pulling listeners into the station, and as of last week, there were only 15 people tuning into KUSF online."

um, wasn't there something in another thread about how the KUSF website only accomodates 15 listeners at a time and that it hadn't been upgraded yet?

 

[rricci]

It has since Jan. 19. In case you've forgotten, the cops came in and shut KUSF's studios that morning. After a few hours, the transmitter came back to life carrying KDFC.
[/quote]

Is there any nrews reports about the cops showing up? Was it SFPD or the University cops? Is there a log of what happend or a recording? I would be VERY interested in hearing it.

 

[uncamark]

It has since Jan. 19. In case you've forgotten, the cops came in and shut KUSF's studios that morning. After a few hours, the transmitter came back to life carrying KDFC.

Is there any nrews reports about the cops showing up? Was it SFPD or the University cops? Is there a log of what happend or a recording? I would be VERY interested in hearing it.
[/quote]

Just Google "kusf kdfc" in the News section--most of the reports are still linked from that day from the Chronicle, SF Weekly, East Bay Express and various blogs.

 

[bkress]

Would some here start thinking of solutions, why not use one of these SF almost dead AM's to transmit
KUSF also come forward Entercom and let these folks use your HD2 and HD3 channel for KDFC and
KUSF, this is exactly what HD radio needs If you have somethings people want to listen to, they will buy and listen to the product.

 

[TheBigA]

this is exactly what HD radio needs If you have somethings people want to listen to, they will buy and listen to the product.

In Houston, Rice PAID Pacifica to use their HD channel. Do you really think USF is going to pay anyone to give their students a sandbox? Otherwise why would any for-profit donate the use of their signal?

 

[bkress]

Your correct about why a profit company would give away a channel, but look at this in a different way
This is San Francisco, and you have a very DEMOCRATIC FCC now, you have the little guy like KUSF you have more opposition than support, Entercom, USF board and USC should come up with solutions before the FCC throws it back to them and SF community loses KDFC forever because that will happen !!

 

[DavidKaye]

The article states:

"they were having trouble pulling listeners into the station, and as of last week, there were only 15 people tuning into KUSF online."

So much for the assumption that online radio will replace terrestrial.

Or perhaps this is indicative of how much community support there was for the station in the first place.

Remember that KUSF is one of the few stations (KPOO, KSMC, and KPFB being the only other ones that come to mind) that never showed up in the PPM Arbitron. So, I seriously doubt that KUSF had any listeners except the program producers themselves. Nobody here ever talked about what was happening at KUSF, what music was being played, or anything about the DJs there, so obviously nobody here listened to KUSF, either.

 

[TheBigA]

This is San Francisco, and you have a very DEMOCRATIC FCC now,

I think this FCC in particular thinks an online station is more useful than on air.

 

[radioboy]

QUOTE:

"Without consulting the community, the university decided..."

There are a lot of things that could be read into this, but the gist of it underscores a lot of what
is perceived as "wrong" with radio these days: Nobody really cares what the listening public thinks. This FCC has less interest in broadcasting than most of the people on this site. Other than watching over station violations in hoping of netting $ in fines, they really don't seem to care.

It would have been nice for the university suits to get a feel for public perception and support (or lack thereof) before making their decision. But they didn't, and the FCC will approve this sale.

As for the KUSF online presence: get the site upgraded and promote the devil out of it. My online station had very few listeners in its early days, to as many as 1,333 in a single day (in 2009.) It's going to take a lot of time, because it's like starting from scratch.

 

[TheBigA]

There are a lot of things that could be read into this, but the gist of it underscores a lot of what
is perceived as "wrong" with radio these days: Nobody really cares what the listening public thinks.

Huh? I think the "listening public" has already voted on this, and they want classical music preserved in their area. This is the best way to do it. Sure a handful of students and their friends will be inconvenienced. But the fact is that the classical station had way more listeners than KUSF.

 

[DaveBayArea]

Otherwise why would any for-profit donate the use of their signal?

If you think about it, the HD-2's of today all have to be losing money. Sure, they're just a computer sitting in a back room somewhere playing music files. But it costs the station to maintain it. 104.9 in San Jose had the bright idea that they were going to lease their HD-2/HD-3 channels for brokered programming. That lasted about 2 weeks. It's dead air now. If I were a conglomerate with an HD-2 channel that cost me money and had listeners measured in the double-digits I'd sure think about it. OK, I don't know for sure about the double-digit thing but that's probably reality - a non-streaming HD-2 channel has never showed up in any ratings, ever.

Dave B.

 

[SFStatic]

The broadcasters supposedly dropped at least 100 grand on each of these HD-2 setups...for something basically with no ratings at all, and no separate revenues, a pretty stupid wrong turn...right up there with AM Stereo.