KCET May Sell Studios to Church of Scientology

[Carmine5]

It's a shame they have to sell but according to the article, viewership has plummeted with their new non-PBS schedule and contributions have fallen to their lowest levels. The property is valued at 14.1 million.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-kcet-20110331,0,6928138.story

 

[ShawnHill1]

Beat me to the punch ;D

It works out (convience-wise) for the Scientology folks, as their main house of worship (or whatever you call it) is just blocks away from the KCET studios. I wonder where Channel 28 will go...downtown? The Valley? I don't see them staying in (east) Hollywood. I know KTLA still has plans to move in downtown with The Times, but with no definite date. With them two gone, it'll mark the end of television broadcasting in Hollywood.

 

[K6JHU]

Buy the studios and we'll throw in a TV station for free

 

[Carmine5]

I wonder where Channel 28 will go...downtown? The Valley? I don't see them staying in (east) Hollywood.

I was hoping that the rental of their sound stages would keep KCET afloat. But if they're considering selling the entire property, apparently not. At the very least all KCET needs is a suite of offices that are line-of-sight of Mt. Wilson for their microwave STL. I know many low power stations that are set up that way. For that matter, they don't even need a pad for a satellite antenna as Mt. Wilson has plenty and are continually sending signals back to TV stations in the basin (I seem to recall KCET has one up there already).

But more than likely they will acquire space for at least one studio and a pad for one or more BUDs. Maybe they can rent/share space with KABC or another similar facility. If I ran KCET my first impulse would be to cut salaries, especially management.

 

[ShawnHill1]

I was reading a few of the comments from the Times article, and someone mentioned that KCET head Al Jerome makes about three times as much money as either head of WNET or WGBH, and those stations generate about three times the revenue that KCET did.

28 really shot itself in the foot when they left PBS; the viewers and pledge money are staying away droves. Hell, I haven't watched much of KCET since the changeover, and KOCE really isn't much better even they became the primary PBS station. I'm not a faithful PBS viewer (it depends on the type of programs they have), but I more or less watch KLCS or KVCR to get a fix.

 

[Carmine5]

I was reading a few of the comments from the Times article, and someone mentioned that KCET head Al Jerome makes about three times as much money as either head of WNET or WGBH, and those stations generate about three times the revenue that KCET did.

28 really shot itself in the foot when they left PBS; the viewers and pledge money are staying away droves. Hell, I haven't watched much of KCET since the changeover, and KOCE really isn't much better even they became the primary PBS station. I'm not a faithful PBS viewer (it depends on the type of programs they have), but I more or less watch KLCS or KVCR to get a fix.

I seem to recall in a L.A. Times article that Jerome was pulling down about 350K a year. Knock 250K off that figure and you have what he's actually worth. Yes, leaving PBS was a big mistake. Granted 7 million a year for programming is high but it seems to me that KCET could have worked out some kind of arrangement in conjunction with the other PBS stations. Usually negotiations like this end up being a pissing contest with a lot of bruised egos. In the end, I think KCET will return to the PBS fold--they'll have to.

But KCET blew it in other ways. They were supposed to produce some local content and in a town that has a tremendous amount of talent it should have been easy enough to do. But KCET neither developed many shows nor did they encourage local producers to do so. Strange.

 

[ercjncpr]

I was reading a few of the comments from the Times article, and someone mentioned that KCET head Al Jerome makes about three times as much money as either head of WNET or WGBH, and those stations generate about three times the revenue that KCET did.

28 really shot itself in the foot when they left PBS; the viewers and pledge money are staying away droves. Hell, I haven't watched much of KCET since the changeover, and KOCE really isn't much better even they became the primary PBS station. I'm not a faithful PBS viewer (it depends on the type of programs they have), but I more or less watch KLCS or KVCR to get a fix.

I seem to recall in a L.A. Times article that Jerome was pulling down about 350K a year. Knock 250K off that figure and you have what he's actually worth. Yes, leaving PBS was a big mistake. Granted 7 million a year for programming is high but it seems to me that KCET could have worked out some kind of arrangement in conjunction with the other PBS stations. Usually negotiations like this end up being a pissing contest with a lot of bruised egos. In the end, I think KCET will return to the PBS fold--they'll have to.

But KCET blew it in other ways. They were supposed to produce some local content and in a town that has a tremendous amount of talent it should have been easy enough to do. But KCET neither developed many shows nor did they encourage local producers to do so. Strange.

Not strange...they can't afford it

 

[Carmine5]

I was reading a few of the comments from the Times article, and someone mentioned that KCET head Al Jerome makes about three times as much money as either head of WNET or WGBH, and those stations generate about three times the revenue that KCET did.

28 really shot itself in the foot when they left PBS; the viewers and pledge money are staying away droves. Hell, I haven't watched much of KCET since the changeover, and KOCE really isn't much better even they became the primary PBS station. I'm not a faithful PBS viewer (it depends on the type of programs they have), but I more or less watch KLCS or KVCR to get a fix.

I seem to recall in a L.A. Times article that Jerome was pulling down about 350K a year. Knock 250K off that figure and you have what he's actually worth. Yes, leaving PBS was a big mistake. Granted 7 million a year for programming is high but it seems to me that KCET could have worked out some kind of arrangement in conjunction with the other PBS stations. Usually negotiations like this end up being a pissing contest with a lot of bruised egos. In the end, I think KCET will return to the PBS fold--they'll have to.

But KCET blew it in other ways. They were supposed to produce some local content and in a town that has a tremendous amount of talent it should have been easy enough to do. But KCET neither developed many shows nor did they encourage local producers to do so. Strange.

Not strange...they can't afford it

That's just it. The money to produce the programming would not have come from KCET but through grant funding. But to get such funding a foundation wants to see in the grant proposal that there is some guarantee that the program will be aired or a letter of support from a local PBS outlet that there is a need for such a program. That kind of support from KCET was never very strong.

 

[Robnoxious]

Bump.

The sale is done. KCET is set to walk away from their former studios in a year to wherever the hell they end up. Scientology are the new owners of the Sunset lot. The total price of the sale was not disclosed.

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/04/25/kcet-sells-production-studios-to-church-of-scientology/

 

[TheBigA]

As I said in a previous thread, the group running this station squandered their advantages. Now they have to sell. They could have spent time attracting program developers who would have loved to use those studios to create national shows for PBS. Not any more. Take a look at WGBH, KQED, and other stations that have used their resources to build national programming powerhouses. You'd think with an LA location, they'd have learned how the game is played. They didn't. If I was on the Board of this station, I'd fire everyone, starting at the top.