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KTRU to KUHF Update

F

FilioScotia

Still don't know much about what KUHF is doing to prepare for the change, but here's what's happening over at Rice. School President David Leebron sent this release out today:

To: The Rice community
From: President David Leebron
Subject: KTRU update

I am writing to update you on the status of the sale of the KTRU radio tower, frequency and license to the University of Houston. An agreement has been signed with UH and the matter now goes to the Federal Communications Commission for approval, which may take several months. As you know, the tower will be used by public radio station KUHF as a second station serving the greater Houston community, with one broadcasting 24-hour news and information and the second station, with call letters KUHC, broadcasting 24-hour classical music and entertainment.

We will consult with KTRU’s student managers about the timing for turning the tower over to KUHF, but we expect that to occur by the end of the semester or calendar year. In the meantime, KTRU will continue to deliver its programming on 91.7 and online through www.ktru.org. In my conversations with the student managers, although we have disagreed about the sale of the tower and broadcasting rights, I have been encouraged by their commitment to explore ways to make KTRU of even greater value to the Rice community. We are also working with KTRU leadership to explore some alternatives in addition to the online station. We will dedicate some proceeds from the sale to KTRU for improvements now and ongoing support in the future. KTRU has played an important role at Rice, and we expect it will continue to play an important role in campus life in the future.

We are also working with leaders of the Student Association and Graduate Student Association to formulate a process for gaining student input on how to best use proceeds from the sale. Some will go toward the new east servery and to KTRU, but we will not make any other decisions until we have heard from students about their priorities. Funds from the sale will be available when FCC approval is obtained.

I know the decision to sell the tower was controversial, as was the need to conduct those negotiations confidentially. This was clearly an exception to our usual process for undertaking major decisions at Rice, and we have emphasized that this was a result of unique aspects of this sale and not a precedent for future decisions. As a whole, members of our community expressed their opinions with great civility and thoughtfulness, and the KTRU leadership and staff were appropriately strong advocates for their viewpoint. We look forward to working with them and others in putting the sale proceeds to work for the benefit of our students and university.

Sincerely,
President David W. Leebron
 
FilioScotia said:
Still don't know much about what KUHF is doing to prepare for the change, but here's what's happening over at Rice. School President David Leebron sent this release out today:
Click to expand...

To be honest with you, this is not going to be a smooth transfer. Unless the KTRU people have been tranquilized, they are going to fight this all the way to the bitter end--and they know that they have the alt-weekly the Press and the rock press and blogosphere in their corner.

It says something about how times have changed when the flipping of a rock station (of any kind) to classical gets as much criticism as the flipping of a classical station to rock would get in the old days.
 
Ah, yeah, the announced sale of KLEF and the transition to KJYY Joy 94 (or was it Joy 95?)...I remember it (pretty) well...
 
***Perhaps some sort of deal has been made. According to Radio-Locator, its off the air.***

KUHC in New Mexico must be dead and gone, because KUHF and Rice are plowing full speed ahead through the sale/purchase process, and KUHF clearly intends to use the KUHC call letters.

I know KUHF has to apply for the calls somewhere in this license application/transfer process, but it shouldn't be anything than a paperwork formality. Or is there more to it than that?

If a station is off the air, does it still have rights to its call letters? At what point do the rights expire and the calls go up for grabs?

Whatever, I speak from years of personal acquaintance with KUHF managers when I say they and University of Houston lawyers have already dealt with the matter of the call letters. They wouldn't be using those calls in their news releases if they hadn't. KUHF managers and UH lawyers are the most "detail oriented" people you'll find anywhere, and I mean that as a compliment.
 
FilioScotia said:
They wouldn't be using those calls in their news releases if they hadn't. KUHF managers and UH lawyers are the most "detail oriented" people you'll find anywhere, and I mean that as a compliment.
Click to expand...

I agree and they've got things in place. The university already has the call letters, more or less. I think if you'll dig a little further you'll find that the KUHC calls were parked on a construction permit through an arrangement between the two parties. They became effective at the end of August; now all the UofH has to do is apply for them when the time comes and the station in Clayton (which has yet to come on the air) will relinquish them. Dollars or favors have probably already been exchanged.
 
Chuck Tiller said:
http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?call=KUHC&x=19&y=4&sr=Y&s=C

Perhaps some sort of deal has been made. According to Radio-Locator, its off the air.
Click to expand...

I know the guy who did their engineering and have put the question to him...perhaps he'll verify what several folks on this list have theorized..that's it's already a done deal, and the call sign is parked with an "understanding" between U of H and the KUHC license holder already having been reached.
 
Mark Jeffries said:
To be honest with you, this is not going to be a smooth transfer. Unless the KTRU people have been tranquilized, they are going to fight this all the way to the bitter end--and they know that they have the alt-weekly the Press and the rock press and blogosphere in their corner.
Click to expand...

Nonsense. The FCC is not going to give a damn about the "alternative" Press, the "rock press" or the blogosphere. This is basically the no-money crowd whining about how they are "entitled" to the current KTRU format, which will, after all, continue on the internet, which is where most college students get their music these days.

Like I said, if these people want to "save" KTRU, let them come up with $10 million.
 
I couldn't agree more. This childish whining from a small group of KTRU volunteers and listeners is really getting to be annoying. They need to recognize the gift they're getting in this. As you correctly point out, most college students and fans of alternative cutting edge music are not listening on a radio. They're getting their fix on the Internet. KTRU is going to continue doing what it's always done, but on the Internet, and they'll be sending it worldwide.

I really wish the whiners would shut up and face the fact that Rice is a private university, and the Board of Regents has the right to do anything it wishes with its property and facilities. They don't have to ask anybody's permission, and they don't care what the Houston Press and the alternative press on the blogosphere think about it.

And that's as it should be.
 
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