The licensee of KVCR-TV in Inland Southern California will receive $157 million from sale of its spectrum in the FCC auction now in its concluding stages.
The San Bernardino Community College District announced Monday that the FCC accepted its bid to move its signal from a UHF to VHF channel. The licensee will devote some of the proceeds to new broadcast equipment and an update of KVCR’s technological infrastructure to transition to the new broadcast frequency. “This one-time funding will bolster our ability to provide the world-class programming that Inland Southern California deserves,” said Joseph Williams, president of the San Bernardino Community College District Board of Trustees, in a statement.
KVCR will continue to broadcast. Viewers who have cable and satellite carriage will not notice any difference resulting from the technical changes. The sale will not affect KVCR’s radio station broadcast, according to the college district.
The district expects to receive the auction proceeds later this year. In the meantime, its Board of Trustees is developing a strategic financial plan to ensure remaining proceeds are invested and used to advance the district’s educational mission.
Two other Los Angeles–area public TV stations, KOCE and KLCS, said they would participate in the auction but have not announced results. The Los Angeles Unified School District, which holds KLCS’ license, has entered into a channel-sharing agreement with KCETLink in Los Angeles that would take effect if the license is sold.
That’s a big twinkie.