Development

IPM offers to bridge PTV stations to spectrum auctions

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Independent Public Media has unveiled a new program to provide bridge funding to financially troubled pubTV stations. The loans will help them stay on the air through the FCC’s incentive spectrum auction, and require a payout from auction proceeds. IPM designed the loan program to assist noncommercial broadcasters until they can sell off some, but not all, of their spectrum bandwidth through the FCC auction, and assumed that stations will gain big payoffs by participating. Once auction proceeds begin rolling in to a borrower station, IPM will pay off expenses incurred by participating in the auction and then recoup the principal and interest on its loan. The remaining auction revenues would be evenly split between IPM and the station.

Quick Takes

IPM offers loans to cash-strapped pubTV stations

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This item has been updated and reposted with additional information. Independent Public Media this week unveiled a new program to provide bridge funding to financially troubled pubTV stations. The loans will help them stay on-the-air through the FCC’s incentive spectrum auction, and require a pay out from auction proceeds. IPM designed the loan program to assist noncommercial broadcasters until they can sell off some, but not all, of their spectrum bandwidth through the FCC auction, and assumed that stations will gain a big pay-off by participating. Once auction proceeds begin rolling in, IPM will recover the costs of auction expenses and then principal and interest on its loan.

System/Policy

Governing board rejects final bids for San Mateo’s KCSM

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Trustees of the San Mateo County Community College District in California have rejected offers from two finalists vying to acquire KCSM-TV, a pubcasting station that was put up for sale in December 2011 after accruing an $800,000 deficit. The two bidders were San Mateo Community TV Corp., aligned with Independent Public Media and headed by former pubcasters John Schwartz and Ken Devine; and FM Media TV Inc., affiliated with Public Media Co., an independent arm of Public Radio Capital. Six entities initially bid for the station. San Mateo Community TV Corp. offered $5.8 million, and FM Media TV Inc. bid $7 million, according to public records that the Bay Area advocacy group Media Alliance posted on its website.

Independent Public Media

With microwave proceeds, Schwartz nonprofits offer to buy and revive pubTV channels

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Should preserving noncommercial television licenses be the top priority for public broadcasters, or should financially unstable public TV stations be sold, become unstaffed repeaters or allowed to die off to right-size an extensive system of stations? Independent Public Media says: Save those licenses. And it’s volunteering to take over failing pubTV stations to do just that. IPM, founded by John Schwartz, a public media activist in Colorado and founder of several stations, announced Oct. 5 that it would draw on a pot of some $40 million to save stations at risk of going dark or being sold to station operators outside of pubcasting.