Tension over control of CapRadio mounts with donation of transmission tower to KVIE-TV
The group pushing for KVIE public television to take over control of Capital Public Radio has donated a tower it owns — and that CapRadio uses to transmit its signals — to the PBS affiliate, officials said Monday night.
The donation by the board of directors for the Capital Public Radio Endowment’s tower transfer to KVIE was made Friday, according to a gift deed signed by board President Dan Brunner.
A resolution from the endowment board says the action is being made in part because of a resolution from the board stating that it “has been recently advised that Cap Radio desires to terminate its relationship with CPRE.”
Brunner did not immediately respond to a phone message Monday night, but KVIE General Manager and President David Lowe confirmed the gift from the endowment and said it would have no immediate effect on CapRadio’s ability to transmit its radio signals.
“It happened quickly over a period of just a few days, and the endowment reached out and asked if we would like to accept the gift of real property,” Lowe said. “And so we looked at that as an opportunity as a fundraising organization that accepts property as well as real cash.
“We fully expect to honor all of the lease agreements that exist, and look forward to working with them and other tenants. We are committed to a strong public media.”
The donation came just over a week after the endowment board asked Sacramento State, which oversees CapRadio, to sell its broadcast license to KVIE and allow the PBS affiliate to take over the radio operation.
That proposal came in a letter to Sac State President Luke Wood that said such a move could relieve Sac State of financial obligations and restore faith with members of the public who have donated to the financially troubled National Public Radio affiliate.
Wood has said he wants CapRadio to remain with Sac State and continue to offer news and programming to Northern California.
University spokesman Brian Blomster said Monday night that Sac State officials were aware that the tower transfer had been made to KVIE.
“We don’t have any comment on it other than we are aware the move has been made,” he said. “Sac State remains committed to CapRadio.”
The endowment’s letter to Sac State says it allows CapRadio to use the transmission tower without charge, something it values at $65,000 annually, and that CapRadio is allowed to collect rental income of $126,000 each year from other tenants using the tower.
Lowe said KVIE intends to honor CapRadio’s lease on the tower, but neither he nor Blomster could say Monday night when that lease expires.
Lowe added that the acceptance of the tower and 37 acres of land in Elverta it sits on was a donation similar to other contributions of cars or stock from supports, and that “by accepting this gift we keep this in the hands of public media.”
But KVIE’s ownership of the tower could give the television operation an upper hand in the future as it and CapRadio work out new agreements.
A CSU audit last fall found severe financial and management problems at CapRadio that brought the operation to the brink of insolvency and resulted in layoffs and programming cuts.
Many of the problems were blamed on an aggressive expansion plan to move CapRadio’s operations off campus to two buildings downtown that require monthly payments totaling nearly $125,000 by the conclusion of their 15-year leases.
A new, more detailed audit of the operation is expected to be released in the coming weeks.
With CapRadio appearing to be struggling, the endowment said board members had become concerned enough to suggest a merger with KVIE as a way to ensure its future for Sacramento.
The resolution approving the transfer of the tower to KVIE, which is dated March 26, says the endowment “desires to continue its efforts to support CapRadio, but must find alternative ways to accomplish that.”
It also states that Sac State has not provided the necessary maintenance called for under its lease of the tower equipment, and that “the aforementioned deterioration threatens the potential of outages and unforeseen signal interruptions.”
The transfer to KVIE is being made “as is,” the resolution adds.
CapRadio and Sac State officials have pushed back on the notion that CapRadio cannot succeed at the university, noting in recent weeks that donations and memberships for the operation are improving and that ratings are on the rise.
