Rice University and the University of Houston released official updates about the pending sale of KTRU to UH. It’s a sad day in Houston Radio because it looks more and more inevitable that this will actually happen, but there is a bright side. Before the sale can be completed it has to be approved by the FCC, and that can be lobbied against. UH & Rice are no Clear Channel. They may have clout, but not that much clout. Supporters of KTRU can still make their voice heard by contacting the FCC. If you haven’t seen the press releases from Rice or UH you can see them below along with the letter sent to Rice University students, faculty, staff and alumni.

University of Houston System Buys Radio Station from Rice University

University of Houston System and Rice University officials have announced the signing of an asset purchase agreement authorizing UH’s acquisition of the broadcast tower, FM frequency and license used by Rice station KTRU for $9.5 million.

The asset purchase agreement will be filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which will trigger a 90-day period of public comment. KTRU will be required to run on-air announcements regarding the pending transaction, inviting interested parties to submit comments to the FCC. The FCC may grant its Consent to the Transfer of License as early as January.

The purchase will be financed 100 percent by enhanced underwriting and ongoing private gift fundraising by KUHF.

KUHF, the National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate station owned and operated by UH, plans to broadcast 24-hour classical music and fine arts programming on 91.7 FM (to be renamed KUHC Classical) and to convert 88.7 FM to a 24-hour NPR news and information format (KUHF News). KTRU will continue to provide free radio programming online at http://www.ktru.org/.

The University of Houston is the first Texas university to propose this configuration, said KUHF General Manager John Proffitt.

Visit http://app1.kuhf.org/houston_public_radio-news-display.php?articles_id=1282158381 for more information.

Richard Bonnin

from: UH.edu

Rice, UH sign KTRU agreement

FROM RICE NEWS STAFF REPORTS

Rice University and the University of Houston have signed the agreement for UH to purchase the KTRU radio tower, frequency and license from Rice.

“The matter now goes to the Federal Communications Commission for approval, which may take several months,” Rice President David Leebron told students, faculty, staff and alumni via e-mail Oct. 13.

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,” Leebron said. “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.”

Leebron noted that Rice is 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 of the proceeds will go toward the new east servery and to KTRU, but Leebron said no other decisions will be made until the administration has 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,” Leebron said. “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.”

Below is the letter from Rice University President David Leebron:

Oct. 13, 2010

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

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