KOCE-TV
Encyclopedia
KOCE-TV is a Public Broadcasting Service
(PBS) member Public television
station, and is the primary PBS member for Los Angeles
and Southern California
. KOCE also features programming focused on the communities of Orange County, California
. It airs Orange County's only nightly newscast, Real Orange, with a concentration on human interest and public service stories. It also broadcasts several college courses (telecourses) by the Coast Community College District, which was its original owner. It is licensed
to Huntington Beach, with studios in the South Coast Corporate Center south of the San Diego Freeway
in Costa Mesa
. Its transmitter is located at the Southern California tower farm on Mount Wilson
. KOCE has 4 digital subchannels including the OC Channel
. It is one of three PBS member stations serving Greater Los Angeles
, the others being KVCR-DT, and KLCS
.
in Huntington Beach. For most of its history, KOCE was a "beta" or secondary PBS station, airing only 25 percent of the national PBS schedule.
The station became the Los Angeles area's primary PBS station on January 1, 2011, when the area's previous primary station, KCET
, ended its link to PBS after 40 years and became an independent public television station.
After KCET left PBS, KOCE entered into a broadcast agreement with KLCS and KVCR to form PBS SoCal effective January 1, 2011. The PBS programming originally carried on KCET is now shared between the three stations. As a consequence, on December 31, 2010 KOCE expanded its cable coverage into Santa Barbara
, with Palm Springs
soon to follow. Both San Luis Obispo
and Santa Maria
, however, were not included in the cable coverage, as those communities are now served by San Francisco PBS member KQED, which are only accessible via cable. San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria were previously served by KCET. (Palm Springs is also served by KVCR-DT and San Diego PBS member KPBS-TV, while Bakersfield, which was also served by KCET, is now served via cable and over-the-air through Fresno
PBS member KVPT
.)
In the spring of 2011, KOCE moved it administrative offices to a modern facility in Costa Mesa.
televangelist network
Daystar
and members of the community who wanted to continue membership with PBS.
In 2004, the sale was finalized to the KOCE-TV Foundation, an organization made up of civic and business leaders who wanted to keep KOCE an educational station, for a bid price of $25.5 million, reduced from an initial bid of $32 million ($8 million up front and the rest in 25 equal installments without interest beginning in 2009). Daystar's unsuccessful bid was $25 million, all cash.
Daystar sued in state court, stating that under the terms of the auction, its all-cash bid should have been accepted. A lower court ruled in favor of the college district and the foundation, but on June 23, 2005, the California Court of Appeals ruled that the sale of KOCE was illegal, since the offer was modified after the end of bidding and because the value of the bid was not expressed in net present value
terms. Both sides appealed this decision. On November 22, 2005, a state appeals panel reheard arguments in the case following a petition from KOCE, the foundation, the district and Daystar. On May 25, 2006, the appeals court reaffirmed its decision, again ruling the sale illegal.
At the same time, Daystar also filed a federal lawsuit, alleging religious discrimination
, civil rights
violations and racketeering
. On May 1, 2006, the District Court dismissed the racketeering, but not the civil rights, portion of the lawsuit.
In June 2006, a state assembly bill that had previously been approved was changed to allow the Coast Community College District to sell KOCE below fair market value in order to keep it a PBS station. The new bill was passed by the assembly, but Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
vetoed it citing concerns about serving the public interest in the sale of public property and the unresolved legal challenges to the type of sale that the bill would have authorized.
In June 2007, an agreement was reached in which the KOCE-TV Foundation will keep the station, provided that Daystar would be allowed to broadcast over one of KOCE's digital services. Thus, KOCE-DT3 is reserved to air Daystar's national schedule without local deviation..
"Expand Your Mind"
"For a better California..." (????-????)
"Your PBS"
s with their main signal on digital television
channel 48:
Digital channels>
Channels
Programming
50.1
Main KOCE programming / PBS
50.2
OC Channel
50.3
Daystar Television Network
50.4
PBS World
. The station remained on its pre-transition channel 48 using PSIP to display its virtual channel
as 50.
On January 1, 2011, PBS World moved from KCET-DT4 to KOCE-DT4.
.
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
(PBS) member Public television
station, and is the primary PBS member for Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
. KOCE also features programming focused on the communities of Orange County, California
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
. It airs Orange County's only nightly newscast, Real Orange, with a concentration on human interest and public service stories. It also broadcasts several college courses (telecourses) by the Coast Community College District, which was its original owner. It is licensed
City of license
A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator....
to Huntington Beach, with studios in the South Coast Corporate Center south of the San Diego Freeway
San Diego Freeway
The San Diego Freeway is a named freeway in Southern California. It refers to the following two segments:*Interstate 5 in California, from the Mexico – United States border at the San Ysidro district of San Diego to Interstate 405 in Irvine...
in Costa Mesa
Costa Mesa, California
Costa Mesa is a city in Orange County, California. The population was 109,960 at the 2010 census. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to a primarily suburban and "edge" city with an economy based on retail, commerce, and light...
. Its transmitter is located at the Southern California tower farm on Mount Wilson
Mount Wilson (California)
Mount Wilson is one of the better known peaks in the San Gabriel Mountains, part of the Angeles National Forest in Los Angeles County, California. It is the location of the Mount Wilson Observatory and has become the astronomical center of Southern California with and telescopes, and and tall...
. KOCE has 4 digital subchannels including the OC Channel
OC Channel
OC Channel is a Over-the-air, digital broadcast, television news network. The channel is broadcast on a digital sub channel of PBS member station KOCE in Huntington Beach, California.-History and programming:...
. It is one of three PBS member stations serving Greater Los Angeles
Greater Los Angeles Area
The Greater Los Angeles Area, or the Southland, is a term used for the Combined Statistical Area sprawled over five counties in the southern part of California, namely Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County and Ventura County...
, the others being KVCR-DT, and KLCS
KLCS
KLCS, digital channel 41 and virtual channel 58 via PSIP, is a member station of the Public Broadcasting Service, and is owned by the Los Angeles Unified School District. KLCS is known on the air as "The Education Station for all Generations" and is based in downtown Los Angeles...
.
History
KOCE began broadcasting on November 20, 1972 as the first television station licensed in Orange County, with 4 hours of airtime per day. It broadcast its first telecourse in 1973. It was based in studios at Golden West CollegeGolden West College
Golden West College or GWC, is a community college providing two-year associate of arts degrees, and lower-division classes transferable to other colleges and universities...
in Huntington Beach. For most of its history, KOCE was a "beta" or secondary PBS station, airing only 25 percent of the national PBS schedule.
The station became the Los Angeles area's primary PBS station on January 1, 2011, when the area's previous primary station, KCET
KCET
KCET, channel 28, is an independent, non-commercial public television station licensed to Los Angeles, California, USA. KCET's studio is located on West Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, and its transmitter is atop Mount Wilson. Al Jerome is the current CEO and President, serving since 1996.KCET was...
, ended its link to PBS after 40 years and became an independent public television station.
After KCET left PBS, KOCE entered into a broadcast agreement with KLCS and KVCR to form PBS SoCal effective January 1, 2011. The PBS programming originally carried on KCET is now shared between the three stations. As a consequence, on December 31, 2010 KOCE expanded its cable coverage into Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
, with Palm Springs
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
soon to follow. Both San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, California
San Luis Obispo is a city in California, located roughly midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles on the Central Coast. Founded in 1772 by Spanish Fr. Junipero Serra, San Luis Obispo is one of California’s oldest communities...
and Santa Maria
Santa Maria, California
Santa Maria is a city in Santa Barbara County, on the Central Coast of California. The 2010 census population was 100,062, putting it ahead of Santa Barbara for the first time and making it the largest city in the county...
, however, were not included in the cable coverage, as those communities are now served by San Francisco PBS member KQED, which are only accessible via cable. San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria were previously served by KCET. (Palm Springs is also served by KVCR-DT and San Diego PBS member KPBS-TV, while Bakersfield, which was also served by KCET, is now served via cable and over-the-air through Fresno
Fresno
Fresno is the fifth largest city in California.Fresno may also refer to:-Places:Colombia* Fresno, TolimaSpain* Fresno, a ghost village in Nidáliga, Valle de Sedano, Burgos* Aldea del Fresno, Madrid* Fresno de la Vega, Ribera del Esla, León...
PBS member KVPT
KVPT
KVPT virtual channel 18, known on-air as Valley PBS, is the sole source of public television broadcasting in California’s Central San Joaquin Valley. Based in Fresno, California, Valley PBS is licensed to Digital Channel 40, but continues to use its historic analog channel 18 as its virtual channel...
.)
In the spring of 2011, KOCE moved it administrative offices to a modern facility in Costa Mesa.
KOCE vs. Daystar
In 2002, the District offered KOCE for sale in order to raise revenue for other programs. A bidding war ensued between ChristianChristian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
televangelist network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
Daystar
Daystar Television Network
The Daystar Television Network is an American evangelical Christian television religious broadcasting network headquartered near Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Bedford, Texas...
and members of the community who wanted to continue membership with PBS.
In 2004, the sale was finalized to the KOCE-TV Foundation, an organization made up of civic and business leaders who wanted to keep KOCE an educational station, for a bid price of $25.5 million, reduced from an initial bid of $32 million ($8 million up front and the rest in 25 equal installments without interest beginning in 2009). Daystar's unsuccessful bid was $25 million, all cash.
Daystar sued in state court, stating that under the terms of the auction, its all-cash bid should have been accepted. A lower court ruled in favor of the college district and the foundation, but on June 23, 2005, the California Court of Appeals ruled that the sale of KOCE was illegal, since the offer was modified after the end of bidding and because the value of the bid was not expressed in net present value
Net present value
In finance, the net present value or net present worth of a time series of cash flows, both incoming and outgoing, is defined as the sum of the present values of the individual cash flows of the same entity...
terms. Both sides appealed this decision. On November 22, 2005, a state appeals panel reheard arguments in the case following a petition from KOCE, the foundation, the district and Daystar. On May 25, 2006, the appeals court reaffirmed its decision, again ruling the sale illegal.
At the same time, Daystar also filed a federal lawsuit, alleging religious discrimination
Religious discrimination
Religious discrimination is valuing or treating a person or group differently because of what they do or do not believe.A concept like that of 'religious discrimination' is necessary to take into account ambiguities of the term religious persecution. The infamous cases in which people have been...
, civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
violations and racketeering
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly referred to as the RICO Act or simply RICO, is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization...
. On May 1, 2006, the District Court dismissed the racketeering, but not the civil rights, portion of the lawsuit.
In June 2006, a state assembly bill that had previously been approved was changed to allow the Coast Community College District to sell KOCE below fair market value in order to keep it a PBS station. The new bill was passed by the assembly, but Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
vetoed it citing concerns about serving the public interest in the sale of public property and the unresolved legal challenges to the type of sale that the bill would have authorized.
In June 2007, an agreement was reached in which the KOCE-TV Foundation will keep the station, provided that Daystar would be allowed to broadcast over one of KOCE's digital services. Thus, KOCE-DT3 is reserved to air Daystar's national schedule without local deviation..
Slogans
"TV Worth Watching""Expand Your Mind"
"For a better California..." (????-????)
"Your PBS"
Digital television
KOCE multi-casts three digital subchannelDigital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
s with their main signal on digital television
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
channel 48:
OC Channel
OC Channel is a Over-the-air, digital broadcast, television news network. The channel is broadcast on a digital sub channel of PBS member station KOCE in Huntington Beach, California.-History and programming:...
Daystar Television Network
The Daystar Television Network is an American evangelical Christian television religious broadcasting network headquartered near Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Bedford, Texas...
PBS World
PBS World is a 24-hour United States over-the-air digital subchannel showing public TV non-fiction, science, nature, news, public affairs and documentaries...
Analog-to-digital conversion
KOCE-TV shut down its analog signal on June 12, 2009 at 11:30 PM, as part of the DTV transition in the United StatesDTV transition in the United States
The DTV transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of free over-the-air television programming...
. The station remained on its pre-transition channel 48 using PSIP to display its virtual channel
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
as 50.
On January 1, 2011, PBS World moved from KCET-DT4 to KOCE-DT4.
KOCE Weather Center
KOCE employs a Weather Center stationed in La Habra Heights, CA, about 20 miles north of the KOCE's broadcasting center in Huntington Beach. It is also located in the same area as the KOCE's transmitter site for the Orange County area. This Weather Station, which only consists of a weather camera, is shown live only on Real Orange broadcasts on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays during the weather reports. The weather radar image and other data are gathered from other weather sources as KOCE does not employ its own weather radarWeather radar
Weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, estimate its type . Modern weather radars are mostly pulse-Doppler radars, capable of detecting the motion of rain droplets in addition to the...
.
Trivia
- The voice heard in KOCE's station identification spots is that of popular voice-over artist Camille Dixon.
- KOCE's broadcasting facility is located inside Golden West CollegeGolden West CollegeGolden West College or GWC, is a community college providing two-year associate of arts degrees, and lower-division classes transferable to other colleges and universities...
's campus. - Long time Los Angeles news anchor Ed ArnoldEd ArnoldEd Arnold is an American news anchor.Ed Arnold in California is currently a co-anchor for Real Orange, a nightly news and public affairs show for Orange County, California on KOCE, one of the four PBS stations in the Los Angeles market. Prior to joining KOCE, he was one of the Orange County bureau...
is now a co-anchor alongside Ann Pulice for Real Orange. - KOCE formed a partnership with the Orange County Register for gathering the news for their newscasts as well as being their sponsor for their program.
- KOCE has also teamed up with Chapman UniversityChapman UniversityChapman University is a private, non-profit university located in Orange, California affiliated with the Christian Church . Known for its blend of liberal arts and professional programs, Chapman University encompasses seven schools and colleges: Lawrence and Kristina Dodge College of Film and Media...
in Orange, CA for programming on the OC ChannelOC ChannelOC Channel is a Over-the-air, digital broadcast, television news network. The channel is broadcast on a digital sub channel of PBS member station KOCE in Huntington Beach, California.-History and programming:...
, located on digital sub-channelVirtual channelIn telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
50.2.