OC Insider—KOCE May Get Star Billing at Expanded OCPAC

Launching an $8.5 million capital campaign so it can upgrade to digital isn’t the only thing happening at increasingly ambitious KOCE. The Insider hears that there have been preliminary discussions about moving the public TV station’s studios from Golden West College in Huntington Beach to the vicinity of the OC Performing Arts Center if the center goes ahead with a $200 million expansion; one idea is for KOCE broadcasts to be carried on a JumboTron outside a new concert hall. Also, KOCE is seeking FCC permission to move its transmitter from La Habra Heights to Mount Wilson, which would increase the station’s coverage by 50%, to include the Inland Empire and San Fernando Valley. And KOCE is one of the first public TV stations seeking FCC permission to operate a piece of its future digital spectrum as a commercial channel focused on OC business and tourism. KOCE, like many public stations, also wants to lease spare digital capacity to corporations for data transmission. Latest word on the idea of the Orange Coast Community College District selling KOCE or partnering (Chapman U has been one suitor): Nope It looks like Larry Thomas has started a trend. Franz Wisner has joined him as an Irvine Co. schmoozer opting for early retirement, in Wisner’s case after five years and at the tender age of 34. “The Wiz” and brother Kurt, 32, who had been selling homes in Seattle, decided to spend the next year or two or whatever seeing the world. “Neither of us is married, we’ve got no kids, we have some money,” Wisner said. “We’re telling people, anywhere you want to join us, come join us.” Their first leg next month will be to Sweden, where they’re picking up a Saab to drive through Europe and the Middle East. No immediate replacement for Wisner, who has been Don Bren’s vp for government relations reporting to Gary Hunt The joint UCI-UCSD bid to get $100 million from the state for a telecommunications program is competing against a similar proposal from Berkeley. Part of the local pitch is that the state has showered plenty of funds on its prized older universities and now should help Irvine and San Diego, which are each expected to add something like 10,000 students this decade. Two UCI proposals (the other is for a genetics institute) made it to the final field of six, from which three or four are expected to get the $100 million grants; winners are to be announced in late September.