The world's largest religious broadcaster remains a bidder for Orange County's only public television station, but said Wednesday it hopes KOCE-TV will remain a PBS affiliate instead.
TBN spokesman John Casoria said the televangelist organization hopes the KOCE-TV Foundation, which raises funds for Channel 50, acquires the station. "We think it would be a good thing for the county," he said.
The foundation is the only one of five bidders promising to keep KOCE a PBS affiliate. The other four bidders, all religious broadcasters, have each offered about $25 million, under a variety of terms, for the Huntington Beach-based station owned by the Coast Community College District.
The issue before college trustees is whether to sell the station to the foundation for $10 million--and ensure it will remain a public television station -- or sell it for more than twice as much to a religious broadcaster. If that happens, TBN's Casoria made it clear Wednesday that his organization wants KOCE for itself.
"If the trustees say we're going to take the money [from the highest bidder] and run, we'll still be in the bidding," he said.
Foundation officials are hoping that trustees will be swayed by a lineup of influential Orange County civic leaders who say the county will best be served by keeping KOCE as a PBS affiliate, even if it means less money for the college district.
At one time, the foundation's bid was in partnership with KCET TV Channel 28, Los Angeles' public television station. KCET dropped out of the deal this week, saying it could not meet the deadline.
TBN officials met for the second time Monday with the foundation, to discuss how the two might work together.
Casoria said the two sides discussed legal issues and whether TBN could lend the foundation funds to buy KOCE, although "nothing came out of it. We were just batting about ideas."
Joel Slutzky, a foundation spokesman, said he had no idea if the two sides could come to an agreement.
Casoria said he was very positive TBN and the foundation would be able to make a deal. "If the foundation gets it without us, so much the better for them because they've gotten some other source of funding. I say more power to them."
College trustees are expected to decide on a buyer at an Oct. 15 meeting.
The uncertainty over TBN's bid was a result of statements Casoria made to the community college board of trustees Aug. 20, when the bids were made public.
