SLGT doesn't apply to radio
KTRU sale approved: FCC rules against Rice students, gives KUHC the go-ahead
The last battle in the fight to keep KTRU on local airwaves has ended with a victory for the administrations of Rice University and the University of Houston.
On Friday, the FCC approved the sale of Rice's KTRU to the University of Houston, where it will become KUHC, a second NPR-branded station playing classical music 24 hours a day.
The sale was announced in August 2010, with Rice offering the 50,000-watt receiver and license to the University of Houston for $9.5 million. The move outraged many students and alums, who organized "Save KTRU" protests.
The group Friends of KTRU officially filed a "Petition to Deny" with the FCC in December 2010, arguing that “the loss of KTRU will result in a substantial elimination of local programming." In its decision, the FCC noted that the content of programming is outside of its purview.
"We're not surprised but we're still disappointed," said Joey Yang, the KTRU station manager and a force behind the Friends of KTRU and Save KTRU groups. "Our lawyers were very frank with us that there was not a great chance, that there was to precedent, but we were still hopeful."
Yang stressed that KTRU will still be broadcasting, available on the Internet, on iTunes, as an iPhone application and on HD radio.
"KTRU will always be available and we are still focused on great local programming that no one else is providing," he says.
