County Manager Pans WTVI/CPCC Merger Plan
A plan to save struggling public broadcast station WTVI is drawing lousy ratings from County Manager Harry Jones, who calls the proposal “a government-funded bailout of a failed business model.”
The station, which last year ran a deficit of about $300,000 and has seen fundraising tumble, has been pushing a proposal that would have it merge operations with Central Piedmont Community College with the county forking over nearly $1.2 million to absorb the transition/merger costs.
That was a dicey pitch to begin with, considering the county two years ago scratched its $800,000 annual funding allotment that helped cover operating expenses for WTVI. The county still maintains WTVI’s studios, which are located on Commonwealth Avenue, continues debt payments on the station’s digital broadcasting equipment, and pitches in nearly $100,000 a year for the station to televise board of commissioners meetings.
But it hasn’t been enough to keep WTVI on sound financial footing; and without a quick influx of funding or a major operational restructuring, the station will likely go dark in June, when it’s expected to run dry of funds sufficient enough to pay its employees and cover its operating costs.
“Without a government subsidy, WTVI’s business model is not sustainable,” County Manager Harry Jones wrote in a memo to commissioners this week.
WTVI and CPCC officials are slated to pitch their merger proposal to commissioners during the board’s workshop meeting on March 13. The plan involves transferring WTVI’s broadcast license to CPCC and either leasing or transferring the station’s county-owned broadcast facility to CPCC, while the county would dole out up to $450,000 to CPCC to cover transition costs of the merger, along with providing $200,000 per year through fiscal year 2016 to cover equipment costs. The county would also shell out about $125,000 for severance costs for WTVI employees.
Additionally, CPPC wants the county to “repurpose the $5 million in currently approved capital funding for CPCC to renovate the vacant Citizens Center for use as a data center instead of a production/laboratory facility for its cable telecasts (Time Warner Cable channel 17).”
None of which set too well with Jones, as related in his memo to commissioners:
I consider this proposal to be a government-funded bailout of a failed business model, and believe County taxpayers should not pay for this bailout. In addition, I do not support the request to shift $5 million in capital funding from one CPCC capital project to another project that has not been on the capital request list and has not been ranked.
…
As regrettable as it may be that WTVI would cease operation, it is important to remember that WTVI has had multiple years to redesign and reshape its business model to reflect the new normal. Most recently, in FY2010, the Board reduced funding of WTVI, as it did County departments and other County-funded agencies. We were very open and candid with WTVI and others that the Great Recession and its lasting impact required all of us to think differently and chart new courses that did not require the same level of government funding as in the past.
With only months to go before its insolvency, WTVI has come forward with CPCC for another government bailout idea. Although having CPCC take over the operation of WTVI may result in a sustainable new model going forward, there is no guarantee of this.
Jones is likely being generous with his assessment; given WTVI’s track record of consistently requesting financial help to remain solvent, the prospect of the pattern continuing is a near certainty. Jones’ perspective that the loss of WTVI would be “regrettable,” is also suspect. How many folks would miss tuning in to watch WTVI on a regular basis? A dozen, a hundred? A thousand?
Commissioners would be wise to let this one, for once, run its course in the free market and skip yet another bailout.
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