KUSF Transmitter Sale Denied

The FCC is listening

​The Federal Communications Commission has denied the University of San Francisco's application to move the 90.3 FM dial to Marin.

Now this doesn't mean that sale of the college station won't go through; the FCC has yet to consider USF's application to sell the KUSF license to a Southern California station that plans to make 90.3 FM a classical radio station.

Denying the removal of the transmitter from San Francisco does, however, signal that the FCC is listening -- yes, that was a pun.

"It shows us that the FCC is paying attention to this and they aren't just rubber-stamping the sale," said Irwin Swirnoff, a volunteer working to save KUSF. "USF can't just steamroll this through like they had hoped."

KUSF volunteers have been fighting the sale of the college indie station since Jan 18. when the University of San Francisco abruptly pulled the plug on KUSF. Afterward, USF officials announced a $3 million deal to sell the popular station, which has been a fixture in the San Francisco music and cultural-programming community.

The station has since shifted to an online-only format, drawing very few listeners, according to program producers.

KUSF volunteers filed a petition with the FCC, opposing the sale. They have said the university did not consult students and it did not give the community an opportunity to purchase the radio station.

Moving the transmitter out of San Francisco would significantly weaken the signal for local listeners, Swirnoff said.

"Taking the transmitter out of San Francisco raises serious questions in itself, because 90.3 FM was created to be a station that served San Francisco," he said.

Follow us on Twitter at @SFWeekly and @TheSnitchSF