Chapman University Bids on PBS Station

ORANGE — After months of discussion and rumors, Chapman University has made a bid to buy KOCE-TV, Orange County’s Public Broadcasting Service affiliate.

The university, located in Orange, made the offer in a letter to the Coast Community College District, which holds the station’s broadcast license, district officials said Tuesday.

District spokeswoman Ann Garten confirmed receiving the bid, but declined to release a copy or reveal the amount. The station, which is on the Golden West College campus in Huntington Beach and has 2.5 million weekly viewers, was valued at $26 million to $39 million in a recent district-commissioned appraisal.

A deal is not assured, however. In August, the college district’s board of trustees unanimously voted to explore all options that would let the district keep the station.