PORTLAND’S JAZZ STATION – KMHD – AWAITS A FATEFUL DECISION BY ITS LICENSEE

This coming Wednesday (3/20) the Mt. Hood Community College (MHCC) Board of Education will decide the fate of KMHD 89.1 FM, one of the most significant Jazz music radio station in America. 

Will they decide to continue KMHD’s successful relationship with Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB), or, will they choose to bring KMHD back to campus for an uncertain but smaller future.

One thing is known: Jazz music fans in Portland love KMHD and want it to continue the way it has been since 2009. 

Back then, MHCC, in the Portland suburb of Gresham, turned day-to-day operations of the station over to OPB via a managing agreement. 

Under OPB’s guidance, KMHD has been stellar performer and has become nationally known curator and presenter of Jazz music.

OPB also provides KMHD with financial advantages such as a membership and underwriting infrastructure, an environment of programming excellence and a history of success. According to local press reports, KMHD has raised around $600,000 a year under OPB’s leadership. Plus the relationship is a bargain for MHCC. Their only cost is around $15,000 per year to maintain the FCC license.

The chart on the left shows the Nielsen ratings for for 13 full-time Jazz music located in PPM markets.

 We have highlighted the “Weekly Cume Rating” performance for all 13 stations in the column on the right. 

In the Fall 2017 ratings, KMHD had the highest Weekly Cume Rating of all 13 stations.

Weekly Cume Rating is an important metric because it measures market penetration. The higher the number, the more “significant” the station is in the market. 

Weekly Cume Rating is shorthand for the percentage of people, age 6 or older that listen to at least five minutes of a station during the past week.

Since KMHD is doing well by local and national standards, why would anyone want to change the station? Call it a naive utopian notion that"we know best and don't confuse me with the facts."

Several months ago the President of MHCC, Lisa Skari, bowed to pressure from a group of MHCC employees who want KMHD back in Gresham at any cost. Skari organized a campus committee to develop a business plan and strategy for KMHD to return to the campus.The group presented their findings to the MHCC board last week.

The committee foresees KMHD exiting OPB and returning to MHCC without any damage to the Jazz format. But they want a more “student friendly” sound and a less professional (and expensive) staff. Many observers have told the committee that their numbers don’t add up and their plan is flawed. But the committee continues to pressure the MHCC board to move the station "back home."

TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE

MHCC must decide what to do with KMHD by April 1, 2019. That is when the current agreement with OPB expires.

In 2009 MHCC agreed to a five-year deal with OPB to manage KMHD.  Things went very well and MHCC agreed to another five-year term that is now reaching its end.

Meanwhile MHCC’s “bring back KMHD” committee heard the results of an informal survey of MHCC students that found only 3% of the students listen to KMHD. Oh my!

MHCC asked OPB for a two-year agreement to allow for time to plan the relocation. OPB said, “no” – it is five-years or nothing. Now MHCC must decide to accept a new five-year agreement with OPB or move the station back to the campus by the end of August 2019.

A GLIMPSE AT THE FUTURE

The reason we used Fall 2017 data to compare KMHD to other full-time jazz stations, is because of the negative impact of MHCC’s “bring back KMHD” effort on station listeners. The uncertainty has also hurt pledging and underwriting.

Story update 3-18-19 1pm CT

Lynne Clendenin, OPB’s VP of Programming and Station Manager for KMHD, notified us that 89.1 FM had serious encoder issues during Fall 2018. These technical issues also contributed to KMHD’s drop in the Nielsen PPM ratings.

The chart on the left shows five-year Nielsen ratings trends for KMBH. 

Since Fall 2014 KMHD has consistently performed well. The Fall 2018 numbers don’t fit this pattern.

But, the drop in listening portends the future for KMHD if the MHCC  board “brings back KMHD.” 

It sounds so easy but MHCC must prepare for a firestorm of negative publicity should it vote to bring the station back to the campus. Such a move will make it appear that KMHD's purpose is to serve a campus rather than the Portland Metro Area. In other words, it is a small-time choice.

According to a report in the Portland Tribune last week [link], the MHCC board appears to be divided with several members seemingly open to bringing the station back to the college.