Local public radio stations KAZU and KUSP plan to merge by the end of the year.

Despite what their general managers may say, even nonprofit public radio stations compete fiercely with one another. So when a proposal late last year to consolidate Monterey County-based KAZU and Santa Cruz County-based KUSP hit the drawing board, the digs should have filled the air. After all, the two stations compete for virtually the same listeners. And listeners translate into donated dollars. And the more money each station receives, the more it can spend on things like high definition radio broadcasts, Web streams, podcasts and any number of other state-of-the-art gizmos.

The digs never came.

“The stations historically were cordial towards one another, but we also realized we competed with one another, and we existed in a commercially competitive environment,” says Steve Reed, CSUMB’s vice president of university advancement. KAZU operates under a broadcast license acquired by CSUMB in 2001. “We saw that we could combine our strengths to better minimize our challenges, and increase the public services that we provide.”

Negotiations between the two stations, under the direction of a hired consulting firm, began in February and continue today. The consolidation is expected to take place before the end of the year.

While the negotiating team hasn’t set a program lineup for the post-consolidation radio stations, the overlap that happens now – for example, both stations air NPR news shows “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered” during morning and evening commute times, respectively – sounds unlikely.

“One station will continue to deliver news and public affairs programming,” says Terry Green, KUSP’s general manager, “and the other will provide music, arts and cultural affairs programming.

“If [consolidation] is ultimately successful, we’ll have more diversity of programming than we have now. In a lot of mergers, you reduce the options available to listeners. That’s not going to happen here. In fact, we’ll have the capacity to have more public service.”

That’s where the shared dollars will help. While KAZU’s annual budget is about $875,000, KUSP’s is a little over $1 million. Currently, KAZU and KUSP each pay for the rights to air National Public Radio and Public Radio International broadcasts. Under the giant new umbrella that will control both radio stations, the NPR and PRI fees will come out of just one pocket.

Duncan Lively, KAZU’s general manager, says the timing of the consolidation is prime. “Both stations are in a healthy state fiscally, which I believe is the right time to make these types of decisions.”  

And while the stations will remain two separate facilities – one in Santa Cruz and one in Monterey County – dollars and sense will commingle at administrative, programming and staffing levels.

“One of the things that emerged early on in our discussions is that both KUSP and KAZU are running with half a staff anyway,” Green says. “The paid staffs are small, and jobs don’t overlap. So layoffs or staff reductions are unlikely.”

Reed is precise and deliberate when he talks about what the consolidation will bring to the public. “As a combined entity,” he says, “we can better take advantage of new technologies to deliver content and increase both overall listenership, as well as our collective reach into the community.”

Green’s take is no less cerebral. “Two NPR stations working together in a collaborative relationship for the benefit of the public?” he asks rhetorically. “Now that’s pretty cool.”