OCEANSIDE — One of Southern California’s last remaining public education and government channels is turning to the community for help keeping the microphones on and the cameras rolling.
For the past 43 years, KOCT Television has delivered community news, arts, education, government meetings, sports and special event coverage to North County residents.
“We present both sides, we don’t state opinions, and we deliver information for civic engagement,” said Executive Director Carly Starr Brullo-Niles. “What we do is very important.”
Under its current agreement with the city, KOCT operates as Oceanside’s public access channel, providing services that include broadcasting City Council and other public meetings, producing community programming and training students.
KOCT serves viewers on Cox channels 18 and 19, through its 24/7 streaming service on KOCT.org and on social media and digital platforms, including YouTube.
The station has also served generations of North County youth through mentorship and internship programs, training future media professionals who have gone on to work on well-known projects.
Station Manager Angela Miranda, who started as an intern with KOCT, said she began around the same time as Julia Swain, the cinematographer who shot Netflix’s “Voicemails for Isabelle.”
“Another person went on to report for NBC7, and somebody does audio for Netflix, so there are lots of opportunities to learn here,” she said. “It’s a chill environment where we can have people jump around to find out what they want to do.”
Miranda, who grew up in Oceanside, remembers KOCT’s presence since she was a young Girl Scout singing Christmas carols at the station.
Over her more than 16 years with the station, Miranda has seen its financial struggles. At times, the station even feared it would have to close its doors before Starr took over in 2018.
During her time with KOCT, Starr spearheaded efforts to upgrade the aging station with state-of-the-art equipment.
“She brought our visibility back and kept us afloat for the past eight years,” Miranda said. “We still had less funding, but we made it work, and the quality went up as well.”
As a public, education and government, or PEG, channel, KOCT receives funding through a PEG fee charged to Cox and AT&T cable customers in Oceanside. That revenue has declined over the years as more people have dropped cable in favor of streaming services.
When Starr walked through the doors in 2018, KOCT was receiving $468,000. That amount has since been nearly cut in half, with the station receiving $263,000 last year.
According to the city manager’s office, KOCT receives 100% of the PEG fee each quarter. Under prior agreements, the city retained a small percentage of the total to upgrade and maintain cameras and lighting in the council chambers, but KOCT now receives all of the pass-through funding.
Starr noted that of the 6% the city receives from the fees, KOCT receives only 1%, which is no longer enough to sustain the organization.
As funding has decreased, the station’s costs have risen amid inflation over the past several years.
In the past, the city has granted KOCT additional financial support beyond PEG revenue, including a one-time emergency contribution of $175,000 in 2025.
The City Council also considered additional funding for KOCT in its current 2026-27 fiscal year budget but ultimately chose not to provide more than the current agreement calls for.
During the June 3 budget discussion, Mayor Esther Sanchez said the general fund was never intended to pay for KOCT.
“We don’t have the funds to be doing this,” Sanchez said. “We have a certain contract, and with all the other things they are doing, that is outside of our contract.
“They’ve been given two extra years to come up with a plan, and they signed a contract that it would be the last time that they would ask for funding from the general fund,” Sanchez continued. “I understand the desire to fund them more but I don’t see any downsizing.”
Sanchez suggested KOCT move to a school campus, such as MiraCosta College, as other public access stations have done, eliminating the financial burden of a lease.
Starr said she already spoke with MiraCosta College about a potential move there.
“There’s no room for us there,” she said.
KOCT has been forced to make drastic staff cuts over the past two decades, combining roles to stay afloat.
Currently, the station operates with four full-time staff members, several part-time and on-call employees and a handful of interns. Moving forward, the station will cut even more hours for its remaining employees.
Despite the odds, KOCT has had its biggest production year ever over the past year, and staff members plan to keep going as long as possible.
“What people need to understand is we were never meant to be self-sustaining,” Starr said. “We’re more like a library, or transportation services – we’re a public service. No one has done anything incorrectly here, and no one is overspending.”
KOCT is now asking the community for donations to continue providing its public access services to Oceanside and beyond.
“We are worth saving,” Starr said. “The day KOCT would close its doors – how do you replace a 43-year legacy? A nationally award winning television that has worked day in and day out to just love Oceanside and North County. I understand that not everyone gets to make it, but we are the last frontier of unbiased journalism in Southern California.”
Starr said there is a “gap of understanding” among city leaders about KOCT’s value to the city, noting the station produces more than 100 projects for Oceanside annually through its contract.
According to the city manager’s office, the city “would welcome the chance to help KOCT find a sustainable path forward, such as connecting the station with potential partners.” Any proposals would need to remain within the parameters of the city’s current agreement with KOCT, which runs through June 2027.
“Many people have poured years of work into KOCT, and the city is thankful for their commitment to local programming and the benefit it has provided to the community,” the city manager’s office states. “The city has supported the station financially well beyond its franchise fee revenue, and it remains committed to keeping City Council meetings and other city news accessible to residents.”
To support KOCT, visit KOCT.org/donate.
