KITV, KIKU due diligence debate returns to full OHA board

News admin June 25, 2026 0 Comments

KITV, KIKU due diligence debate returns to full OHA board

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) — The Office of Hawaiian Affairs Investment and Land Management Committee passed a measure to spend up to $172,000 on due diligence for the potential acquisition of KITV and KIKU from Allen Media Group.

OHA chair Kaialiʻi Kahele said studying the stations’ assets, licenses and infrastructure could take about 90 days.

“We would get it at a really good cost and we would be negligent if we didn’t enter into due diligence,” said OHA trustee Brickwood Galuteria.

“It would mean narrative sovereignty on a scale we have never held before. It would allow Hawaiian stories, language, and perspectives to appear in mainstream news every day,” he added.

Allen Media Group acquired KITV in 2020 for $30 million and later bought KIKU for $2 million.

“We could probably flip it in five or six years and make a pretty good profit,” said OHA trustee John Waiheʻe IV.

Trustees who opposed the measure have multiple concerns.

“One of my top concerns is how this could put OHA as a whole, as an entity, at risk,” said OHA trustee Kalei Akaka.

“There are many areas in which OHA needs to learn to walk well before we begin to run. First, in terms of competence, we have no competency in the industry of broadcast,” said OHA trustee Keliʻi Akina.

Akina also lamented about years and money spent on development plans in Kakaʻako Makai and high-profile litigation.

“We are in the midst of a publicly known lawsuit with our CEO. The implications of that for the cohesiveness of our organization and the morale of OHA are far reaching,” Akina said.

The full board rejected the measure last month.

Native Hawaiian beneficiary Germaine Meyers expressed concern about the process.

“Trustees, if a proposal that has already been considered and rejected by a majority of the board, can simply be bought back through a different committee process a few months late, a few weeks later, beneficiaries may reasonably question whether board decisions have any finality at all,” she said.

Wednesday’s committee vote was 5-4. The measure is scheduled to be considered Thursday by the full board at 9 a.m. Observers said based on the committee vote, it’s expected to win approval.