The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is evaluating the potential purchase of a Hawaii broadcast company — a move that would place one of the state’s major television stations under Native Hawaiian ownership.

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OHA declined to say whether it has entered negotiations with a broadcast company or whether an offer has been made or is imminent. But sources close to the potential deal said the agency’s acquisition target is the Allen Media Group-owned KITV-KIKU, the local ABC affiliate and a station featuring Japanese and Filipino programming.

KITV, also known on air as KITV4 Island News, is one of the top three major broadcast television news companies in Hawaii, along with Hawaii News Now, or KGMB-KHNL, the CBS and NBC affiliates, respectively, and Fox affiliate KHON2, but has experienced financial and operational instability in recent years.

KITV was purchased by Allen Media Group, the broadcasting division of Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios, for $30 million in 2020. The acquisition included satellite stations KHVO in Hilo and KMAU in Wailuku, along with carriage of four digital networks: MeTV, Hawai‘i TV, Start TV and Heroes &Icons.

AMG purchased KIKU-TV in a separate 2022 transaction.

The company announced in June that it had hired Moelis &Co. to advise on selling stations in 21 markets, including Honolulu.

“Six years ago, Allen Media Group began the process of investing over $1 billion to acquire big four network-­affiliated television stations,” Byron Allen, AMG founder, chairman and CEO, said in a statement at the time of the announcement. “We have received numerous inquiries and written offers for most of our television stations and now is the time to explore getting a return on this phenomenal investment.

“We are going to use this opportunity to take a serious look at the offers, and the sale proceeds will be used to significantly reduce our debt.”

Earlier this month, AMG sold 10 stations to Gray Media for $171 million, but KITV-KIKU was not included.

Neither Allen Media Group nor KITV immediately responded to a Honolulu Star-Advertiser request for comment.

On March 20, OHA issued a request for proposals seeking a media brokerage firm to conduct a valuation and full review for “potential acquisition of local broadcast television assets that operate within the Hawaii media market. These assets include television stations, digital platforms, and related media infrastructure.”

The RFP outlines a 90‑ to 120‑day assessment of finances, advertising, digital platforms, Federal Communications Commission licenses, infrastructure, staffing and “opportunities for public interest and culturally grounded programming.”

OHA’s Board of Trustees will take up a proposed media brokerage and advisory services agreement at its meeting Thursday.

According to the agenda, the board will consider a $172,500 request from its Budget and Finance Committee for confidential due‑diligence work on a possible acquisition of assets and real estate from a Hawaii‑based production or broadcast company.

OHA Board Chair Kaiali‘i Kahele declined to comment for this story, but at a May 13 Budget and Finance Committee meeting, he alluded to the potential acquisition while identifying the funding as an emerging need in the fiscal year 2027 budget.

“As discussed in executive session previously and to be coming up at a future board meeting will be the potential acquisition of assets and real property controlled by a production or broadcast company serving the Hawaii market,” he told trustees.

Kahele also presented a slide outlining the rationale for exploring the deal, which read, “From due diligence, OHA would fully assess the cost, scope, risks and strategic value of the opportunity, including potential benefits related to job creation, greater influence over Native Hawaiian storytelling and public messaging, and diversification of OHA’s asset portfolio.”

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OHA has previously considered purchasing local broadcast properties. In 2006, the Board of Trustees rejected a proposal to buy KGMB and its 41,000‑­ square‑­foot property at 1534 Kapiolani Blvd., voting against even funding due‑diligence efforts. At the time, media observers raised concerns about a government agency potentially controlling a locally owned news outlet.

OHA, a quasi-autonomous state agency created in 1978 by the Hawaii State Constitutional Convention, approved a biennium budget of more than $136 million for fiscal years 2026 and 2027. It invests over $12 million annually in Native Hawaiian programs and has issued over $34 million in loans in the past decade.

The agency’s interest in media ownership mirrors Indigenous models such as New Zealand’s Whakaata Maori television channel.

Kuhio Lewis, CEO of the Hawaiian Council, said OHA purchasing a broadcast company would strengthen community connection, create jobs and support economic independence. He said Native Hawaiian ownership would ensure stories and culture are “told authentically, not filtered,” noting that Maori media has helped “revitalize their language.”

Lewis said Hawaiian organizations are increasingly aligned in pursuing economic sustainability. In recent years, the Hawaiian Council secured a destination stewardship contract worth tens of millions of dollars from the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, opened the Na Lei Aloha hula and dinner show in Waikiki and the Kaula Lu‘au at Ko Olina Resort, and acquired Hawaii Stage, formerly Hawai‘i Stage &Lighting Rentals.

“We all seem to be heading in a similar path, which is to have greater influence on the messaging and on the cultural interpretations,” he said. “How do we create pathways for a resilient future rather than one where so much migration is occurring. Let’s create something in the homeland that we can lean on.”

He emphasized that media ownership is tied to cultural identity and economic independence.

“It’s different interpretations, but in the same direction,” Lewis said. “We are telling stories; we are creating and defining what our culture is to people, while OHA seems to be pursuing similar things on the media front. For us it’s about economic development too. It’s about how we become less dependent on federal and state funds, and to me that means we have to start being creative and generate our own revenue.”

Lewis added that the media landscape is shifting quickly, and while he sees OHA’s move as an investment, he suggested they might create something new that reenergizes the industry.

Keith Vieira, a Native Hawaiian hospitality executive and principal of KV &Associates, said OHA’s strategy aligns with broader efforts to expand Native Hawaiian workforce development and increase participation in key decision‑making sectors.

He pointed to the Hawaiian Council as an example of how ownership changes expectations. “It gives them a seat at the business table as opposed to just comments on the sidelines,” he said. “If you want to be taken seriously, you have to have skin in the game.”

Vieira said media ownership would give OHA a more direct role in shaping statewide information flow.

“Having a finger on what’s communicated and the timing of what’s communicated would benefit the community,” he said. “Making sure the community is aware of key issues is a win for us.”

While OHA’s mission focuses on Native Hawaiians, Vieira said the potential impact of media ownership would extend to the broader population. He emphasized that any involvement in broadcast operations must remain unbiased and centered on issues that are important to the community.

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