The Board of Trustees at Penn State University has approved the sale of its college-run public broadcast outlet to its larger peer.
On Monday, the board voted to sell WPSU (Channel 3) to Philadelphia-area public broadcaster WHYY (Channel 12). Both serve as PBS member stations, and the transaction also includes WPSU’s radio station.
Under the new terms, WHYY will take over the station’s assets for $1 and will be responsible for raising the $17 million independently. Sara Thorndike, Penn State’s Senior Vice President for Finance and Business, said WHYY intends to raise $8.36 million during the first two years of the five-year period.
“WHYY has agreed on their own to go out and fundraise and raise money for that $17 million that is needed over the five-year period,” Thorndike told trustees during the meeting. “So, they will continue to make every effort to raise money, at least for the first two years, which they have estimated to be $8.36 million.”
The agreement includes a 30-day exclusivity period during which WHYY must secure financial commitments. During that time, Penn State may continue to hear from other potential buyers but cannot sign alternative agreements while negotiating a definitive deal with WHYY.
The decision to sell WPSU came as a direct result of Congress pulling hundreds of millions of dollars in funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) earlier this year. The decision resulted in a serious budgetary shortfall for WPSU, which relied heavily on grant money from CPB.
Since the transaction between WPSU and WHYY involves the transfer of broadcast licenses, it will require the approval of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), whose lead official has been antagonistic of public media in recent months. It isn’t clear if the FCC will approve the deal, or how things will progress at WPSU if federal regulators do not approve it.
In a statement, WHYY CEO Bill Marrazzo said the deal represents an investment in the future of local public media.
“This transaction honors WPSU’s rich legacy while advancing WHYY’s mission to ensure that everyone, including those 1.5 million community members in Central Pennsylvania who count on WPSU, has access to free, non-commercial public media celebrating trusted local journalism, quality entertainment, and lifelong learning,” Marrazzo said.
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