PHILADELPHIA, PA — WHYY completed its acquisition of WPSU from Penn State University on Oct. 1, taking control of the station’s television and radio operations after federal regulators approved the license transfer and preserving public media service for about 1.5 million residents across central and northern Pennsylvania.
WHYY will operate the stations under the WPSU name and call letters, with local television, radio and digital programming continuing alongside PBS and NPR content.
The transaction follows nearly two years of planning between WHYY and Penn State and received Federal Communications Commission approval in September.
WPSU will remain locally focused and locally run, according to the organizations. WHYY said it plans to preserve the station’s existing regional role while investing in journalism, educational services, community engagement and programming.
“For more than 70 years, WPSU has been a trusted resource for the people of central and northern Pennsylvania,” WHYY President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Marrazzo said. “Our responsibility now is to honor that trust while building an even stronger and more sustainable WPSU for the generations ahead.”
The acquisition expands WHYY’s public-media operations beyond its southeastern Pennsylvania base while separating WPSU’s broadcast operations from Penn State.
Penn State Senior Vice President for Finance and Business, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer Sara Thorndike said the transaction ensures that more than 1.5 million people in the region will continue to receive public-media service.
WHYY said donors in Centre County and southeastern Pennsylvania have provided working capital to support WPSU during the transition and fund future investment.
The organization plans to combine WPSU’s local relationships and regional programming with WHYY’s operating infrastructure and experience as an independent public-media organization.
“This is not about changing what WPSU means to the communities it serves,” Marrazzo said. “It is about giving WPSU the foundation to grow, evolve and continue serving this region for decades to come.”
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