FLINT, MICH.: WFUM-TV, a public station in Southeast Michigan, is being acquired for $1 million, The Morning Sun reports. The board of trustees of Central Michigan University approved the acquisition on Tuesday during a special meeting. The University of Michigan now runs WFUM, which is said to serve around 8 million viewers. The acquisition will give CMU the largest footprint of any public broadcast operation in the state, the Sun said.
Acquiring WFUM will also give CMU first-time exposure on Dish Network and DirecTV in the Flint, Saginaw and Bay City, Mich. markets. Ed Grant, general manager of CMU public broadcasting said transmitting the current signals by fiber would cost around $20,000, plus a microwave link and another transmitter.
The University of Michigan decided to sell the station last April. CMU is paying for it out of “university reserves” that are expected to be repaid through public broadcast coffers. An interim management agreement will be proffered by mid-November, Grant said, adding that CMU wants to take over the programming “very quickly.”
The FCC must approve of the change in ownership.
“CMU to acquire Flint TV station from U of M”is available at The Morning Sun.
CATEGORIES
