USF sells TV station; will go off air

The University of South Florida has sold WUSF television as part of the Federal Communication Commission’s spectrum auction, the university announced Wednesday night, and the station will go off the air later this year.

The change does not affect WEDU, the area’s other public TV station, which is owned by Florida West Coast Public Broadcasting.

The TV station’s license was sold for $18.7 million, the university said in a press release. WUSF 89.7 and WSMR Radio are not affected by the sale, but a number of TV and WUSF public media employees will be laid off.

USF will have up to six months after receiving the proceeds of the sale to shut down the station’s TV broadcast operations. The money will be invested to support university initiatives, the university said.

Lara Wade, USF’s director of media and public affairs, said in a press release that the university is seeking support from other broadcasters in picking up WUSF’s television programming.

This story was originally published February 8, 2017 at 10:22 PM with the headline "USF sells TV station; will go off air."