Northern Kentucky University is in the final stages of a potential sale of its public radio station. The school’s board of regents has voted to authorize negotiations with a religious broadcaster. The would-be buyers are for two of its three non-commercial frequencies.
The university’s governing body gave its approval for negotiations with the Bible Broadcasting Corporation for the transfer of the license for the non-commercial station WNKU.
According to NKU’s campus newspaper, the Northerner, the religious broadcaster has offered $1.9 million for the station that has operated since 1985. All three of WKNU's stations have been on the market since early last year.
Matt Sexton, editor-in-chief for NKU’s student paper, The Northerner, was at the meeting: “Even those who executed the process to have the sale go through look at this as very much a regretful day in the history of NKU and WNKU.”
Sexton said the university felt this deal was the best they could do to recover its financial investment in the stations. “If anybody else wanted to top this they had their opportunity and good or bad however you wanna look at it. This is probably what's gonna go forward,” he said.
Media reports indicate a separate sale is being negotiated for a station “repeater” WNKE, located near Portsmouth, Ohio. Final approval for the sale of the radio stations must be given by the Federal Communications Commission, a process that can take months.
