Penn State And WHYY Finalize WPSU Deal, Submit Paperwork To FCC

Pennsylvania Capital-Star

August 3, 2026

The deal to transfer WPSU from Penn State to WHYY has cleared another hurdle.

The university and the Philadelphia-based public broadcasting station reached agreement on the details of the transfer and filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission last Thursday. FCC approval is needed before the transfer can be completed. The sale price is $1.

In a statement Friday, WHYY said it “is pleased to have reached an agreement with Penn State University that marks an important milestone toward preserving public media service for central and northern Pennsylvania. We appreciate Penn State’s partnership throughout this process and our shared commitment to uninterrupted service for WPSU’s audiences.”

The statement goes on to say: “Together, our goal is to preserve and strengthen WPSU’s trusted journalism, educational programming and community service for the approximately 1.5 million people it serves.”

The agreement includes WPSU-TV and WPSU-FM. WPSU will keep its name.

The agreement says WHYY will make “reasonable efforts” to operate the stations and maintain them for at least three years after closing. Bill Marrazzo, president and CEO of WHYY, has said previously that they are in the process of raising funds to support WPSU and allow it to continue.

The boards of both Penn State and WHYY approved the transfer in October 2025. Those votes reversed an earlier decision by the Penn State trustees’ finance committee in September 2025 to reject a similar transfer agreement, but one that included $17 million in funding support from Penn State. Without the agreement, the university administration had said it would shut down WPSU by June 30, 2026.

The university had said it was not possible to continue to subsidize WPSU, particularly with the loss of federal funding.

The application to the FCC will go through a review, including a public comment period that is typically 30 days.

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