Flint public broadcasting station to go off air April 23
At 11:59 p.m. April 23, the Flint public broadcasting station Central Michigan University sold for $14 million will go off the air.
WCMZ TV Channel 28 was sold as part of the Federal Communications Commission spectrum auction in February 2017. According to a statement from the channel, it will cease broadcasting April 23.
More information is available on the WCMU page.
The CMU Board of Trustees decided in December 2015 to participate in the FCC spectrum auction, which was designed to clear broadcast bandwidth for broadband providers.
In February 2017, the university announced the sale of the Flint station. CMU President George Ross said while it was a difficult decision to sell the station, he said viewers would continue to have access to PBS through other sources.
In December 2017, trustees voted to allocate the $14.1 million from the sale to the following:
- $7 million will fund the "Bellows Grant," a need-based scholarship that will provide assistance to low-income students. The grant is named after CMU’s first president, Charles F. R. Bellows.
- $5 million for the “Forever Maroon & Gold Advising Program” to improve student advising efforts with reorganization. The program would require students to meet with an adviser two times during their first year at CMU.
- $2.1 million to create the “WCMU Student Careers in Media program,” where students will have the opportunity to work with professionals and gain hands-on experience.
CMU operates four other television stations and eight radio stations.
The university purchased the Flint station for $1 million in 2009.
