WUCF-TV, the new PBS primary station in the Orlando market, doesn’t have a monetary goal for its first fundraising drive, which began Sept. 15 and ends Sept. 25. “We’re asking 10,000 viewers to contact us via email or letter,” spokesman Grant Heston told the Orlando Sentinel. “If part of that is a donation, that’s great. Being brand new, we want to get to know how this works.” WUCF, a collaboration between the University of Central Florida in Orlando and Brevard Community College in Cocoa, went on the air July 1 after former primary WMFE-TV announced it would be sold to religious broadcaster Daystar (Current, April 18).
In the first five days of the pledge drive, WUCF raised about $25,000. “Over 10 days, we’re only doing 16 pledge blocks, about an hour and a half, two hours each,” Heston said. “It’s a lot less than what has been before. But the need is still there. The need is greater than ever.”