Northern Kentucky University has rejected a last-ditch offer for one of its three radio signals from Louisville Public Media.
LPM said in a press release that it had offered the university $3.5 million in cash and $1.5 million in other services for WNKN in Middletown, Ohio, one of its three stations airing a Triple A format. The university decided in February to sell WNKU in Highland Heights, Ky., and repeater WNKE in Portsmouth, Ohio, to religious broadcasters. It said it would seek a buyer for WNKN after repairing its tower.
LPM also offered 10 years of on-air promotion for the university as part of its offer.
“We are deeply disappointed by Northern Kentucky University’s decision and the likely loss of WNKU’s proud tradition of serving the region’s music and cultural community,” said LPRM President Michael Skoler in a letter to WNKU supporters. “We offered a fiscally responsible way for the board to protect university resources and still preserve the important service it had created and nurtured for 32 years.”
The university has yet to announce a buyer for WNKN. It bought the station and WNKE in 2011 as part of a $6.75 million signal expansion.