New partnership preserves PBS on Ohio’s WBGU
J.D. Pooley / Sentinel-Tribune
WBGU's headquarters in Bowling Green, Ohio.
Ohio-based pubcasters WGTE Public Media and WBGU-TV will partner to continue broadcasting PBS programming on WBGU.
WBGU in Bowling Green had announced in January that it would end its PBS affiliation at the end of June due to the rescission of federal funding for public media last year. It announced a partnership this week with WGTE in Toledo that will preserve PBS.
The Toledo station will take over broadcast responsibilities from WBGU through a program service agreement that begins July 1, according to WGTE Interim CEO Dale Thornton. Bowling Green University will maintain WBGU’s FCC license and responsibility for its tower and FCC compliance under the agreement, while WGTE will broadcast PBS programming on WGTE through its traffic control, Thornton said.
The stations will be able to air distinct programming, but Thornton said he expects it will “probably” not differ much.
Thornton said “maybe 5%” of the station’s current programming is local, so the agreement “may create, for the WBGU viewer, some small changes in that content. For the WGTE viewer, it won’t look any different at all.”
WBGU will no longer solicit support from listeners, and donors will be asked to become WGTE members when their memberships expire, he said.
“Hopefully it will grow our revenue, which every station is trying to do right now, and membership is a big part of that,” he said. “If we can grow membership, that will help with the loss of the federal funding that we all experienced.”
In a press release, WBGU GM Tom Cummings said the collaboration “will continue serving the community with uninterrupted access to quality PBS programming on channel 27 that so many people rely on and turn to for information and entertainment. We look forward to next steps with WGTE Public Media and are thrilled for this new opportunity to continue the delivery of PBS programming on WBGU.”
WBGU will continue as a broadcast unit within its licensee Bowling Green University, according to the release. Its limited operations will include livestreaming and coverage of the university’s commencement, sports and arts events.
