The city of Gainesville, Fla., is the heart of Gator Country, as it is the home of the main campus of the University of Florida.
Here, UF already has an established broadcast presence thanks to 100kw Class C1 giant NPR member station WUFT-FM 89.1. In February, it added what is today WJUF-FM in Inverness, Fla., as a broadcast partner.
Now, thanks to a deal with a broadcast ministry shedding its properties, WUFT is getting another signal primarily serving Gainesville.
For a total purchase price of $46,001, the UF Board of Trustees, on behalf of the university’s division of media properties, is acquiring W247BT at 102.7 MHz in Williston, Fla.
The seller is Edgewater Broadcasting, the Idaho-based religious noncommercial entity helmed by Dennis Clounch that is winding down its station ownership.
With a signal covering all of Gainesville and neighboring Alachua, UF is already using it to rebroadcast the HD2 feet of WUFT — WUFT Classic, a Classical format with jazz programming in certain dayparts.
WUFT Classic debuted on W247BT on Nov. 10, via an LMA ahead of the signing of an asset purchase agreement filed Dec. 17 with the Commission.
“The College of Journalism & Communications and University of Florida are excited to bring WUFT Classic to the community to celebrate the arts in Gainesville,” said Randall Wright, Executive Director of the Division of Media Properties. “We are fortunate to be able to upgrade our facilities to be able to provide this programming for the community and we’re especially enthused by the launch of the new WUFT Classic app which means our listeners will be able to take WUFT Classic with them no matter where they travel.”
A $9,300 escrow payment is being held by TitleFact Inc., following a deposit reflecting the remainder of the entire purchase price.
