In less than six months, the “Save KPLU” campaign reached its goal of raising $7 million.
Now the Friends of 88.5 FM can make an offer to buy KPLU(FM), Tacoma, Washington from owner Pacific Lutheran University.
Some 17,000 donated funds to the effort; a $50,000 matching contribution tipped the scales, according to News Tribune.
The sale would include KPLU’s streaming Jazz and Blue’s service.
PLU announced in November it was selling KPLU to KUOW. Some members of the local community felt blind-sided and protested. That’s when UW and PLU agreed to allow a community-based nonprofit to make their own offer if they could match the sale price in time.
The deadline was June 30.
Now, a new sales agreement must be negotiated between PLU and the “Friends of KPLU” group and the FCC must approve the deal.
It’s unlikely now that KUOW would buy the station as GM Caryn Mathes told xx earlier this week their purchase agreement with PLU becomes void when a new one is signed.
RBR+TVBR observation: The original deal included $1M worth of underwriting announcements; it’s not clear whether a new deal would. If so, that would make the total purchase price worth $8M, the real value of the current price on the table.
