WAMU-FM, Washington’s NPR news station, will sell WRAU-FM to Delaware Public Media in 2020. A WAMU press release states that the WRAU audience makes up just over 2% of WAMU’s weekly broadcast audience, but the support of WRAU consumes WAMU resources that could be better allocated to achieve a greater return on investment.
WAMU GM JJ Yore said the decision to sell the WRAU is about serving local audiences with the best possible public service. “We at WAMU are deeply committed to strengthening our coverage of the Washington region, not only on 88.5 but also through WAMU.org, DCist, our podcasts, and social media. Meanwhile, this sale helps our friends at Delaware Public Media serve their audiences better. We both win.”
The sale is currently undergoing the FCC’s approval process and will be completed in June 2020. Listeners of WRAU 88.3 can expect program changes to occur in early June. All current listeners in Maryland and Delaware will continue to receive the 88.3 signal once the transition to Delaware Public Media takes place.
Delaware Public Media President Jane Vincent said, “As the only NPR affiliate licensed in Delaware, the opportunity to extend our terrestrial signal to a much wider portion of Delaware is consistent with our mission to serve all three counties of the state with independent high quality news and programming for and about Delaware. Ensuring Sussex County residents will continue to have access to great NPR programming and keeping the signal within the NPR family are added bonuses.”
