President Wayne Frederick of Howard University recently announced that the university would participate in a FCC reverse auction in which the WHUT-TV spectrum would become available for purchase. This auction is scheduled to be held in Spring 2016.
WHUT-TV is the only Public Broadcasting Station (PBS) member station that is licensed to and operated by a predominantly African American institution. WHUT's viewership represents a large and significant market that is classified as increasingly reliant on over-the-air (OTA) television. A recent survey found that OTA television viewers skew towards minorities, lower-income families, and younger adults.
The FCC should remove WHUT-TV from the reverse auction list and allow ownership to remain with Howard University.