Maggie Alderisio and Oscar Orellana reported on this story.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) authorized the transfer of WPSU-TV and WPSU-FM to WHYY Philadelphia, Penn State announced Wednesday afternoon.

WHYY finalized and filed its deal to acquire WPSU and other Penn State broadcast properties in July. The transfer authorization now makes WHYY the official owner and operator of WPSU.

WPSU has provided public radio and television news, educational programming, and local insights to northern and central Pennsylvania for more than 70 years. The Penn State Board of Trustees initially voted to shut the station down in September 2025, but approved a new deal in October that set up the sale to WHYY.

“This is an extraordinarily important moment for public media and, most importantly, for the people and communities WPSU serves,” said Bill Marrazzo, WHYY president and CEO. “From the beginning, our goal has been to ensure that central and northern Pennsylvania continues to have a strong, independent and noncommercial public media voice. WPSU will remain WPSU: locally focused, responsive to the communities it serves, and dedicated to telling the stories of central and northern Pennsylvania.”

WPSU’s radio and television stations will retain their call signs as Penn State and WHYY begin to implement the transition period.