June 11, 2026

— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs

Lehigh University has sold the license for WLVR FM 91.3 to a local public-media boondoggle.

The sale to Lehigh Valley Public Media was announced Wednesday in a jargon-laden press release, available at this link and posted below.

Here’s a sample: “The agreement signals the shift in student learning outcomes related to digital content creation.”

The release says little but there is this hint of substance, “the university has observed a sustained shift in student engagement away from traditional broadcast radio and toward on-demand, digital-first media.”

There is a note about an effort to “evolve this partnership.” You can’t make this stuff up.

The school appears to be saying that students weren’t interested in the station. It doesn’t just come out and say that because that would make too much sense, so it says so in an obscure way.

To be fair, the release may be hard to read and verbose but it is brief.

Lehigh Valley Public Media, also known as Channel 39, started operating WLVR in 2019 for no apparent reason and with no apparent direction. It was a time when LVPM was finding news ways to spend money after receiving $82 million of public money from an airwaves auction.

Spend it did, burning $40 million over five years and winding up as a smaller operation despite that spending. LVPM has promised to be better in the future, and by the way, it’s always asking for more money.

Some Lehigh alumni wanted the school to take control of the station, which was providing few internships for students. The sale was posted earlier on a Facebook page for WLVR fans, Lehigh Radio Alumni WLRN & WLVR.

No terms were given for the sale, which must be approved by the Federal Communications Commission.

My guess? It was a $1 deal, after balancing out cash on hand, payables and receivables. It seemed that nobody wanted this station.

Here’s the press release from yesterday, if you dare:

Lehigh University announces sale of 91.3 WLVR-FM license to Lehigh Valley Public Media

Lehigh University has entered into an agreement to sell the Federal Communications Commission broadcast license for 91.3 WLVR-FM to its long-standing partner Lehigh Valley Public Media (LVPM). The agreement signals the shift in student learning outcomes related to digital content creation.

“Lehigh’s collaboration with Lehigh Valley Public Media has provided students with valuable professional experiences and enriched our community with essential local news,” said Nathan Urban, Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs. “As we move forward, we are excited to evolve this partnership to focus on the next generation of content creation. Our priority is ensuring that Lehigh students graduate equipped with the advanced digital fluency, AI-readiness, and multimedia skills necessary to lead and succeed in a rapidly transforming media landscape.”

In 2019, LVPM assumed the management and operations of WLVR under the supervision and control of Lehigh University via a strategic partnership which included converting 91.3 FM into a multi-channel HD broadcast station. While Lehigh University has operated the HD-2 signal for a student-run station during this period, the university has observed a sustained shift in student engagement away from traditional broadcast radio and toward on-demand, digital-first media.

“We value the relationship we’ve had with Lehigh University to operate WLVR and the talented students who have contributed through our internship program,” said Hasanna Birdsong, President & CEO of Lehigh Valley Public Media. “We remain supportive of opportunities that help students gain meaningful real-world media experience through our multimedia platforms.”

The ownership transition is pending regulatory approval from the Federal Communications Commission.