UGA Selling WUGA-TV To Maryland Company

The former WNEG-TV station is once again changing hands.

Thursday, the University of Georgia announced it had entered into an agreement to sell WUGA-TV, formerly known as WNEG-TV, to Marquee Broadcasting of Brookeville, Maryland for $2.5 million.

Marquee Broadcasting also owns WMDT-TV in Salisbury, Maryland.

According to the university’s press release, UGA retained Patrick Communications to explore the potential sale of WUGA-TV last summer and advise the school throughout the process.

University officials said that the school determined Marquee Broadcasting was the best fit after exploring all of the currently available options.

Transfer of the license for the television station is subject to approval by the Federal Communications Commission, which the university said is anticipated to happen this summer.

Meanwhile, the website “TV News Check” is reporting that Marquee Broadcasting plans to change the call letters to WGTA, which they said stands for “Greenville to Atlanta.”

The University of Georgia acquired WNEG-TV in 2008 through its Research Foundation from Media General, Inc., and moved the station operations from Toccoa to Athens.

After three years of commercial operation, the license was transferred to the university and management was transferred to the UGA Public Affairs Division in 2011.

At that time, the call letters were changed to WUGA-TV and it began providing non-commercial programming under an affiliation with Georgia Public Broadcasting.