Liberty agrees to buy WDRL

The school’s board of trustees authorized the $6 million purchase of financially troubled WDRL-TV at the board’s annual meeting earlier this month.

The sale is subject to approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and the Federal Communications Commission.

LU hopes to get those approvals and close on the sale within 90 days.

WDRL-TV, which broadcasts on open air Channel 24, is a full-power station that reaches most of the Roanoke-Lynchburg-Danville television market.

LU plans to use the television station to promote the university and televise the school’s religious and sporting events.

The station will also carry Sunday services from Thomas Road Baptist Church.

It will also televise shows from nationally known pastors, such as the Rev. Charles Stanley and the late Rev. Adrian Rogers.

The Rev. Jerry Falwell, LU’s chancellor, said the lineup of preachers will be similar to those who broadcast on the ministries’ radio station, WRVL-FM.

“Our goal is to cover every home 24/7 by radio and television,” he said.

Initially, the station’s studio will remain in Roanoke, where its operation will be managed by Mel Eleazer, the station’s current owner.

Eventually, the station’s headquarters will be moved to Lynchburg, Falwell said.

Ron Godwin, LU’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, will be given oversight of the station.

“Liberty wanted the station as a recruiting tool,” Falwell said. “We wanted to give the university a higher profile in Central Virginia and beyond.”

As a full power station, WDRL-TV qualifies for a “must carry” status with cable television companies throughout the region. The university already has a low power station that operates under the call letters of WTLU-TV.

Falwell said the programming on WDRL-TV will be different from the programming on WTLU-TV, which reaches about four counties.

“We felt a full power station was necessary to take Liberty to where we want it to go,” Falwell said. “We will have the engineers and technical people necessary to run a full power station.”

He said the university will be willing to invest the money required to ready the station for a conversion to digital television by February 2009 as required by the FCC.

“As soon as we have control, we will make any improvements that need to be made,” Falwell said. “We want to make sure that WDRL covers every house, every mountain top and every valley.”

Falwell said the station will be able to reach about 1 million people and will have a footprint similar to all the other major television stations in the Roanoke-Lynchburg-Danville market.

Falwell said he plans for the staff of WDRL-TV to work in conjunction with the staff at Liberty Broadcasting Network in developing original programming.

“Our staff here, our engineers, our production people, our writers will be working in tandem with the station’s staff,” he said.