New Jersey Public Television to Face the Makeover

The New Jersey public television will experience a makeover along with reduced workforce and will be reintroduced as NJTV, next month, as an independent broadcaster that will swap the state-owned New Jersey Network.

Yesterday, Governor Chris Christie had revealed the five-year agreement with WNET Channel 13 to operate the state's TV network while announced that the state will sell the network radio license to WHYY in Philadelphia and New York Public Radio in New York for an amount of $5 million, in cash and in-kind contributions.

“We need to have robust New Jersey public broadcasting, but we need to have it in a way that is not continuing to cost the state taxpayers and can be perceived as truly independent from state government”, added Chris Christie. Additionally, the Department of the Treasury had confirmed that the deal will save around $11 million, a year, for the state.

The move will be performed by a new WNET subsidiary which is directed to drag the state of New Jersey out of the public broadcasting business spell and believed to take effect from July 01, if ratified by the state legislature. The new subsidiary will have its own board of New Jersey residents, added the WNET President, Neal Shapiro.