An affiliate of the Church of Scientology has agreed to buy Tampa Bay television station WFTT-TV for $30 million, taking ownership of a broadcaster that has aired the church’s programming since 2022 if the deal receives federal approval.
Entravision Communications Corporation signed the agreement Nov. 3 with Sunset Boulevard Broadcasting Corporation, a California nonprofit affiliated with Church of Scientology International. The station is licensed to Venice and serves the Tampa-St. Petersburg television market. The sale is expected to close by early 2027, pending approval from the Federal Communications Commission.
WFTT began airing Scientology Network on Christmas Day 2022, when the church reached an agreement to provide programming while Entravision kept ownership of the station. The network, launched in 2018, broadcasts shows about Scientology’s beliefs, members and activities. Tampa Bay viewers can watch it on channel 62 over the air and through several cable and satellite providers.
Scientology has deep roots in Tampa Bay, particularly in Clearwater, where it established its spiritual headquarters in 1975 and developed a large downtown campus. The church also operates a Tampa location in the historic Ybor Square complex, which opened in 2011.
Under the deal, Sunset Boulevard Broadcasting will pay $30 million in cash and place a $1.5 million deposit in escrow. If the sale remains unfinished after Dec. 31, the church will pay Entravision $125,000 a month beginning Jan. 1 to keep airing its programming until the transaction closes or the agreement ends.
Entravision currently manages some of WFTT’s broadcasting operations from a facility in McAllen, Texas, and has agreed to continue those services temporarily after the sale. That support must end by March 31, 2027, leaving the new owner to take over the station’s technical operations.