The Bay Area's public radio and TV broadcasting station KQED is selling six megahertz of broadcast spectrum to the FCC for $95.4 million — a figure that's seriously in excess of its $70 million annual budget, the Business Times relays.

"KQED is in the unusual position of holding three FCC television broadcast licenses comprising 18 megahertz of overlapping spectrum in the Bay Area, broadcasting from towers in San Francisco, San Jose and Salinas," the non-profit organization said in a statement. The federal government and wireless providers want to ease congested wireless networks and help enable 5G services, and the broadcast spectrum was sold to the FCC at auction.

Why did KQED have all those megahertz in the first place? "This extensive coverage made sense earlier in the 20th Century when television used analog technology and most viewers received the signal over the air. Today, the vast majority of Bay Area residents receive their television via cable or satellite services, and digital broadcast technology now supports multiple channels of programming from each tower."

Those who fear losing service can save their concern for, say, the Trump administration's threatened cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. In fact, the profit from the sale will come in handy. 90 percent of the 3 million people who tune into to KQED's TV station — the set using cable, satellite, or internet — won't need to do anything to continue receiving it. The 10 percent who still use an antenna might have to refocus their ranges on San Francisco or Salinas instead of San Jose. "KQED estimates that less than 1,000 might have reception issues after the change, and the station will work directly with those viewers to mitigate any problems," the release explained.

“The KQED Board carefully evaluated the opportunity presented by the auction and we retained outside financial and technical counsel to advise us. After many months of deliberation, the Board decided this was a unique opportunity coming at a pivotal time in KQED’s history,” KQED board chair Chuck Kissner said in a statement. The bulk of the proceeds are to be invested in KQED's endowment — doubling its size.

Related: Watch The Trailer For This Maya Angelou Documentary That Premieres Tonight On KQED