What Brookline Interactive Group does

Brookline Interactive Group (BIG) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community media center founded in 1989 and headquartered in a 10,000 square foot facility at 46 Tappan Street in Brookline, MA. The organization operates as an integrated media and technology education hub serving Brookline residents, the local public school system, the Town of Brookline government, and a network of nonprofit partners. Its core activities include covering hundreds of local government meetings annually via live streaming on cable channels (Comcast 8/RCN 15 for government, Comcast 6/RCN 3 for community) and YouTube, running a membership-driven community media facility with equipment rental, paid production services, and a youth media job training program, and providing media education classes (video, audio, VR/AR) to over 500 youth and adults per year.

BIG's product surface spans traditional community media services and newer technology initiatives. The Community AI Project is an open-source suite of eight civic AI tools (Neighborhood AI, Community Highlighter, Community Captioner, Civic Documenter, Civic Translator, Commit AI Agent, and others) built on Claude Code, Gemini, OpenAI, and local models via LM Studio and Ollama, designed to be adopted by other community media centers. Civic Brookline is a community news and dialogue platform co-developed with MIT-affiliated Fora.io. The Public VR Lab, founded in 2017, is the first publicly-accessible VR lab in the United States and underpins VR Academy classes. The organization is led by Executive Director Jessica Smyser (appointed 2023), with a small leadership team including a Director of Innovation, Director of Education, Director of Production, Production Manager, and Control Room Operator.

Revenue is generated through a diversified mix: annual membership fees (bundling equipment access and class discounts), tuition from adult and youth classes ($50-$120 per class), paid production services, equipment and theater rental, individual donations and foundation grants (including $117K raised in 2022-23 and $1.3M in ARPA grants in 2022), and a recurring allocation from the Town of Brookline's cable franchise fees (approximately 2% of available cable fees). The organization has no app, no public API, and no disclosed traditional revenue figures, operating instead as a mission-driven nonprofit with geographic concentration in Brookline, MA and the Greater Boston region.

Name

Brookline Interactive Group

Legal name

Brookline Interactive Group

Website

https://brooklineinteractive.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Brookline Interactive Group is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community media center founded in 1989 in Brookline, MA, providing media education, equipment access, government meeting coverage, VR training, and civic AI tools to residents, youth, the Town of Brookline, and local nonprofits.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Media Services

NAICS

Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (5162), Broadcasting and Content Providers (516), Software Publishers (513210), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (51621)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Television Broadcasting Stations (4833), Communications Services, Nec (4899)

akta.pro primary industry

Media Center & Audiovisual Lending Operations (Equipment Checkout, Production Support) (EDAEAGAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Classroom & Instructional Technology Support (AV, Lecture Capture, Smart Classrooms) (EDALAMAB), Customer Support, CRM & Retention Tooling (Helpdesk, Churn, Messaging) (MPAHAJAM), Library & Learning Space Managed Operations (Circulation, Scheduling, Staffing) (EDAEALAL)

Keywords

• Community media center
• Media education services
• Video production services
• Equipment rental programs
• Civic engagement media

Headquarters

HQ city

Brookline

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership provides access to studio, field, editing and VR equipment (value $100), classes (value up to $250), and volunteer/production opportunities
2. Donations and Grants: Tax-deductible donations from individuals, foundation grants including $117k raised in 2022-23 and $1.3M in ARPA grants in 2022
3. Paid Production Services: Video production, event filming, corporate webcasts, and high-quality audio recordings for organizations like Brookline Rotary Club
4. Equipment Rental: Members can borrow equipment for non-commercial productions (48-hour rentals). Commercial productions can rent equipment for a fee.
5. Class Tuition: Adult classes ranging from $50-$100, youth classes from $60-$120, with member discounts of 20%
6. Town Funding: Funding from cable fees as part of town's 3% cable franchise fees (approximately $550K goes to general fund, with BIG receiving only 2% of available cable fees)
7. Theater/Facility Rental: Private events including birthday parties and movie screenings in 24-seat theater with weekend/after-hours requiring 3-hour minimum

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Brookline Interactive Group (BIG) operates a 10,000-square-foot community media center providing media-making equipment access, video and audio production services, VR/XR technology training, and media literacy education. It also develops open-source civic AI tools and a local news platform, livestreams local government meetings, and offers youth job training programs.

Product overview

Brookline Interactive Group (BIG) is an integrated media and technology education center and community media hub serving Brookline, MA. The organization operates as a multi-faceted platform offering community media services, equipment access, and education. Its core offerings include the Community AI Project (open-source AI tools for civic engagement), Civic Brookline (local news platform), comprehensive media education and VR training, equipment rental, facility/theater rental, paid production services, youth media programs, and internship opportunities. The organization covers hundreds of local government meetings annually through its live streaming infrastructure and provides classes in video production, editing, VR/AR, and digital storytelling to over 500 youth and adults annually.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Community AI Project: An initiative to develop open-source AI tools designed for community media centers, civic engagement, and public access media. Includes tools for captioning, transcription, translation, and local AI deployment.
• Public VR Lab
• Civic Brookline

Products and services

• Community AI Project Open-source AI tools designed for community media centers and civic engagement, including neighborhood AI models, speaker-diarized meeting transcripts, real-time broadcast captions, civic document parsing, and multilingual civic translation. Built using Claude Code, Gemini, OpenAI, and local models via LM Studio and Ollama. CC BY-SA licensed.
• Civic Brookline A community news, information, and dialogue platform developed with Brookline residents and MIT-affiliated Fora.io (Cortico.ai) to address local journalism gaps and news deserts.
• Equipment Rental

Quantifiable outcome

• Served 500+ youth and adults annually through classes and partnerships
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, secondary and minor.

• Fora.io (previously Cortico.ai)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023MIT-affiliated nonprofit research organization partnering on the Community Listening Project and Civic Brookline platform development. Collaboration uses Local Voices Network (LVN) to spark community conversations around life experiences and develop a new community news, information and dialogue platform.
• Brookline Adult and Community Education (BACE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to offer media-focused classes for adults and children, including lecture series, vacation programming, and SmartPrograms during February, April, and Summer vacations.
• Brookline High SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDigital media classes in BIG education labs and TV studio including Animation, Digital Photography, Digital Video, TV Production. BIG covers graduation, performing arts events, sports, and Poetry Fest for the school.
• Steps to SuccesssecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership hosting and filming panel discussions on career advice, offering digital storytelling after-school enrichment for middle schoolers, and hosting talented Steps to Success interns for summer programming.
• Brookline RecreationsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerSummer Camp Express partnership offering digital media programming for youth during summer vacation.
• Brookline Early Education Program (BEEP)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership creating BEE Bear Book Club (reading/literacy TV program for ages 3-5) and BEE Parenting series providing parenting advice content.
• The MakeryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in digital storytelling class teaching participants to write stories and create multimedia videos using scanned images, video, and narration.
• Weird MachinecoreTechnology or IntegrationR&D lab of Stephen Walter (BIG's Director of Innovation) responsible for architecture and design of the Community AI Project. Fifteen years of experience building at intersection of design, democracy, and emerging tech.
• Neighborhood AIcoreTechnology or IntegrationData and policy strategy partner focused on hyperlocal, community-governed AI for dignified civic infrastructure. Based in Boston and New York.
• Town of BrooklinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal partner for government meeting coverage, pandemic communications, and hybrid meeting infrastructure. BIG receives cable franchise fee funding and town support for operations.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Watertown Community Access: Watertown, MA PEG access center offering production training, equipment rental, and government meeting coverage — a direct peer by town-scale, facility model, and cable-franchise funding structure.
• Cambridge Community Television: Cambridge, MA community media center providing PEG channel access, production training, and civic programming — the most direct peer to BIG by geography, mission, and business model. New BIG Executive Director Jessica Smyser previously led CCTV.
• Somerville Media Center: Somerville, MA community media center providing production facilities, equipment, classes, and PEG channel access — same mission, business model, and Greater Boston geography as BIG.
• Boston Neighborhood Network (BNN): Greater Boston community media center offering cable channels, equipment access, training, and production services. BIG Production Manager Marinah previously taught at BNN, evidencing direct peer overlap in staff and operating model.
• Amherst Media: Amherst, MA community media center providing production training, equipment rental, and PEG broadcasting — comparable in mission, model, and New England municipal footprint.
• MNN (Manhattan Neighborhood Network): New York City community media network providing media production training, equipment access, and PEG channel distribution — a larger but closely comparable urban community media center in function and programming.
• Malden Access Television: Malden, MA community media center providing studio access, member training, and live government coverage — directly comparable to BIG in structure, scale, and PEG funding model.

Broad incumbents

• WGBH: Boston's major public broadcaster — a broad incumbent in the same media ecosystem. BIG's Director of Production previously did archival producing work for WGBH, evidencing overlapping talent and regional media infrastructure.

Others

• Cortico / Fora.io: MIT-affiliated nonprofit research organization partnering with BIG on Civic Brookline and the Local Voices Network (LVN). Closely related as a co-development partner and platform ally rather than a competitor.

Emerging players

• Cortico / Fora.io: MIT-affiliated platform and research organization. While a partner, it represents the broader emerging civic dialogue platform category that intersects with BIG's Civic Brookline initiative — a comparable emerging player in the local-news/civic-engagement space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/brkinteractive
• GitHubgithub.com/amateurmenace
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/brooklineinteractivegroup
• Facebookfacebook.com/brooklineinteractive
• Instagraminstagram.com/brooklineinteractive

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Brookline Interactive Group