Wisconsin Public Radio

Public Radio Broadcastingwpr.org

Wisconsin Public Radio is a statewide public radio service operating since 1917 under the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board and University of Wisconsin-Madison, delivering WPR News and WPR Music programming to over 573,000 weekly listeners across broadcast, streaming, newsletters, and live events.

Company typePrivate
Founded1917
HeadquartersMadison, United States
Headcount51–100
GTM typeB2C
OfferingServices

What Wisconsin Public Radio does

Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) is a statewide public radio service founded in 1917 and headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, with a secondary office in Milwaukee. It operates as a joint service of the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board (a state agency) and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and is part of the Wisconsin Public Media umbrella alongside PBS Wisconsin. WPR runs two core programming divisions — WPR News (local, state, national, and international journalism delivered through eight local news bureaus across Wisconsin plus NPR and BBC national/global content) and WPR Music (locally-hosted classical music seven days a week with jazz, world, and folk music on weekends). Distribution spans over-the-air radio broadcasting, online audio streaming at wpr.org, podcasts, email newsletters (Wisconsin Today, Wisconsin Life, RadioWaves), a community events calendar, and live event sponsorships.

The underlying technology stack is conventional broadcast media infrastructure (over-the-air radio transmitters across multiple stations) combined with a content-managed digital presence at wpr.org that hosts news articles, streaming audio, show schedules, and event listings, plus standard email newsletter delivery. There is no evidence of proprietary AI/ML systems, third-party platform integrations beyond NPR content distribution, or mobile applications. Distribution is multi-platform with global reach via streaming and localized community presence through eight bureaus and event programming.

WPR's revenue model is a hybrid public-media funding stack: listener membership contributions and donations (recurring subscription-style giving), corporate underwriting and on-air/digital business sponsorships sold through regional representatives to local and regional businesses (multi-year contracts, quote-based pricing), trade or in-kind agreements, and public broadcasting allocations from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and state sources. The audience profile is affluent and educated (median household income $110,500, 73% more likely to be college graduates) reaching 573,400+ weekly users across radio (326,400), streaming (30,000), and web (217,000 active users, ~1M monthly pageviews). The organization employs 51-100 people, is privately held in the sense of not being publicly traded, and is governed under a public-service mission rather than a profit-maximization mandate.

Wisconsin Public Radio firmographics

Firmographics

Name: Wisconsin Public Radio
Legal name: Wisconsin Public Radio
Website: https://wpr.org
Company type: Private
Founded year: 1917
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 51–100 employees
Short description: Wisconsin Public Radio is a statewide public radio service operating since 1917 under the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board and University of Wisconsin-Madison, delivering WPR News and WPR Music programming to over 573,000 weekly listeners across broadcast, streaming, newsletters, and live events.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Wisconsin Public Radio industry classification

Industry

Product category: Public Radio Broadcasting
NAICS: Radio Broadcasting Stations (51611)
SIC: Radio Broadcasting Stations (4832)
akta.pro primary industry: Public/Noncommercial Radio Broadcasting (NPR, Community, Campus) (MPAIAEAB)
akta.pro secondary industry: National Public Radio Networks & Member Stations (NPR-style) (MPABADAB)

Keywords

Public radio broadcasting
News programming
Classical music programming
Digital newsletters
Corporate underwriting

Where Wisconsin Public Radio is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Madison
HQ country: United States
HQ region: North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

Wisconsin Public Radio business model

Business model

GTM type: B2C
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

Business Sponsorships: On-air and digital sponsorships reaching over 300,000 weekly radio listeners and 217,000 weekly active website users. Includes 15-second radio announcements and digital logo placements with click-through to sponsor sites.
Underwriting: Corporate underwriting announcements that offset costs of program acquisition, broadcast, program production, special events and other expenses. Undesignated underwriting may be used across the budget.
Membership/Donations: Listener membership contributions and donations supporting public media operations. The organization emphasizes keeping public media strong through community support.
Trade Agreements: Trade or in-kind resources that may be substituted for budgeted expenditures or enhance departmental resource budgets. Includes trade support for goods and services received in exchange for promotional consideration.

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Other	Multi-year contract	On-Air Sponsorships - 15-second radio announcements reaching 300,000+ weekly listeners
Other	Multi-year contract	Digital Sponsorships - Logo and message placement on wpr.org

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Wisconsin Public Radio product offering

Product offering

Core offering

Wisconsin Public Radio is a public media service that produces and distributes news, classical/jazz/world/folk music, and cultural programming to Wisconsin residents. It delivers content through over-the-air radio broadcasting across multiple statewide stations, online streaming at wpr.org, email newsletters, podcasts, and live community events. The organization is funded through listener memberships, corporate underwriting, sponsorships, and public broadcasting allocations.

Product overview

Wisconsin Public Radio operates as a unified public media service offering broadcast radio programming and digital products. The portfolio consists of two core divisions: WPR News (delivering local, state, and national news through reporters in eight regional bureaus plus NPR/BBC content) and WPR Music (presenting classical, jazz, folk, and world music programming). These core services are supplemented by digital products including the Wisconsin Today, Wisconsin Life, and RadioWaves newsletters; an online events calendar for Wisconsin arts, culture, and community events; and advertising products encompassing on-air sponsorships (reaching 326,400 weekly radio listeners) and digital sponsorships (serving 217,000 weekly active website users). The organization is a service of the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, operating since 1917.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

WPR News
WPR Music
Wisconsin Today Newsletter
Wisconsin Life Newsletter
RadioWaves Newsletter
WPR Events Calendar
On-Air Sponsorship
Digital Sponsorship

Companies that use Wisconsin Public Radio

Customer profile

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Wisconsin Public Radio technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Wisconsin Public Radio partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

University of Wisconsin-MadisoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWPR is a service of both the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board and University of Wisconsin-Madison. WHA Radio operates as a department of Wisconsin Public Media at UW-Madison. This governance partnership enables academic integration and public service mission alignment.
Wisconsin Educational Communications Board (ECB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerECB co-governs WPR as a service of both ECB and University of Wisconsin-Madison. ECB handles certain administrative functions including audits and annual financial reports.
NPRcoreTechnology or IntegrationWPR distributes NPR national programming as part of its broadcast lineup, providing listeners with national and international news coverage.
PBS WisconsincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPBS Wisconsin and WPR operate under the Wisconsin Public Media umbrella, collaborating on public media initiatives and sharing resources.
Little Eagle Arts Foundation (LEAF)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerLEAF partners with Taliesin Preservation and WPR for the Native Art Marketplace event celebrating Wisconsin's First People art and culture at Hillside School.
Taliesin PreservationsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerTaliesin Preservation partners with LEAF and WPR for the Native Art Marketplace at Hillside School, part of ongoing cultural programming.
Lawrence UniversitysupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerWPR sponsors the Lawrence University Chapel Stage at the Mile of Music Festival, with WPR hosts serving as MCs at the venue.
Indeed Brewing CompanysupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerWPR partners with Indeed Brewing Company for Pint-Sized Concert series; WPR was featured as the non-profit partner for Indeed WE CAN charitable initiative in June.
Wisconsin WatchsupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWisconsin Watch contributes content to WPR, providing investigative journalism and collaborative reporting on Wisconsin matters.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Wisconsin Public Radio competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Broad incumbents

NPR (National Public Radio): National public radio network and WPR's principal upstream content provider. Distinct from WPR as the network/distributor versus member station, but its product lines (news, podcasts, digital) directly overlap with and shape WPR's offering.
Cumulus Media: Major US commercial radio broadcaster with Wisconsin stations. Direct competitor for ad dollars and audience in the Wisconsin market, though operating commercial formats versus public radio programming.
iHeartMedia: Largest US commercial radio operator with comparable broadcast advertising inventory across Wisconsin. Overlaps with WPR in audience and advertising category but operates commercial music/talk formats versus WPR's non-commercial news/classical programming.

Direct peers

Iowa Public Radio: Statewide Iowa public radio network providing news, classical music, and cultural programming under a similar NPR affiliate structure. Comparable in audience scale, geographic focus, and revenue mix of underwriting + memberships.
WNYC (New York Public Radio): Iconic NPR-member flagship station offering news, talk, and classical music (WQXR) across a major US media market. Same public radio business model (membership + underwriting + sponsorships), comparable product portfolio, and similar multi-platform digital strategy.
KQED: Northern California NPR/PBS public radio and TV station. Comparable as an NPR-member public media organisation with multi-platform content distribution, underwriting-driven revenue, and strong local journalism presence.
Minnesota Public Radio: Midwest statewide public radio network offering news, classical music, and local journalism via multiple stations. Same public radio broadcasting model, similar geographic/demographic audience, same NPR-affiliated governance structure.
WBUR: Boston-based NPR member station owned by Boston University, providing news, talk, and music programming with significant regional reach. Closely matches WPR's university-affiliated governance structure and multi-platform public radio model.
Michigan Public: Statewide public radio service for Michigan operating under the same NPR-member model with state university and broadcast board oversight. Directly comparable in governance, content mix (news + classical/music), and multi-platform distribution.

Emerging players

Spotify: Global on-demand audio and podcast platform competing with public radio for listener time and advertising budget. Spotify's growth in podcasting (including exclusive deals with public-radio-adjacent creators) directly competes for the same Wisconsin audience and digital ad dollars.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Wisconsin Public Radio financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Wisconsin Public Radio leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Wisconsin Public Radio funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

Wisconsin Public Radio M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Wisconsin Public Radio

What does Wisconsin Public Radio do?

Is Wisconsin Public Radio a public or private company?

Wisconsin Public Radio is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.

When was Wisconsin Public Radio founded?

Wisconsin Public Radio was founded in 1917. It employs 51 to 100 people.

Where is Wisconsin Public Radio based?

Wisconsin Public Radio is headquartered in Madison, United States, in the North America region.

How does Wisconsin Public Radio make money?

Four revenue lines are on record. Business Sponsorships are the primary driver. The others are underwriting, membership/Donations and trade Agreements.

Who are Wisconsin Public Radio's main competitors?

Broad incumbents on record are NPR (National Public Radio), Cumulus Media and iHeartMedia. Direct peers are Iowa Public Radio, WNYC (New York Public Radio), KQED, Minnesota Public Radio, WBUR and Michigan Public. Spotify is listed as an emerging player.

Does Wisconsin Public Radio have an API?

No public API is recorded for Wisconsin Public Radio.

What industry is Wisconsin Public Radio in?

Wisconsin Public Radio's product category is Public Radio Broadcasting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAIAEAB, Public/Noncommercial Radio Broadcasting (NPR, Community, Campus), with a secondary code of MPABADAB, National Public Radio Networks & Member Stations (NPR-style). Its NAICS code is 51611 and its SIC code is 4832.