VPM

What VPM does

VPM, formally the Virginia Foundation for Public Media, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public media organization headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, and founded in 1965. It operates a multi-channel broadcast and digital platform consisting of five television channels (VPM PBS, VPM Plus, VPM PBS KIDS, VPM Create, and VPM World) and two radio services (VPM News 88.9 FM and VPM Music 107.3/93.1 FM), supplemented by streaming via video.vpm.org and the PBS app, a podcast portfolio (including RVA's Got Issues and The Virginia Press Room), and the acquired Style Weekly magazine. The organization serves more than two million residents across Central Virginia, the Shenandoah Valley, the Northern Neck, and Southside Virginia, with secondary operations in Charlottesville.

The underlying technical footprint is a broadcast-and-IP hybrid: licensed over-the-air TV and FM radio distribution paired with on-demand digital video, podcasting infrastructure, and a content management system supporting original local documentaries and series. Content production capabilities span local journalism (a newsroom of 25+ journalists), original documentary filmmaking, and educational programming for early childhood and STEM audiences, with distribution through more than 100 community and education partners.

VPM's revenue model is characteristic of U.S. public media: a diversified mix of individual memberships and donations, corporate underwriting (including Dominion Energy), government and foundation grants, and PBS Passport member-benefit revenue, supplemented by production services and ancillary content syndication. Membership and donor cultivation constitute the primary acquisition and retention mechanism, with programming reach and community impact serving as the value proposition in lieu of traditional pricing tiers.

Name

VPM

Legal name

VPM (Virginia Foundation for Public Media)

Website

https://vpm.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

VPM is a nonprofit public media organization based in Richmond, Virginia, operating TV, radio, digital, podcast, and print (Style Weekly) channels to serve more than two million residents across Central Virginia, the Shenandoah Valley, the Northern Neck, and Southside Virginia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Broadcasting

NAICS

Radio Broadcasting Stations (51611), Radio Broadcasting Stations (516110), Television Broadcasting Stations (516120), Television Broadcasting Stations (51612), Radio and Television Broadcasting Stations (5161)

SIC

Radio Broadcasting Stations (4832), Television Broadcasting Stations (4833)

akta.pro primary industry

National Public Radio Networks & Member Stations (NPR-style) (MPABADAB)

Keywords

• Public broadcasting
• Television broadcasting
• Radio broadcasting
• Local journalism
• Educational media

Headquarters

HQ city

Chesterfield

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership and Donations: VPM is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization relying on public support. Members receive PBS Passport benefits. Federal tax ID: 54-0735782
2. Corporate Sponsorships: Business sponsorship program with corporate sponsors supporting programming. Dominion Energy is mentioned as a VPM sponsor.
3. PBS Passport: Members receive PBS Passport access for extended content

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels10 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

VPM is Virginia's home for public media, operating a network of public television channels (VPM PBS, VPM Plus, VPM PBS KIDS, VPM Create, VPM World) and public radio stations (VPM News 88.9 FM, VPM Music 107.3 FM, 93.1 FM) serving more than 2 million people across Central Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley. The organization produces and distributes local news, documentaries, lifestyle, music, and educational programming via over-the-air broadcast, cable, satellite, streaming, mobile apps, podcasts, and a print magazine (Style Weekly).

Product overview

VPM (Virginia's Home for Public Media) is a comprehensive public media organization operating as a multi-platform broadcasting network with television stations (VPM PBS, VPM Plus, VPM PBS KIDS, VPM Create, VPM World), radio stations (VPM News 88.9FM, VPM Music 107.3/93.1FM), and digital services. The organization reaches over 2 million people across Central Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley. The product portfolio includes award-winning news content (VPM News, VPM Daily Newscast, VPM News Shorts), documentary series (Shenandoah, Declarations, How The Monuments Came Down), regional programming (Virginia Home Grown, Life in the Heart Land, Un-Wine'd), extensive podcast offerings (RVA's Got Issues, The Virginia Press Room, BizSense Beat), music shows (Classical with Mike Goldberg, In Your Ear, The Chill Factor), educational initiatives (Science Matters, Early Childhood Education Resources, PBS Kids), Style Weekly magazine, and streaming services (VPM Livestream, PBS Passport). The organization serves as Virginia's PBS and NPR affiliate, combining national public media content with extensive local Virginia journalism and cultural programming.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Style Weekly: Award-winning magazine centered on arts and culture coverage and local storytelling in Richmond
• Science Matters
• VPM Education

Products and services

• VPM PBS (Television Channel)

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• VPM + ICA Community Media CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020VPM partnered with Virginia Commonwealth University's Institute of Contemporary Art to open the VPM + ICA Community Media Center in 2020. Located on the 2nd floor of the ICA, the center is a state-of-the-art learning and production center open to the public for current and aspiring podcasters and storytellers.
• 90by5 PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVPM partnered with the Robins Foundation and Thrive Birth to Five to develop the 90by5 broadcast and digital campaign about early childhood brain development (90% of brain develops by age 5).
• PBS KidscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorVPM distributes PBS Kids programming and resources, including PBS Learning Media, PBS Kids for Parents, and Sesame Workshop content.
• Sesame WorkshopminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for early childhood education content and resources including Sesame Street materials distributed through VPM education initiatives.
• WIC OfficesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership to deliver early learning resources to families through Women, Infants and Children offices. VPM delivers materials to 24 WIC offices in Greater Richmond and Charlottesville.
• Community Organizations (100+)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVPM partners with over 100 community organizations, school systems and businesses to create STEM content for online, TV, radio, and community events through the Science Matters initiative.
• Early Childhood Community PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVPM partners with families, educators, and community organizations to connect critical early learning resources directly where children live, work, and play. 54 community partnerships for early brain development awareness.
• Style WeeklycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVPM has operated Style Weekly since 2021, a magazine centered on deeper arts and culture coverage and local storytelling.
• Dominion EnergyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDominion Energy is a VPM sponsor (disclosed in news content).

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• WHRO Public Media: WHRO is Hampton Roads' public television and radio broadcaster, operating as a PBS/NPR affiliate serving southeastern Virginia. It is comparable to VPM as a fellow Virginia-based public media organization with TV, radio, and education programming, though it serves a distinct (non-overlapping) geographic market.
• Blue Ridge Public Radio (BPR) / WVTF: BPR (formerly WVTF) is the NPR member station serving western North Carolina and parts of Virginia with news and classical programming. It is comparable to VPM's VPM Music and VPM News radio stations in format mix, though with narrower geographic reach into Virginia mountain regions.

Direct peers

• WETA: WETA is the flagship PBS/NPR affiliate for the Washington, D.C. metro area, operating multiple TV channels (WETA PBS, PBS Kids, Create, World) and radio stations (WETA Classical, WETA News). It is directly comparable to VPM in station count, network affiliation mix, and reliance on member donations plus PBS programming.
• WUNC North Carolina Public Radio: WUNC is an NPR member station serving North Carolina with statewide news coverage, podcasts, and classical programming. It is comparable to VPM News 88.9 FM in scale, news mission, and reliance on underwriting and listener donations, though it is radio-only.
• Ideastream Public Media: Ideastream operates WVIZ TV and WCPN/WKSU radio stations in Cleveland/Northeast Ohio as a PBS/NPR affiliate, producing local news, classical music, and education content. It mirrors VPM's multi-channel TV and radio broadcast portfolio with comparable headcount and member-supported revenue model.
• Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB): OPB is a PBS/NPR affiliate serving Oregon and the Pacific Northwest with TV, radio, digital, and news operations including OPB Politics Now. It is comparable to VPM in the depth of regional news coverage and multi-platform distribution strategy.
• KQED: KQED is the Bay Area's PBS/NPR affiliate operating multiple TV and radio channels plus a large digital and podcast operation. It is comparable to VPM as a multi-channel public broadcaster with strong news, arts/culture, and education programming, though significantly larger in scale.
• NJ PBS (WNJT/WNJB): NJ PBS is New Jersey's statewide public television network and NPR affiliate, operating multiple stations and producing original local news and cultural programming. It is comparable to VPM in multi-station geographic coverage, member-supported revenue, and mix of national and locally produced content.

Broad incumbents

• GBH (WGBH): GBH is Boston's PBS station and one of the largest producers of public television content nationally (Frontline, NOVA, American Experience). It is comparable to VPM as a PBS affiliate with major local news and content production, but operates at substantially greater scale and produces content distributed nationally.
• PBS Kids / PBS Distribution: PBS Kids is the national children's programming brand and distribution network that VPM carries as an affiliate channel. It is comparable to VPM as the upstream network supplier and content brand, representing a structural peer relationship rather than direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights1 record

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/myvpm
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC0G2XnXhO8SA0CGvxQUawEA
• Facebookfacebook.com/myVPM
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vpm-media-corporation
• Instagraminstagram.com/myvpm
• TikToktiktok.com/@myvpm

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A1 record

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about VPM