What Wyoming PBS does

Wyoming PBS is the only statewide-licensed public television station in Wyoming, operating as a non-profit service of Central Wyoming College under the governance of the college's Board of Trustees. Founded in 1983 and headquartered in Riverton, the station reaches an estimated 150,000 households weekly through three high-power transmitters (KCWC-DT Lander, KWYP-DT Laramie, KPTW Casper), 47 translator stations, cable and satellite carriage, and digital streaming via the PBS Video App and wyomingpbs.org. It produces and distributes a slate of local programs including Wyoming Chronicle (in its 17th season), Our Wyoming, Wyoming History, Capitol Outlook, Farm to Fork Wyoming, A State of Mind, and Story Time with Wyoming Authors, alongside national PBS programming, PBS Kids 24/7, FNX (First Nations Experience), and Create. The station also operates a critical Emergency Alert System infrastructure covering more than 50 towers statewide, integrated with FEMA's PBS WARN program, the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security, and WyoLink first-responder radio.

Business model revenue is diversified across individual membership (monthly sustainer tiers starting at $5/month and annual contributions from $60), corporate sponsorship/underwriting (reaching ~150,000 households), planned giving via bequests and Charitable Remainder Trusts, vehicle donations, federal funding through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), and state appropriations (notably a completed $1.5M Wyoming Legislature match for the State Production Endowment). The Wyoming PBS Foundation, a separate 501(c)(3) (EIN 83-0324253), manages fundraising and operates the Legacy of the West Endowment, which stood at $1,682,312 as of May 31, 2026, on a campaign path to $2.5M with support from the John P. Ellbogen Foundation ($300,000), Hughes Charitable Foundation ($500,000), and Wyoming Community Foundation ($250,000). Educational revenue/impact comes via PBS LearningMedia and the Wind River Education Project (76 standards-aligned lesson plans developed with the Wind River Reservation's Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho communities).

Distribution channels combine free over-the-air broadcast (the primary mass-reach vehicle for rural and remote Wyoming), the PBS Video App on all major connected devices, cable and satellite carriage, the Wyoming PBS Passport member benefit ($5/month or $60/year) for extended on-demand access, and direct website/phone/mail membership acquisition. The station is led by CEO Joanna Kail, with Foundation fundraising overseen by Executive Director Judd Rogers and a board chaired by Scott Estep. The station recently announced it will remove 'PBS' from its name while remaining a PBS member station, a positioning shift aimed at emphasizing its Wyoming identity.

Name

Wyoming PBS

Legal name

Wyoming PBS

Website

https://wyomingpbs.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Wyoming PBS is a statewide-licensed, non-profit public television station serving Wyoming residents via broadcast, cable, satellite, and streaming, producing original local programming and operating the state's Emergency Alert System network. It is funded through individual memberships, corporate underwriting, state and federal grants, and a multi-million-dollar endowment.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Television Broadcasting

NAICS

Television Broadcasting Stations (516120), Radio Broadcasting Stations (51611)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Public/Community Local Stations (PBS Member Stations, Community Radio, LPFM) (MPABACAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Local Translator/Repeater & Low-Power Stations (LPTV, Translators, Fill-In) (MPABACAM)

Keywords

• Public television broadcasting
• Educational media services
• Emergency alert broadcasting
• Distance learning content
• Nonprofit broadcast media

Headquarters

HQ city

Riverton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Contributions (Individual Donations): Individual viewers become members through monthly sustaining gifts (as low as $5/month) or one-time annual donations ($60+). Membership includes standard benefits plus exclusive ticket offers for sustainers. This is a recurring revenue stream from individual supporters.
2. Corporate Sponsorships / Underwriting: Corporate sponsors support local programming in exchange for recognition across on-air, print, and online platforms. The station reaches an estimated 150,000 Wyoming households weekly, making it an attractive vehicle for statewide corporate engagement. Underwriting acknowledgments are provided in compliance with FCC non-commercial rules.
3. Legacy of the West Endowment: Permanent endowment established to provide stable, independent support for Wyoming PBS operations. Principal is invested and earnings fund local productions, community outreach, education programming, and infrastructure. As of May 31, 2026, the endowment stood at $1,682,312 with a campaign to reach $2.5 million.
4. Planned Giving / Estate Gifts: Donors can include Wyoming PBS in their estate plans through bequests, Charitable Remainder Trusts, and other planned giving instruments. The Foundation offers a free estate planning tool via partnership with Giving Docs.
5. Vehicle and Property Donations: Wyoming PBS accepts vehicle donations as a non-cash giving option, processed through a third-party platform.
6. State Government Funding: The Wyoming Legislature committed $1.5 million to match $1.5 million raised by the Foundation for the State Production Endowment, completed ahead of schedule. Earnings from this endowment fund local programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Wyoming PBS is a statewide non-profit public television broadcaster that delivers national PBS programming and original local productions (Wyoming Chronicle, Our Wyoming, Wyoming History, Capitol Outlook, Farm to Fork Wyoming, etc.) across over-the-air broadcast, cable, satellite, and streaming channels. It also operates a statewide Emergency Alert System network, provides standards-aligned K-12 educational resources through PBS LearningMedia and the Wind River Education Project, and offers Wyoming PBS Passport as a member benefit for extended on-demand streaming.

Product overview

Wyoming PBS is a statewide public broadcasting station operating multiple channels (Wyoming PBS Main, PBS Kids 24/7, FNX: First Nations Experience, and Create) that delivers both national PBS programming and locally produced content. The station's product portfolio centers on broadcast television, streaming via the PBS Video App, and digital education resources. Key local productions include Wyoming Chronicle, Our Wyoming, Wyoming History, Capitol Outlook, Farm to Fork Wyoming, A State of Mind, Story Time with Wyoming Authors, and Wyoming PBS Specials. The station also operates Nature WY (a digital educational series for children) and the Wind River Education Project (Native American education resources). Wyoming PBS Passport is a member benefit providing extended on-demand access to PBS programming.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Wyoming PBS Passport: A member benefit providing extended access to an on-demand library of quality local and national public television programming.
• Wyoming PBS Foundation
• Wind River Education Project
• Nature WY

Products and services

• Wyoming PBS Main Channel

Quantifiable outcome

• 150,000 Wyoming households reached weekly
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Buffalo Bill Center of the WestcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 November 2025Wyoming PBS and Buffalo Bill Center of the West collaborated on a series of programs to share authentic stories about the American West, beginning with a 30-minute show featuring discussions with historians Dr. Paul Hutton and Peter Cozzens. This partnership leverages the Center's expertise in Western history with Wyoming PBS's broadcast capabilities to produce compelling documentary content about the American West.
• Science Kids (Sheridan, WY)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWyoming PBS partnered with Science Kids out of Sheridan, Wyoming to create Nature WY, a digital educational series focused on outdoor science and nature for children ages 6-8 (and all learners from 2 to 102). The series is developed in alignment with Wyoming state educational standards.
• PBS (Public Broadcasting Service)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWyoming PBS is a licensed member station of PBS. The station continues to offer all PBS programming and member benefits including Passport, and receives national content distribution through the PBS system while maintaining local editorial control.
• Central Wyoming CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWyoming PBS is a service of Central Wyoming College. The governing board is the CWC Board of Trustees, and facilities are shared with the college's New Media and Film programs. During 2022-23, five New Media students interned at Wyoming PBS in crew positions. The college awarded $4,000 in scholarships to New Media students.
• Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)coreOthersCPB is the federal agency that provides funding for public television and radio stations including Wyoming PBS. CPB mandates transparency in governance and finances for all public media entities.
• PBS WARN (Warning, Alert, Response Network)coreTechnology or IntegrationPBS WARN uses PBS's unique reach, reliability, and local connections to provide a vital backup path for the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system, allowing government agencies like FEMA to send geo-targeted cell phone warnings to nearby users via PBS's broadcast infrastructure.
• Wyoming Office of Homeland SecuritycoreOthersWyoming PBS receives and broadcasts emergency alerts from the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security, including Amber Alerts, weather warnings, and wildfire updates across the state's Emergency Alert System network.
• Wyoming HumanitiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWyoming Humanities (ThinkWY) is listed as a corporate supporter, providing humanities programming content and community engagement support for Wyoming PBS educational initiatives.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• PBS (Public Broadcasting Service): National member-network organization that distributes content and the PBS Video App platform to Wyoming PBS and other member stations. PBS is the ecosystem enabler whose brand, content, and technology infrastructure Wyoming PBS relies on.
• Corporation for Public Broadcasting: Federal funding agency that distributes the appropriation Congress provides for public broadcasting. CPB is the upstream funder and regulator of governance/finance transparency for Wyoming PBS and every other PBS/NPR member station.

Broad incumbents

• WETA: Washington, D.C.-area PBS station and a major national content producer (PBS NewsHour). Operates a far larger budget and national footprint but serves as the relevant incumbent benchmark for content production scale and PBS system governance.
• WGBH: Boston-based flagship PBS station and one of the largest content producers for the PBS system (Frontline, NOVA, American Experience). Functions as a broad incumbent whose scale and national content production contrast with Wyoming PBS's hyper-local focus.

Direct peers

• Iowa PBS: Statewide PBS member station serving Iowa, with similar rural coverage needs, statewide translator network, and educational media mission. Iowa PBS is owned by the Iowa Department of Education, an analog to Wyoming PBS's Central Wyoming College governance structure.
• South Dakota Public Broadcasting: Statewide public TV/radio broadcaster serving South Dakota, another low-population rural state. SDPB's statewide translator footprint, membership structure, and educational content mission closely parallel Wyoming PBS.
• Oregon Public Broadcasting: Larger statewide PBS/NPR member network serving Oregon with a mix of urban and rural coverage. While larger than Wyoming PBS, OPB shares the same model of statewide translator distribution, local storytelling, and membership/underwriting revenue.
• Idaho Public Television: Statewide PBS member station serving Idaho (a neighboring rural Mountain West state of similar population scale). IdahoPTV operates comparable over-the-air translator networks, produces local programming, and depends on a similar mix of memberships, underwriting, and CPB funding — making it the closest functional peer to Wyoming PBS.
• Nebraska Public Media: Nebraska's statewide public television network (formerly NET), serving a similarly rural Plains state. Operates a comparable translator-based distribution network and similar mix of local production and national PBS programming.
• Montana PBS: Montana's statewide PBS member station, sharing Wyoming's geography, rural audience, small population base, and reliance on translator networks to deliver statewide coverage. Operates from the University of Montana with a comparable funding model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/WyomingLegislature
• Xx.com/WyomingPBS
• Facebookfacebook.com/WyomingPBS
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wyoming-pbs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Subsidiaries5 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 Wyoming PBS