City University of New York’s television
CUNY TV is the City University of New York's non-commercial, publicly funded educational television station, broadcasting 28 locally produced shows and 100+ hours of CUNY partner programming monthly to 7.3 million NYC metro households via cable, over-the-air, mobile, and podcast channels.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1985
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What City University of New York’s television does
CUNY TV is the City University of New York's 24-hour public educational television station, established in 1985 and operated as a wholly-owned asset of CUNY, the nation's largest urban public university system spanning 25 colleges. The station produces and distributes 28 locally produced series alongside more than 100 hours of programming contributed monthly by CUNY colleges and partner institutions, reaching approximately 7.3 million households across the New York metropolitan area. Signature programs include Arts in the City, Asian American Life, Black America, LATiNAS, Nueva York, THEATER: All The Moving Parts, CUNY Laureates, City Works, CUNY Forum, and City Cinematheque, with niche coverage of Latino, AAPI, Black, and Puerto Rican cultural communities. The station also operates a podcast line and a mobile app launched in 2024.
Distribution is multi-platform: over-the-air digital broadcast on channel 25.3 across the five boroughs, plus cable carriage on Spectrum/Optimum (75), RCN (77), and Verizon FiOS (30), with secondary distribution throughout the CUNY campus system and via iOS/Android applications and podcast directories. Technical architecture is a conventional public-broadcasting stack — linear scheduling, MVPD carriage contracts, an online archive at tv.cuny.edu, and mobile streaming — with no proprietary platform technology described.
The business model is non-commercial and publicly funded. There is no advertising sales or transactional revenue. Operating support comes from CUNY institutional funding, an organizational grant from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), and donations to the CUNY TV Foundation. Programming is offered free to viewers; the station's "customers" are effectively NYC metro-area general audiences and the CUNY community (students, faculty, and staff across 25 colleges). The leadership team is led by Interim Executive Director Chiqui Cartagena, a 30-year media veteran. CUNY TV is overseen by CUNY governance and has no venture, private equity, or external ownership interests.
City University of New York’s television firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- City University of New York’s television
- Legal name
- CUNY TV (City University of New York's Television Station)
- Website
- https://tv.cuny.edu
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1985
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- CUNY TV is the City University of New York's non-commercial, publicly funded educational television station, broadcasting 28 locally produced shows and 100+ hours of CUNY partner programming monthly to 7.3 million NYC metro households via cable, over-the-air, mobile, and podcast channels.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
City University of New York’s television industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Public Educational Television Broadcasting
- NAICS
- Television Broadcasting Stations (51612), Television Broadcasting Stations (516120), Radio and Television Broadcasting Stations (5161)
- SIC
- Television Broadcasting Stations (4833)
- akta.pro primary industry
- University/College-licensed Public Broadcasting (TV & Radio) (MPABADAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- University/Educational Local Stations (College Radio, Campus TV) (MPABACAH)
Keywords
Where City University of New York’s television is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
City University of New York’s television business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Public Broadcasting/Funding: CUNY TV operates as a public educational television station supported by organizational funding from entities like the New York State Council on the Arts, donations, and institutional support from CUNY. No commercial revenue model is indicated.
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels5 records
City University of New York’s television product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CUNY TV is a 24-hour non-commercial public educational television station that produces and broadcasts original educational, cultural, and public affairs programming to the New York metropolitan area. The station reaches 7.3 million households via over-the-air digital broadcast, cable television providers, a mobile application, podcasts, and an online programming archive, offering 28 locally produced shows and over 100 hours of CUNY college programming monthly.
Product overview
CUNY TV is the City University of New York's 24-hour educational television station and New York's leading public educational channel, established in 1985. The station operates a multi-platform content distribution model comprising: (1) broadcast television reaching 7.3 million households via over-the-air (channel 25.3), cable (Spectrum/Optimum 75, RCN 77, Verizon FiOS 30), and throughout the CUNY system; (2) a mobile application for iOS and Android enabling on-the-go viewing; (3) podcast versions of current affairs and arts series available via Apple Podcasts and iHeartRadio; and (4) an online programming archive at tv.cuny.edu. The station produces 28 locally made shows including signature series such as Arts in the City, Asian American Life, Black America, LATiNAS, Nueva York, THEATER: All The Moving Parts, CUNY Laureates, City Works, CUNY Forum, A Slice of New York, CENTRO, City Cinematheque, Audio Maverick, Let It Rip, and CUNY Uncut, alongside over 100 hours of programming from CUNY colleges monthly.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Frame by Frame: Film series showcasing CUNY's College of Staten Island Film Festival and Brooklyn Film Festival content.
Products and services
- CUNY TV Broadcast Television A 24-hour educational television channel broadcasting original programming to 7.3 million households across the New York metropolitan area via over-the-air digital broadcast (channel 25.3) and cable providers (Spectrum/Optimum 75, RCN 77, Verizon FiOS 30), featuring 28 locally produced shows covering education, arts, culture, public affairs, and community stories for general New York audiences.
- CUNY TV Mobile Application A mobile application available on the Apple App Store and Google Play that enables users to watch CUNY TV shows on the go, check on-air schedules, and access the weekly newsletter and social media feeds from their mobile devices.
- CUNY TV Podcasts Audio podcast versions of CUNY TV's current affairs and arts series, including Audio Maverick, Arts in the City, Asian American Life, and Black America, distributed through Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and other podcast platforms for on-demand listening.
- CUNY TV Online Programming Archive An online archive of original CUNY TV programming accessible globally at tv.cuny.edu, providing on-demand streaming of past episodes and shows to viewers beyond the New York metropolitan broadcast area.
Companies that use City University of New York’s television
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
City University of New York’s television technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
City University of New York’s television partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA)coreNYSCA provides organizational support for CUNY TV, contributing to the station's ability to produce quality educational programming for New Yorkers.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
City University of New York’s television competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- WNET (Thirteen): WNET is New York's flagship PBS member station and CUNY TV's most direct public television peer in the same NYC market, operating over-the-air, cable, and digital distribution with a comparable mix of educational, cultural, and public-affairs programming.
- WLIW21: WLIW21 is a Long Island-based PBS station that, like CUNY TV, serves the greater New York region with educational and cultural programming, providing directly comparable public-broadcast distribution and content model.
- Manhattan Neighborhood Network (MNN): MNN is a NYC-based public-access television network that, like CUNY TV, produces and distributes locally focused educational and community programming to Manhattan residents across cable and digital channels.
- BronxNet: BronxNet is the public-access television network serving the Bronx with educational and community programming, a directly comparable public-TV peer operating within the same NYC geography and cable-distribution ecosystem as CUNY TV.
Regional players
- NJTV (New Jersey Public Television): NJTV is New Jersey's statewide public television network. It is a comparable public-educational broadcaster operating in an adjacent geography to CUNY TV's NYC footprint with a similar educational and public-affairs mandate.
- Connecticut Public Television (CPTV): CPTV is a regional public-television broadcaster serving Connecticut, comparable to CUNY TV as a smaller-market PBS-affiliated educational broadcaster with over-the-air, cable, and digital distribution.
Broad incumbents
- PBS (Public Broadcasting Service): PBS is the national public-television umbrella network that distributes content to and sets programming standards for member stations like CUNY TV, providing the broader industry context and overarching distribution framework in which CUNY TV operates.
- WGBH (Boston): WGBH is a major-market PBS member station that produces national programming and serves as a benchmark peer for CUNY TV in terms of educational content production, awards profile, and multi-platform public-broadcast operations.
- WETA: WETA is the Washington, D.C.-area public broadcasting station producing PBS NewsHour and other educational programming. It is a comparable major-market public broadcaster with similar educational and public-affairs content mandates to CUNY TV.
Others
- WNYC (New York Public Radio): WNYC is New York's flagship public radio station operated by the same New York public-media ecosystem. While primarily audio rather than TV, it is a thematically related public broadcaster serving overlapping NYC audiences with educational and cultural programming.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
City University of New York’s television social profiles
Digital presenceCity University of New York’s television financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
City University of New York’s television leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
City University of New York’s television funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
City University of New York’s television M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about City University of New York’s television
What does City University of New York’s television do?
CUNY TV is a 24-hour non-commercial public educational television station that produces and broadcasts original educational, cultural, and public affairs programming to the New York metropolitan area. The station reaches 7.3 million households via over-the-air digital broadcast, cable television providers, a mobile application, podcasts, and an online programming archive, offering 28 locally produced shows and over 100 hours of CUNY college programming monthly.
Is City University of New York’s television a public or private company?
City University of New York’s television is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was City University of New York’s television founded?
City University of New York’s television was founded in 1985. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is City University of New York’s television based?
City University of New York’s television is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does City University of New York’s television make money?
One revenue line is on record: public Broadcasting/Funding.
Who are City University of New York’s television's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are WNET (Thirteen), WLIW21, Manhattan Neighborhood Network (MNN) and BronxNet. Regional players are NJTV (New Jersey Public Television) and Connecticut Public Television (CPTV). Broad incumbents are PBS (Public Broadcasting Service), WGBH (Boston) and WETA. WNYC (New York Public Radio) is listed as an others.
Does City University of New York’s television have an API?
No public API is recorded for City University of New York’s television.
What industry is City University of New York’s television in?
City University of New York’s television's product category is Public Educational Television Broadcasting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPABADAD, University/College-licensed Public Broadcasting (TV & Radio), with a secondary code of MPABACAH, University/Educational Local Stations (College Radio, Campus TV). Its NAICS code is 51612 and its SIC code is 4833.