Naperville Community Television

What Naperville Community Television does

Naperville Community Television (NCTV17) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community television station founded in 1987 and headquartered in Naperville, Illinois. The station produces and distributes hyperlocal news, sports, community events, and talk programming exclusively for the Naperville market — the third-largest city in Illinois — via carriage on Comcast Channel 17, Astound Channel 17/1140, and AT&T Channel 99, supplemented by live streaming, video-on-demand on YouTube and Vimeo, a WordPress website averaging 120,000 monthly visits, and a daily email newsletter to 5,000 subscribers reaching 90,000 monthly viewers. Its core product portfolio includes flagship news (Naperville News 17), sports coverage of all six area high school varsity programs (Naperville Sports Weekly), talk shows (Business Profiles, Inside the Chamber, Spotlight), documentaries, and community event coverage, supported by a 22'x24' studio, a six-camera mobile production truck, green screen, and teleprompter infrastructure.

NCTV17 operates a diversified revenue model blending philanthropy and commercial activity: tax-deductible individual donations (one-time, monthly Channel Champions, and Director's Circle at $1,000+ annually), corporate partnerships and program sponsorships, planned giving instruments (DAFs, IRA QCDs, appreciated stock, bequests), digital advertising ($45-$120/week placements), Business Profile video packages ($750 in-studio, $1,300 on-site), commercial video production services, and MP4 downloads via an online shop. Customer segments include Naperville-area residents, local SMBs and advertisers, school districts 203/204, and nonprofits such as Loaves & Fishes and the Naperville Education Foundation. The station is governed by a 14-member Board of Directors plus two non-voting liaisons and operates with 11-50 staff under Interim Executive Director Jane Wernette.

Name

Naperville Community Television

Legal name

Naperville Community Television

Website

https://nctv17.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Naperville Community Television (NCTV17) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community TV station producing hyperlocal news, sports, and talk programming for Naperville, Illinois residents, funded through donations, sponsorships, digital ads, and video production services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Television Broadcasting

NAICS

Television Broadcasting Stations (516120)

SIC

Television Broadcasting Stations (4833)

akta.pro primary industry

Independent Local TV Stations (MPABACAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Local Sports Broadcast Stations (Regional Local Rights, High School/College) (MPABACAK)

Keywords

• Community television broadcasting
• Local news production
• Hyperlocal journalism
• Video production services
• Nonprofit media

Headquarters

HQ city

Naperville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Tax-deductible contributions from individuals including one-time gifts, monthly Channel Champions giving, and Director's Circle leadership giving ($1,000+ annually). NCTV17 is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with EIN 36-3460409.
2. Corporate Partnerships & Sponsorships: Annual corporate partnerships, program sponsorships (including The Morning Show, Make Plans Monday), and event sponsorships such as the annual FUNdraising breakfast hosted by NBC 5 News Anchor Stefan Holt
3. Planned Giving: Legacy giving options including Donor-Advised Funds (DAF), IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCD), gifts of appreciated stock, beneficiary designations, and bequests
4. Digital Advertising: Banner and display advertising on NCTV17.org website (120,000 visits/month average) and within the NCTV17 News Update daily email (5,000 subscribers). Ad placements are nonrotating and sold on first-come, first-served basis.
5. Business Profile Video Packages: Television interview packages for local businesses: In-Studio ($750) includes interview at NCTV17 studio with up to two guests, runs on Channel 17 daily for two months. On-Site ($1,300) includes on-location filming at business.
6. Video Production Services: In-house video production for corporations and nonprofit agencies including raw footage capture, full end-to-end production with pre-production consulting, and live event/livestream coverage using production truck with up to six cameras.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Naperville Community Television (NCTV17) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community television station producing and broadcasting hyperlocal news, sports, talk shows, and community event coverage for the Naperville, Illinois area. The station distributes programming via Comcast, Astound, AT&T cable channels, website streaming, YouTube, and social media, and generates revenue through individual donations, corporate sponsorships, digital advertising, business profile TV interview packages, and professional video production services.

Product overview

Naperville Community Television (NCTV17) operates as a nonprofit community television station offering a portfolio of interconnected media products and services. The core offerings include news programming (Naperville News 17, NCTV17 News Update), sports coverage (Naperville Sports Weekly, Community Sports), talk shows (Inside the Chamber, Spotlight), and community events coverage. The station distributes content through Channel 17 broadcast, live streaming (Watch Now), social media, and on-demand video via YouTube and Vimeo. Additional services include video production for local clients, digital advertising, Business Profile TV interviews, and a shop selling video downloads of programming. The product portfolio functions as a unified community media platform delivering hyperlocal journalism across multiple distribution channels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Naperville News 17: The station's flagship daily local news program covering Naperville area news.
• Naperville Sports Weekly
• NCTV17 News Update
• Spotlight
• Inside the Chamber

Products and services

• Naperville News 17 The primary local news broadcast program covering Naperville and surrounding area, providing news stories, local perspectives, and community coverage for residents of Naperville.
• Naperville Sports Weekly The only television program covering all boys' and girls' varsity sports at six Naperville-area high schools, featuring highlights, interviews, and sports stories for local sports fans and families.
• NCTV17 News Update

Quantifiable outcome

• 80% of operating expenses directly support mission
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers14 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

Integration8 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Naperville Area Chamber of CommercecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost of Inside the Chamber, a half-hour business talk show hosted by Chamber President & CEO Kaylin Risvold, featuring interviews with local business leaders and Chamber community members
• DuPage FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured on Inside the Chamber show; DuPage Foundation President & CEO Mike Sitrick interviewed as community champion
• Naperville Police DepartmentminorGTM or Marketing PartnerVideo production client; NCTV17 produced recruitment video for the department
• Naperville Education FoundationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerVideo production client; NCTV17 produced documentary video for First Lego League program
• Loaves & Fishes Community ServicesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerVideo production client; NCTV17 produced client story fundraising video for annual gala
• KidsMattercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured on Spotlight show celebrating 25 years of empowering youth; dedicated to helping young people through connections with opportunities, resources, and caring adults
• People's Resource CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured on Spotlight show; has been creating hope and opportunity for DuPage County residents since 1975
• Metropolitan Family Services DuPagecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured on Spotlight show; provides support to vulnerable families, helping restore balance in their lives
• Endeavor Health Edward HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured on Spotlight show; described as a full-service, regional healthcare provider offering access to complex medical specialties
• MolexminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFeatured in Business Profile video with FIRST Robotics showcasing STEM engagement partnership; logo appears on sponsor list

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Daily Herald: Suburban Chicago regional newspaper with significant Naperville coverage. Comparable in delivering community news, school/sports content, and local advertising in the same DuPage/Chicagoland market.
• Patch.com: National hyperlocal digital news network serving thousands of U.S. communities, including Naperville-area coverage. Competes with NCTV17 for local-news audience attention and SMB advertising dollars in the same geography.
• WBEZ / Chicago Public Media: Major Chicago-area nonprofit public media organization providing news and cultural programming. Comparable as a mission-driven local-news nonprofit dependent on donations, sponsorships, and member support, though it operates radio/online rather than TV broadcasting.
• WTTW (Chicago PBS station): Chicago-market public television network operating under a nonprofit PBS-affiliate model. Broad incumbent in the same broadcast/public-media category as NCTV17, with a much larger scale and Chicago-wide reach, but shares the nonprofit, hyperlocal-public-affairs programming mission.

Emerging players

• Block Club Chicago: Nonprofit, online local-news outlet covering Chicago neighborhoods with a member-supported, ad-light model. Comparable emerging peer to NCTV17 in nonprofit hyperlocal news, though digital-first rather than broadcast-based.
• TAPinto Naperville: Local-online-news franchise serving New Jersey and other U.S. suburbs with hyperlocal editorial and SMB advertising. Comparable in targeting the same 'free, local, nonprofit-or-affordable' SMB advertiser and resident-reader base.

Direct peers

• BCN (BronxNet): Bronx-based nonprofit community media center operating PEG channels, hyperlocal news, and community programming. Directly comparable peer in mission, governance (501(c)(3)), and PEG-channel distribution.
• MNN (Manhattan Neighborhood Network): New York City community television nonprofit that operates PEG cable channels and produces hyperlocal news, talk, and culture programming. Closest direct functional peer to NCTV17 in mission, structure, and PEG-channel distribution model.
• CCTV (Cambridge Community Television): Cambridge, MA-based nonprofit community television station producing local news, talk, and civic programming on a PEG channel — a structurally and operationally comparable peer to NCTV17 at similar small-city scale.

Others

• Alliance for Community Media: National trade association supporting PEG/community-media operators across the U.S. Comparable as an ecosystem/peer-network enabler for NCTV17-style local stations, even though not a direct editorial competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nctv17
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/nctv17
• Facebookfacebook.com/NCTV17
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nctv17
• Instagraminstagram.com/nctv17

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 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 Naperville Community Television