Monticello Media

What Monticello Media does

Monticello Media is a privately-held broadcast and digital media company headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 2007 by owner George Reed to purchase and operate local radio properties, the company holds five terrestrial radio stations — WCYK (country, 50,000 watts), WHTE Hot 101.9/104.9 (Top 40), WHUK 102.3 The Hook (classic hits), WCHV 1260 AM/107.5 FM (news, talk, sports), and WKAV 94.1 The Oasis (contemporary Christian) — plus two translators and five streaming simulcasts. The portfolio is supplemented by MM Online, a wholly-owned subsidiary providing display, social media, and database marketing, and an in-house Creative Services and Digital Services department supporting advertising copy and campaign execution. Geographic reach spans Central Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley, extended into the New River Valley through a partnership with New River Radio Group (WBRW, WPSK, WRAD, WVHK) in Blacksburg, VA.

The company's revenue model is advertising-led across four streams: traditional terrestrial radio airtime sales across five format-diverse stations, digital marketing through MM Online, in-house creative services, and consumer events and publications. Pricing is quote-based through consultative Account Executive engagements, with multi-year contract structures in place. The go-to-market is sales-led, employing between 11 and 50 staff organized around outside Account Executives supported by inside sales, creative, and digital teams.

Monticello Media serves small, mid-size, and large local businesses in Central Virginia as its primary customer segment, with secondary segments including political candidates and organizations requiring regulatory navigation, national advertisers and ad agencies needing multi-market reach, and employers using the platform for recruitment advertising. The company positions itself against larger, publicly-owned broadcast competitors by emphasizing local ownership, no Wall Street obligations, and community-designed station and digital product mix based on custom market research.

Name

Monticello Media

Legal name

Monticello Media

Website

https://monticellomedia.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Monticello Media is a privately-held Charlottesville-based broadcast company operating five terrestrial radio stations, streaming simulcasts, and a digital marketing subsidiary (MM Online), serving local SMBs, political advertisers, and national agencies across Central Virginia, the Shenandoah Valley, and the New River Valley.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Radio Broadcasting and Local Advertising

NAICS

Radio Broadcasting Stations (51611), Advertising Agencies (54181)

SIC

Radio Broadcasting Stations (4832), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Radio Content Production & Studios (On-air Production, Imaging, Jingles) (MPAIAEAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Music/Audio-Visual Streaming Channels (Concerts, Music Video Channels) (MPABAHAL)

Keywords

• Radio broadcasting
• Local advertising
• Digital marketing services
• Audio advertising
• Broadcast media

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlottesville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Radio Advertising Sales: Traditional radio advertising across five terrestrial stations (WCYK, WHTE, WHUK, WCHV, WKAV) targeting Central Virginia and Shenandoah Valley listeners and businesses. Revenue generated from selling airtime and advertising spots across different station formats.
2. Digital Marketing Services (MM Online): Customized digital marketing solutions through MM Online division, delivering ads to target consumers through popular websites. Includes display ads, social media marketing, and database marketing with detailed analytics and performance tracking.
3. Creative Services: In-house creative services supporting both radio and digital advertising, including advertising copy writing and production support.
4. Consumer Events and Publications: Consumer events and publications as part of the product mix, generating additional revenue streams.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Monticello Media is a Charlottesville, Virginia-based broadcast company that operates five terrestrial radio stations (WCYK, WHTE, WHUK, WCHV, WKAV) and corresponding streaming radio stations covering multiple formats (country, Top 40, classic hits, news/talk/sports, contemporary Christian). Through its MM Online division, the company also provides customized digital marketing solutions including display advertising, social media marketing, and database marketing for local advertisers.

Product overview

Monticello Media operates as a locally-owned media company offering a portfolio of five terrestrial radio stations, five streaming radio stations, and digital marketing services under the MMOnline brand. The radio stations span multiple formats (country, Top 40 hit music, classic hits, news/talk/sports, and contemporary Christian) serving Central Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley. Their digital division provides display ads, social media marketing, and database marketing solutions. The company was formed in 2007 to purchase and operate local radio stations and related interactive products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• WCYK 99.7: Country music station serving Central Virginia and Staunton/Waynesboro area with 50,000 watts
• Hot 101.9 / 104.9
• 102.3 The Hook
• WCHV
• The Oasis 94.1

Products and services

• WCYK 99.7 FM A 50,000-watt country music station serving Central Virginia and the Staunton/Waynesboro area, featuring contemporary country music with local personality-driven programming; primarily a vehicle for local advertising reaching Charlottesville and the Valley's influencers.
• WHTE Hot 101.9 Charlottesville's #1 Hit Music Station (101.9 FM and 104.9 FM in Downtown Charlottesville), playing Today's Top 40 hits targeting adult consumers; serves as an advertising channel for local businesses.
• WHUK 102.3 The Hook Classic hits station playing favorite hits from legendary artists, targeting Charlottesville Gen Xers in their prime earning years; serves as an advertising channel for local businesses seeking affluent Gen X consumers.
• WCHV 1260 AM / 107.5 FM News, Talk & Sports station featuring Fox News, Bloomberg business reports, and live play-by-play coverage of Nationals, Wizards, Capitals, Virginia Tech football & basketball, and NASCAR; serves as an advertising channel targeting news and sports consumers.
• WKAV 94.1 The Oasis Contemporary Christian hit music station featuring family-friendly talk, local news, weather and sports; provides advertisers with a family-safe commercial environment that showcases their message.
• Monticello Media Online (MM Online) Customized digital marketing solutions including display advertising, social media marketing, and database marketing designed for local advertisers to cost-effectively reach and motivate target customers across popular websites, with detailed analytics and performance tracking.

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

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• New River Radio GroupcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMonticello Media partners with New River Radio Group (WBRW, WPSK, WRAD, WVHK) in Blacksburg, VA. This partnership extends Monticello Media's reach beyond the Charlottesville/Central Virginia market into the New River Valley. The company advertises combined opportunities with both station groups for Account Executive positions, suggesting a collaborative go-to-market relationship for advertisers seeking coverage across both markets.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Audacy: Audacy is a major U.S. radio broadcaster and podcast/audio streaming operator competing in the same digital audio advertising market as Monticello Media's MM Online division.
• Townsquare Media: Townsquare Media is a larger publicly-traded operator of radio stations and digital media properties in small and mid-sized U.S. markets, with a comparable local-advertising and digital-services business model serving similar SMB customer segments.
• iHeartMedia: iHeartMedia is the largest U.S. radio broadcaster and a major digital audio advertising platform, competing with Monticello for both listener share in overlapping Virginia geographies and advertiser budgets across national campaigns.
• Beasley Media Group: Beasley Media Group operates clusters of radio stations in mid-sized U.S. markets and offers complementary digital marketing services, closely paralleling Monticello Media's bundled radio-plus-digital offering to local advertisers.
• Cumulus Media: Cumulus Media is one of the largest U.S. radio broadcasters, operating station clusters and digital platforms nationally; it competes for the same local and national advertiser budgets that Monticello targets in the Virginia region.

Direct peers

• Emmis Communications: Emmis Communications is a privately-held media company operating multi-format radio station clusters in select U.S. markets with bundled digital services, closely mirroring Monticello Media's operating structure and mid-market cluster approach.
• Connoisseur Media: Connoisseur Media is a privately-held owner-operator of radio station clusters in mid-sized U.S. markets, directly comparable to Monticello Media in operating model, scale, and local advertiser orientation.
• Salem Media Group: Salem Media Group operates radio stations nationally with a strong Christian and talk format orientation, overlapping with Monticello's WKAV (Contemporary Christian) and WCHV (News/Talk) stations and similar religious-content advertising expertise.
• Alpha Media: Alpha Media is a privately-held radio broadcasting company operating multi-format station clusters across U.S. mid-sized markets, with a directly comparable cluster strategy, local sales-led model, and SMB advertiser focus.
• Saga Communications: Saga Communications is a public broadcasting company that owns and operates radio stations in mid-sized U.S. markets, with a comparable cluster-and-local-focus model that mirrors Monticello Media's multi-format approach in a single regional market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/monticellomedia
• Facebookfacebook.com/125786037469149
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/monticello-media

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries2 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 Monticello Media