North Metro TV

Name

North Metro TV

Legal name

North Metro TV

Website

https://northmetrotv.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Media Services

NAICS

Radio and Television Broadcasting Stations (5161), Television Broadcasting Stations (51612), Broadcasting and Content Providers (516)

SIC

Television Broadcasting Stations (4833)

akta.pro primary industry

Independent Local TV Stations (MPABACAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Local News & Weather Stations (MPABACAJ), Local Sports Broadcast Stations (Regional Local Rights, High School/College) (MPABACAK)

Keywords

• Community media services
• Public access television
• Government video production
• Live sports broadcasting
• Cable franchise administration

Headquarters

HQ city

Blaine

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, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Franchise Fees from Comcast: Cable franchise fees collected from Comcast based on gross subscriber revenues in member cities. These are the primary revenue source funding Commission operations. Fee amounts are proportional to each member city's subscriber base.
2. PEG (Public, Educational, Government) Fees: PEG programming fees collected by the cable Grantee and redistributed to the Commission to fund cable-related expenses of the Commission and its member cities.
3. Home Movie Transfer Service: Fees charged for transferring home movies (VHS, film reels, photos, slides) to DVD or digital formats. Generating approximately $1,000-$2,000 per month in income.
4. Commercial Video Production and Streaming: Revenue from event video streaming, drone photography, and video production services for commercial clients. Includes contracts with National Sports Center and Neighborhood Sports Network. The largest annual miscellaneous commercial income was achieved in 2022 and 2023.
5. Streaming Agreements: NMTV enters into streaming agreements with sports networks (e.g., Neighborhood Sports Network) where NMTV is compensated up to 70% for attributed monthly and annual subscriptions and downloads of games. Also provides game streaming for the National Sports Center.
6. MN Media Archive: YouTube channel hosting older community videos (sports events, graduations, parades). Charges a digitizing fee to outside organizations such as schools, local governments, alumni groups, and booster clubs.
7. City Meeting Support Services: Franchise administration fees and reimbursement from member cities for meeting recording services, transcription services, podcast production, and equipment consulting. Cities reimburse NMTV for costs of freelancers to cover city meetings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

North Metro TV operates as a community media center and cable franchise administrator for seven member municipalities in Minnesota, producing local news, recording government meetings, and broadcasting high school sports. The organization also provides commercial video production, drone photography and videography, home movie transfers, public access training, and senior digital literacy programming. Content is distributed across cable channels, OTT apps (Roku, AppleTV, Amazon Fire), the website, social media (Facebook, YouTube), and podcast platforms.

Product overview

North Metro TV is a community media center serving seven member cities (Blaine, Centerville, Circle Pines, Ham Lake, Lexington, Lino Lakes, and Spring Lake Park) in Minnesota. The organization operates a multi-channel cable television system with Channel 15 for staff-produced programming (North Metro TV News, Local Decision political coverage, Sports Den), Channel 14 for public access content, and Channel 16 for city government meetings. Core services include local news production, high school sports coverage via HD production truck, city meeting recording with video on demand/podcast/transcription services, drone photography, home movie transfers, and public access facilities and training. Content is distributed across cable TV, streaming apps (Roku, AppleTV, Amazon Fire), social media (YouTube, Facebook), and podcast platforms. The organization also provides internet literacy classes for seniors and a 'Your History' program for recording personal narratives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• City Meeting Recording Service Full-service video recording, directing, scheduling, and replay of city council and commission meetings for seven member municipalities, including VOD with agenda bookmarking, closed captioning, podcasts, and Otter.ai interactive transcripts.
• High School Sports Coverage Live sports game coverage for Blaine, Centennial, and Spring Lake Park High Schools, produced using HD production truck and vMix single-camera system and streamed on cable channel 15, YouTube, and Facebook.
• Drone Services Commercial drone photography and videography services for member cities, local businesses, and organizations, performed by a licensed and insured drone pilot trained per FCC commercial drone regulations.
• Home Movies to DVD Transfer Service Service helping community members transfer VHS tapes, film reels, photos, and slides to digital DVD formats, with both paid transfer and self-service training options available.
• City Meeting Podcast Service City meeting podcast conversion and distribution service, with podcasts distributed across six platforms: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, Amazon Music/Audible, iHeart Radio, and Pocket Casts.
• Closed Captioning Service Live and post-event closed captioning of all city meetings and programming, implemented through Tightrope system across cable, OTT, and online platforms.
• Public Access Classes Video production and media classes taught at NMTV facilities and community centers, including studio training, editing workshops, film history, and internet usage classes.
• Internet Literacy Classes for Seniors Workshops and instructional videos developed to help seniors with internet, device, and app usage, taught at senior centers in partnership with the Minnesota Office of Broadband Development.
• Your History Program Senior-focused service allowing participants to record personal histories and family stories, promoted through senior centers and the Anoka County Historical Society.
• MN Media Archive YouTube-based archive channel for hosting older community videos including sporting events, graduations, parades, and community events, with hosting services offered to schools, local governments, alumni groups, and booster clubs for a digitizing fee.
• North Metro TV News Local news program produced by NMTV staff featuring stories about community events, government initiatives, local businesses, and residents, airing daily at 2:30, 6:30, and 10:30 on cable channel 15 and streaming online.
• Local Decision Political coverage program focusing on local elections, candidate interviews, debates, and election night results programming.

Quantifiable outcome

• Achieved 144,415 online views from 19 new videos in a single month (April 2026)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers15 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

Integration14 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ComcastcoreOthersComcast is the primary cable franchisee serving all seven member cities of the North Metro Telecommunications Commission. NMTV administers the franchise on behalf of member cities, collecting franchise and PEG fees, conducting audits, and ensuring compliance with franchise terms. The franchise relationship is the primary funding mechanism for NMTV's operations.
• Tightrope Media SystemscoreTechnology or IntegrationTightrope provides the Carousel CG graphics systems for all seven city channels (installed 2017), the Tightrope scheduling software for master control playback, and the closed captioning system used for live and post-event captioning of all programming.
• National Sports CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNMTV has streaming agreements with the National Sports Center. Streaming services from these contracts began paying dividends. The I-Net at Fogerty Arena allows live coverage of hockey games. The relationship also resulted in the ability to record state-level tournament games and may have played a role in securing lucrative streaming work.
• Neighborhood Sports Network (NSPN.TV)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNMTV entered into a streaming agreement with Neighborhood Sports Network to stream games over the NSPN.TV app. NMTV is compensated up to 70% for all attributed monthly and annual subscriptions and for any downloads of games. All other streaming platforms for North Metro games were eliminated through this agreement, consolidating distribution.
• Mary Ann Young Senior Center (MAYC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing partnership for senior programming. NMTV provides Tech Support Days, internet literacy classes, and class instruction at the senior center. The relationship generated positive community feedback and viewer testimonials.
• Anoka County Job Training CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to hire young adults with disabilities or barriers to employment who have an interest in media. Participants join the staff, take video classes, and assist the public access department.
• Anoka County Historical SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for the 'Your History' program and traveling lecture series. The Historical Society promotes the senior oral history program and NMTV utilizes the center as a venue for film history and media classes.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Hudl: Sports video and analytics platform widely used by high school athletic programs. Comparable because Hudl sits in the same high school sports video ecosystem that NMTV's Sports Producer covers via its HD production truck and NSPN streaming partnership.

Direct peers

• Brooklyn Community Access Television (BCAT): Brooklyn-based PEG access center providing public access channels, production training, and city-meeting-style local programming. Closely aligned with NMTV on the designated-PEG-operator role, multi-channel cable distribution, and community production model.
• Saint Paul Neighborhood Network (SPNN): Twin Cities-area community media center providing PEG access channels, city meeting recording, and local programming in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Highly comparable as a Minnesota-based PEG operator with similar municipal-government and franchise-fee funding model.
• Cambridge Community Television (CCTV): Cambridge, Massachusetts community media center operating PEG channels, public access production, government meeting coverage, and training. Comparable in business model (PEG-funded, nonprofit/community media operator) and service mix (gov meetings, training, local production).
• Manhattan Neighborhood Network (MNN): Large urban PEG access organization operating public access channels, training, and production facilities in Manhattan. Directly comparable as a designated community media center with multi-channel cable distribution, public access production, and city meeting programming.

Others

• Swagit: Provider of live and on-demand video streaming, closed captioning, and indexing services for government meetings. Adjacent to NMTV's Tightrope-based closed captioning and VOD city meeting offering; represents the in-house software alternative that member cities could adopt.
• Alliance for Community Media: National trade association representing PEG access channels and community media centers. Relevant as the industry body and peer network that NMTV's staff engage with through MACTA and FCC proceedings, and that benchmarks NMTV's regulatory and operational model against peer organizations.
• Granicus: Government technology vendor providing agenda management, video streaming, and transcription solutions for municipal meetings. Comparable because Granicus competes for the same city-meeting recording and streaming budget line items that fund a major share of NMTV's city-meeting service revenue.

Broad incumbents

• NFHS Network: National subscription streaming platform for high school sports. Direct overlap with NMTV's Neighborhood Sports Network streaming and HD production truck coverage of Blaine, Centennial, and Spring Lake Park high schools; competes for the same audience and subscription dollars.
• Twin Cities PBS (TPT): Twin Cities regional public television station operating PBS-affiliate channels and digital distribution in the same Minnesota media market as NMTV. Comparable as a public/nonprofit broadcaster with PEG-overlap responsibilities, but operates at substantially larger scale and broader geographic scope.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NorthMetroTV
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/NorthMetroTV
• Facebookfacebook.com/NorthMetroTV
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/north-metro-tv

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 North Metro TV