North Country Public Radio

What North Country Public Radio does

North Country Public Radio (NCPR) is a non-profit public radio station founded in 1968 and headquartered at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York. It operates as an NPR affiliate serving the Adirondack North Country region of New York State — including St. Lawrence Valley, the Adirondacks, Champlain Valley, Jefferson County and the Thousand Islands, Tug Hill, and Lewis County — with programming reach extending into Vermont and into Ontario and Quebec in Canada. NCPR's primary functional role is filling a local news and information gap in rural northern New York, providing regional coverage that national outlets do not offer, alongside weather, traffic, and community calendar information.

The station's product surface centers on a morning regional newsmagazine (Northern Light), a daily news podcast (Story of the Day), narrative storytelling podcasts (The HOWL, North Words, If All Else Fails), a music podcast (Underscore), and a slate of weekly music programs (Trail Mix, The Beat Authority, The Folk Show, Global Heartbeat, Jazz @ The Ten Spot, Music in the Shadows, The Radio Bob Show, String Fever, The Thread, The Three O'Clock Special). Distribution runs through a multi-frequency FM broadcast network, a website with live streaming and on-demand archives, dedicated iOS and Android mobile apps, and presence on all major podcast platforms (Apple, Spotify, Google, TuneIn, Amazon) plus YouTube for video podcasting and Constant Contact-powered email newsletters. Underlying technology is conventional public-radio broadcast infrastructure augmented by web audio streaming, RSS-based podcast feeds, and a topic-tagged CMS organizing thousands of stories.

NCPR operates as a member-supported organization under a non-profit structure. Revenue is generated through three primary streams: voluntary listener memberships and donations collected via website, PayPal, and pledge drives; corporate underwriting and sponsorship from local businesses and nonprofits; and planned giving plus an endowment fund (including vehicle donations). All broadcast and digital content is freely accessible to all listeners with no paywall; memberships confer donor benefits such as a MemberCard discount program but do not gate content access. Go-to-market is community-led, relying on listener referrals, community event participation, and seasonal fundraising campaigns rather than paid acquisition.

Name

North Country Public Radio

Legal name

North Country Public Radio

Website

https://northcountrypublicradio.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1968

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

North Country Public Radio is a non-profit NPR affiliate serving the Adirondack North Country region of New York, Vermont, and parts of Canada. It produces regional news, music programming, and podcasts distributed via FM broadcast, digital streaming, and major podcast platforms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Radio Broadcasting

NAICS

Radio Broadcasting Stations (51611), Radio Broadcasting Stations (516110), Radio and Television Broadcasting Stations (5161)

SIC

Radio Broadcasting Stations (4832)

akta.pro primary industry

University/College-licensed Public Broadcasting (TV & Radio) (MPABADAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Public Broadcasting Content Distribution & Interconnection (Sat/IP feeds) (MPABADAI)

Keywords

• Public radio broadcasting
• Regional news coverage
• Narrative podcasts
• Community journalism
• Music programming

Headquarters

HQ city

Canton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Listener Membership and Donations: Voluntary contributions from listeners during pledge drives and ongoing membership programs. Listeners can donate via the website, PayPal, or traditional methods. The station operates as a visitor-supported organization relying on community financial contributions.
2. Underwriting and Sponsorship: Business sponsors provide financial support in exchange for on-air recognition and acknowledgment. Sponsors include local businesses such as Raquette River Brewing, Tughill Tomorrowland Trust, Adirondack A&E, The Devlin, and others. Underwriting messages acknowledge supporters without traditional advertising endorsement language required by FCC regulations for public radio.
3. Planned Giving and Endowment: Long-term fundraising through planned giving programs and endowment donations. The station maintains an endowment fund and accepts vehicle donations as additional revenue streams.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

NCPR is a community-supported public radio station that produces and distributes regional news, narrative storytelling, and music programming for the Adirondack North Country. Its core offerings include the weekday morning newsmagazine Northern Light, the daily Story of the Day podcast, narrative podcasts (The HOWL, North Words, Underscore, If All Else Fails), and a roster of curated music programs, delivered free via FM broadcast, live streaming, the NCPR mobile app, and major podcast platforms.

Product overview

North Country Public Radio (NCPR) operates as a regional public radio station serving the Adirondack North Country area, affiliated with NPR. The station offers a portfolio of radio programs and podcasts including news magazines (Northern Light, Story of the Day), narrative podcasts (The HOWL, North Words, Underscore), and diverse music programs (Trail Mix, The Beat Authority, The Folk Show, Global Heartbeat, Jazz @ The Ten Spot, and others). Content is distributed through on-air broadcast, a mobile app, multiple podcast platforms, live streaming, and email newsletters (NCPR Daily, North Words Weekly, The HOWL Weekly).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Northern Light: NCPR's morning regional newsmagazine hosted by Catherine Wheeler and Monica Sandreczki, airing weekdays live on-air at 8am.
• Story of the Day
• The HOWL
• North Words
• Underscore

Products and services

• Northern Light

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• St. Lawrence UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCPR operates as a public service of St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York. The university provides administrative infrastructure, facilities, and institutional support for the radio station. This host institution relationship is foundational to NCPR's operations.
• NPR (National Public Radio)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCPR is a proud affiliate of NPR, receiving national and international news content, programs like Morning Edition and All Things Considered, and access to NPR journalism network. This affiliation provides NCPR listeners access to national coverage unavailable locally.
• American Public MediacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNCPR receives programming from American Public Media, a major producer and distributor of public radio content. APM provides additional national programming to complement NPR content.
• Public Radio Exchange (PRX)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNCPR is affiliated with Public Radio Exchange, accessing curated public radio content and contributing to the PRX distribution network for public media.
• Public Radio InternationalminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNCPR receives programming from Public Radio International, another major public radio program provider expanding content options for local listeners.
• Raquetter River BrewingminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal brewery providing underwriting support for NCPR programming. Underwriting sponsors receive on-air recognition in exchange for financial contributions supporting station operations.
• Tughill Tomorrowland TrustminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEnvironmental nonprofit providing underwriting support for NCPR. The trust supports regional environmental coverage and station operations through sponsorship.
• Adirondack A&EminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal arts and entertainment organization underwriting NCPR programming. Partnership supports arts and culture coverage in the Adirondack region.
• The DevlinminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal establishment providing underwriting support for NCPR programming through station sponsorship.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• WBUR (Boston University): WBUR is a major-market NPR station owned by Boston University, producing nationally distributed programming and podcasts. Comparable in that it is a university-licensed NPR affiliate with original local reporting and podcasts, though significantly larger in scale and resources.

Others

• Report for America: Report for America is a national service program that places emerging journalists in local newsrooms, including NCPR, to address the local news crisis. Comparable as an ecosystem enabler whose corps members NCPR directly hosts as part of its reporting staff.
• WSLU (North Country Public Radio's Canton signal): WSLU is the FM call sign of NCPR's flagship station at St. Lawrence University; included only to acknowledge that NCPR itself operates a licensed broadcast facility, not as a separate comparable.

Direct peers

• Maine Public: Maine Public is the statewide public broadcasting network serving Maine, including NPR radio programming and original regional reporting. Comparable as a rural, small-state public radio organization with similar funding model and mission.
• Vermont Public: Vermont Public (formerly VPR) is the statewide public radio network serving Vermont, an NPR affiliate offering regional news, music, and podcasts. Directly comparable as a small-state, rural-focused public radio organization with listener-supported funding.
• New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR): NHPR is the statewide public radio network serving New Hampshire, an NPR affiliate with regional reporting and original podcasts. Comparable in scale, mission, and listener-supported model in a neighboring northern New England market.
• WAMC Northeast Public Radio: WAMC is a regional public radio network based in Albany, NY, serving upstate New York and parts of New England with NPR news, talk, and music programming. Highly comparable as a regional NPR affiliate in the same New York media market, with overlapping geographic coverage.
• WRVO Public Media: WRVO is an NPR affiliate public radio station based at SUNY Oswego, serving central and northern New York. Directly comparable as a New York-based public radio station housed at a public university, with similar audience and content profile.

Regional players

• WXXI Public Media: WXXI is a Rochester, NY-based public radio and television broadcaster serving the Finger Lakes region with NPR content. Comparable as a New York public radio operator, but primarily serves a different upstate region than NCPR's North Country.
• WBFO/WUFO: WBFO is the NPR affiliate public radio station of the University at Buffalo serving western New York. Comparable as a university-licensed public radio station in New York, but with a different geographic and demographic market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ncpr
• Facebookfacebook.com/NorthCountryPublicRadio
• Instagraminstagram.com/ncpr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 Country Public Radio