Finney Media

What Finney Media does

Finney Media is a privately held B2B consulting and research firm founded in 2014 by Chuck Finney and headquartered in Southlake, TX. The firm specializes exclusively in serving Christian radio stations and programs across the US, offering program consulting, talent coaching, digital and podcasting strategy, research, and storytelling training. Its core intellectual property is the Why Listen Survey, a nationwide survey of Christian radio listeners conducted since 2016 — now in its fifth iteration — that feeds the proprietary Findex Score, which rates stations on Content, Connection, and Commitment to Promote on a -100 to +100 scale.

The firm's product portfolio is built around the survey dataset and includes Listener Advisory Panels (personalized listener research), the WEBIN8 quarterly webinar series, the Why Listen Brief twice-monthly email series, and the Why Listen Pulse monthly article series. Distribution is sales-led and relationship-driven: the senior team — many of whom are former Christian radio operators with decades of experience at networks including Salem, KLOVE, and Moody Radio — maintains deep ties to industry bodies such as Christian Music Broadcasters (CMB), National Religious Broadcasters (NRB), and the Gospel Music Association.

Finney Media generates revenue through professional services engagements priced on a quote basis, with Listener Advisory Panels explicitly priced under $3,500 per project. The firm operates without disclosed external funding, has no parent company, and exhibits founder-controlled ownership under President Chuck Finney. Marketing is conducted primarily through content marketing, webinars, email newsletters, and presence at CMB and NRB conferences.

Name

Finney Media

Legal name

Finney Media

Website

https://finneymedia.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Finney Media is a privately held B2B consulting and research firm serving US Christian radio stations and programs. It offers program consulting, talent coaching, digital strategy, and proprietary audience research built around the Why Listen Survey and Findex Score.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Radio Consulting Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPABALAA

Christian Broadcasting (TV & Radio)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Broadcasting (TV & Radio)/Religious/Faith-Based Broadcasting

SECONDARYMPAIAEAF

Religious Radio Broadcasting

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Music & Audio (Recording, Publishing, Streaming)/Radio & Audio Broadcasting (Terrestrial, Satellite, Digital Radio)

Keywords

• Christian radio consulting
• Audience research services
• Radio station coaching
• Listener research insights
• Format consulting services

Headquarters

HQ city

Southlake

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

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Revenue generated through program consulting, research services, talent coaching, digital consulting, and storytelling training for Christian radio stations and programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Finney Media is a research and consulting firm that helps U.S. Christian radio stations and programs grow audience and deepen listener impact. It sells program consulting, listener research (including the proprietary Why Listen Survey, Findex Score, and Listener Advisory Panels), on-air talent coaching, digital/podcast strategy consulting, and storytelling training to Christian radio clients.

Product overview

Finney Media is a research and consulting firm serving Christian radio stations and programs. The company offers a portfolio of products centered around the Why Listen Survey, which generates the proprietary Findex Score for evaluating station performance. Additional offerings include Listener Advisory Panels for personalized research, along with consulting services covering program consulting, talent coaching, digital/podcasting strategy, and storytelling training. The company also produces content products including the Webin8 webinar series and Why Listen Pulse monthly research articles, as well as the Why Listen Brief email series.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Why Listen: Research survey brand covering listening behaviors of Christian radio listeners with annual nationwide surveys.
• Findex
• WEBIN8
• Why Listen Brief
• Why Listen Pulse
• Finney's Fast Five

Products and services

• Why Listen® Survey
• Findex® Score
• Listener Advisory Panels
• Program Consulting
• Talent Coaching
• Digital Services
• Research Services
• Storytelling Training

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 12,000 Christian radio listeners participated in the 2025 Why Listen Survey
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Christian Music Broadcasters (CMB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFinney Media maintains a strong relationship with CMB through regular attendance at Momentum conferences, team participation in events, and Chuck Finney's past service as Chairman of the organization. The company conducts breakout sessions and presents research findings at CMB conferences.
• National Religious Broadcasters (NRB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChuck Finney serves on the NRB Radio Committee and previously served on the NRB Board of Directors. Finney Media presents at NRB conventions and participates in conference activities.
• Gospel Music AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJon Hull served on the board of directors for the Gospel Music Association as part of his Christian media involvement.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Nielsen: Dominant third-party audience measurement service for radio (via Nielsen Audio/former Arbitron). Competes indirectly with Finney Media by setting the standard ratings currency and increasingly offering custom research.
• Edison Research: Larger audio and consumer research firm conducting landmark studies (Infinite Dial, Share of Ear) used across US radio. Overlaps with Finney Media in audience research supplied to broadcasters but serves broader industries and advertisers.
• Triton Digital: Digital audio measurement, ad serving, and streaming analytics platform serving radio broadcasters and podcasters. Overlaps with Finney Media's digital/podcasting consulting practice at the data and analytics layer.

Others

• Inside Radio: US radio industry trade publication providing ongoing market intelligence, sales research, and station-level data. Adjacent to Finney Media's research products at the industry-information level rather than as direct consulting competition.

Direct peers

• Pollack Media Group: Radio market research and strategy consulting firm; direct competitor for music testing, format research, and consulting engagements among US broadcasters, with overlap in Christian and music-formatted clients.
• Barna Group: Research firm focused on Christian faith communities and churches; comparable to Finney Media's vertical focus on Christian audiences, with overlapping clients across ministry and Christian media categories.
• Jacobs Media: Long-standing radio consultancy serving music, talk, and Christian radio stations with audience engagement and digital strategy services. Direct competitor to Finney Media's program consulting, talent coaching, and digital/podcasting offerings.
• Research Director Inc. Radio audience research and music-testing firm serving US broadcasters. Closely comparable to Finney Media on core methodology (perceptual research, audience studies) and target customer (station managers and program directors).
• Coleman Insights: Premier US radio audience research and music-testing firm whose offerings (format research, listener studies, perceptual studies) map directly onto Finney Media's Why Listen Survey and Listener Advisory Panels. Direct competitor for station-level research budgets across formats including Christian.
• NuVoodoo Media+Marketing: Audience research and marketing firm focused on radio stations and record labels. Direct peer in format research, music testing, and listener behavior studies competing for the same station-level research budgets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/finneymedia
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@finneymedia8054
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/finney-media

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Finney Media