Public Media Venture Group

What Public Media Venture Group does

Public Media Venture Group (PMVG) is a nonprofit business development consortium founded in 2017 and headquartered in Boulder, Colorado. The organization is composed of 32 leading public media organizations that collectively operate 115 public television stations reaching over 250 million people. PMVG's stated mission is to help public broadcasters compete in the evolving media landscape by building technology partnerships, developing mission-focused use cases for new platforms, empowering members to capitalize on NextGen TV (ATSC 3.0) capabilities, strengthening local journalism, and pursuing capital for technology buildouts.

PMVG's core technology focus is ATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV), the next-generation broadcast standard that combines broadcast reach with IP-protocol addressability. The organization operates low-power TV stations (W35DZ-D in Cookeville, TN; W29EN-D for SCETV; WBPA-LD for WQED Pittsburgh) as ATSC 3.0 translators and public-service testbeds, including advanced emergency alerting capabilities such as American Sign Language alerts and real-time Spanish closed caption translation. Its commercial product offering, TechBundle (launched February 2026), consolidates three core services: PMM Cloud (cloud-based managed master control at $4,000/mo per primary channel), TSG Managed Encoding and Transmission Site Services ($3,000/mo per main transmitter), and Local Public Light (member-supported streaming apps on Roku, web, iOS, and Android from $2,500/mo). PMVG also operates TechConnect, an annual conference program for public media technology leaders, and Executive Summits for member CEOs and CTOs.

The business model combines three revenue streams: recurring member station contributions from the 32 consortium members, technology grant funding (notably a $1 million NextGen TV grant awarded August 2023), and subscription fees from TechBundle services offered to public broadcasting stations. Go-to-market is community-led, with customer acquisition occurring through consortium participation and engagement at industry events rather than traditional sales motion. The organization is led by CEO and founder Marc Hand, with senior advisors Skip Pizzi (former NAB and Microsoft executive, ATSC Technology Group 3 Vice Chair) and Vinnie Curren (former Corporation for Public Broadcasting COO), and functions as an independent nonprofit without external venture capital or private equity backing.

Name

Public Media Venture Group

Legal name

Public Media Venture Group

Website

https://publicmediaventure.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Public Media Venture Group is a nonprofit consortium of 32 leading public media organizations operating 115 television stations, delivering shared ATSC 3.0 / NextGen TV technology, cloud-based broadcast services, and member-supported streaming tools to U.S. public broadcasters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Broadcasting Technology Services

NAICS

Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (516210), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)

SIC

Communications Services, Nec (4899), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Media Asset Management (MAM) Platforms (MPAHAGAA)

Keywords

• Public broadcasting services
• Broadcast technology platforms
• NextGen TV adoption
• Media infrastructure solutions
• Consortium technology services

Headquarters

HQ city

Boulder

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Member Station Contributions: PMVG is funded through member station contributions and consortium fees from its 32 member public media organizations operating 115 public television stations.
2. Technology Grants: PMVG receives grant funding for specific technology initiatives, such as the $1 million grant awarded in August 2023 to propel NextGen TV innovation.
3. TechBundle Service Fees: Revenue from providing consolidated technology services (PMM Cloud, TSG Managed Encoding, Local Public Light streaming) to public media stations at discounted bundle rates.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

PMVG is a nonprofit business development consortium of 32 leading public media organizations that delivers shared technology services through its TechBundle platform, combining cloud-based master control (PMM Cloud), 24/7 transmission site monitoring (TSG Managed Encoding), and member-supported streaming (Local Public Light). The organization also operates low-power TV stations as ATSC 3.0/NextGen TV testbeds and facilitates technology partnerships, executive summits, and capital exploration to help public broadcasters modernize.

Product overview

PMVG is a nonprofit business development consortium of 32 leading public media organizations that offers a unified TechBundle platform combining three core services: PMM Cloud (cloud-based managed master control playout), TSG Managed Encoding and Transmission Site Services (24/7 monitoring across broadcast and streaming), and Local Public Light (member-supported streaming apps for local PBS stations). The TechBundle consolidates these essential services into a single discounted solution for public media stations. PMVG also operates Low-Power TV Sites as ATSC 3.0 testbeds and hosts annual TechConnect conferences and Executive Summits for public media technology leadership.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TechBundle: A comprehensive, modernized, low-cost bundle of services built for local public media stations combining master control, transmission monitoring, and streaming services.

Products and services

• PMM Cloud

Quantifiable outcome

• 32 member organizations operating 115 stations reaching 250M+ people

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and major.

• EON MediaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 December 2025EON Media, PMVG, and WCTE PBS announced an archive pilot project for public media content preservation and distribution.
• DMLmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 January 2024PMVG partnered with DML on news syndication networks to strengthen local journalism and expand distribution capabilities for public media stations.
• Google News InitiativemajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 August 2023PMVG partnered with Google News Initiative on the Public Media Merger Project to strengthen local journalism through new service models and explore ways to obtain capital for significant technology buildout.
• Korea Radio Promotion Association (RAPA)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 May 2023Partnership to establish ATSC 3.0 testbed in Cookeville, Tennessee. PMVG's low power TV station W35DZ-D serves as an ATSC 3.0 translator and testbed for NextGen TV public service applications in collaboration with RAPA.
• DigiCAPmajorTechnology or Integration · 31 March 2023PMVG and DigiCAP successfully implemented Emergency Management System (EMS) in Cookeville, TN as part of NextGen TV/ATSC 3.0 deployment testing.
• National Trust for Local NewsmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 May 2021The National Trust for Local News was developed under Public Media Venture Group and acquired 24 community newspapers in Colorado to preserve and sustain local news institutions.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• PBS: Public Broadcasting Service is the national public television network serving most US public TV stations, including many PMVG members. PBS provides technology, programming, and content services to stations as part of its broader portfolio, overlapping with PMVG's station-services focus and serving as both a partner-adjacent and ecosystem-wide entity.
• Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB): CPB is the federal funding agency for US public radio and television. It sits at the center of the public media ecosystem that PMVG serves, and has been a personnel source for PMVG advisors (e.g., Senior Advisor Vinnie Curren served as COO and SVP for Radio at CPB).
• APTS (Association of Public Television Stations): APTS is the industry trade association representing public television stations in Washington, DC. It shares PMVG's broader mission of advancing public broadcasting interests and operates in adjacent advocacy and capacity-building capacity.
• NPR: National Public Radio operates as the parallel mission-driven public media technology enabler on the radio side rather than television. Skip Pizzi, PMVG Senior Advisor, worked at NPR for 13 years, making NPR a direct mission peer with deep connections into PMVG's leadership and member ecosystem.

Direct peers

• Media Management (formerly Signal Infrastructure Group): Media Management is the renamed Signal Infrastructure Group that acquired Public Media Management (PMM) from Sony and appointed Marc Hand as CEO. It shares operational alignment with PMVG through the PMM Cloud master control service, broadcast transmission services, and overlapping leadership across the two organizations.
• Public Media Company: Public Media Company (formerly Public Radio Capital) is a business development firm serving public broadcasting that was co-founded by Marc Hand, who also founded PMVG. It is the most directly comparable organization, executing M&A and business development transactions for public media clients, including deals valued at over $400 million per its leadership background.
• WNET (Thirteen): WNET is the major New York metropolitan-area public television station with significant technology and content distribution capabilities. Like PMVG members, it operates at the intersection of public media and broadcast technology, and the company's PMVG operates a low-power TV station (WBPA-LD) acquired specifically for WQED Pittsburgh with similar LPTV infrastructure model.
• American Public Television (APT): APT distributes public television content and provides operational services to member stations. It is directly comparable to PMVG in serving public media station operational needs through shared infrastructure and services, with a longer operating history in content distribution.
• WGBH Educational Foundation: WGBH (Boston) is a major US public television station operator with substantial in-house technology and production capabilities. It serves a similar integrated station-and-technology role for the Northeast and is among the most capable individual public TV station operators, comparable to PMVG member stations with the largest operational footprints.

Emerging players

• Tagboard: Tagboard provides broadcast graphics and live content technology used by TV stations and media companies. It is a comparable broadcast technology peer serving the broader media market and demonstrates how specialized broadcast-tech vendors build adjacent services around station workflows that PMVG also serves.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/public-media-venture-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries3 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 Public Media Venture Group