Public Media Infrastructure

What Public Media Infrastructure does

Public Media Infrastructure (PMI) is an independent U.S. nonprofit organization established in September 2025 through a coalition of five leading public media entities: American Public Media Group (APMG), PRX, New York Public Radio (NYPR), Station Resource Group (SRG), and the National Federation of Community Broadcasters (NFCB). The organization was capitalized by a $47-57.9 million five-year grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), one of the final disbursements before federal funding for CPB was eliminated. PMI's purpose is to develop and operate next-generation digital content distribution infrastructure and shared services for more than 1,300 U.S. public radio stations serving communities in all 50 states, a system that reaches 99% of Americans across every Congressional district.

PMI's product portfolio centers on four service areas: multiplatform content distribution infrastructure (radio, digital, on-demand, and live streaming), audience measurement tools planned for 2026 pilot cohorts, a premium sponsorship exchange and revenue generation platform, and continuity services for satellite distribution and emergency alert systems. These offerings are built on and integrated with existing platforms from the founding organizations, notably PRX's Dovetail and Exchange for digital audio and radio distribution, APMG's state and national services, NYPR's distribution network, NFCB's community station support, and SRG's research and convenings. SRG currently acts as fiscal agent during the transition period.

PMI does not sell products through traditional commercial channels. Services are provided directly to public radio stations via coordinated support and a unified help desk pathway. During the five-year CPB grant term, stations incur no fees; afterward, any fees will be scaled to station size and budget with metered use considered, and no carriage fees are within scope. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors chaired by LaFontaine Oliver (NYPR Executive Chair) that includes representatives from the five founders and five independent station managers, with Bob Kempf serving as Interim Executive Director pending a permanent hire expected in early 2026. PMI explicitly prioritizes small, rural, Tribal, and LPFM stations in its governance and product design to ensure equitable access across the public media system.

Name

Public Media Infrastructure

Legal name

Public Media Infrastructure

Website

https://publicmedia.tech

Company type

Private

Founded year

2025

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Public Media Infrastructure is a nonprofit coalition formed in 2025 by five leading U.S. public media organizations to build digital content distribution, audience measurement, and revenue generation infrastructure serving 1,300+ public radio stations nationwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Broadcasting Infrastructure

NAICS

Radio and Television Broadcasting Stations (5161), Broadcasting and Content Providers (516), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (516210)

SIC

Communications Services, Nec (4899), Radio Broadcasting Stations (4832)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Media Digital Platforms & Streaming (Apps, On-demand, Podcasts) (MPABADAG), National Public Radio Networks & Member Stations (NPR-style) (MPABADAB)

Keywords

• Public radio infrastructure
• Content distribution services
• Audience measurement tools
• Nonprofit media technology
• Digital audio distribution

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations

Revenue model

1. CPB Grant Funding: PMI was awarded a $47-57.9 million five-year grant by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to develop infrastructure for public radio stations. The grant covers the initial operational period, with fees (if necessary after the grant term) to be structured fairly and scaled to station size and budget.
2. Station Services (Post-Grant): After the five-year grant term, any fees will be structured fairly, scaled to the size and budget of stations, with metered use taken into account. There will be no surprise costs and no immediate action needed from stations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Public Media Infrastructure (PMI) provides shared digital infrastructure services for more than 1,300 U.S. public radio stations. Its offerings span multiplatform content delivery (radio, digital, on-demand, live streaming), audience measurement and analytics, a premium sponsorship and revenue generation exchange, and continued operation of satellite and emergency alert systems. Services are delivered to nonprofit public radio stations through coordinated governance involving five founding public media organizations.

Product overview

Public Media Infrastructure (PMI) is a nonprofit coalition that provides shared infrastructure services for public radio, rather than a single unified product. Its portfolio consists of content distribution infrastructure enabling multi-platform delivery, audience measurement tools, and a revenue generation platform (premium sponsorship exchange and analytics). PMI also maintains satellite and emergency alert systems. These services build upon and integrate the existing platforms of founding partners—PRX's Dovetail and Exchange, APMG's state/national services, NFCB's community station support, SRG's research, and NYPR's distribution network—under coordinated governance to serve over 1,300 public media stations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Content Distribution Infrastructure Shared digital infrastructure enabling public media stations to distribute content across radio, digital, on-demand, and live streaming platforms nationwide; intended for the 1,300+ U.S. public radio stations PMI serves.
• Audience Measurement Tools Planned analytics and metrics services for measuring audience engagement across multiple platforms; to be designed and piloted with partner stations beginning in 2026.
• Revenue Generation Platform Premium sponsorship exchange and analytics platform designed to promote revenue growth for public radio stations of all sizes, planned for rollout as part of PMI's 2026 service portfolio.
• Satellite and Emergency Alert Systems Continuity and stability of core system-wide infrastructure including Public Radio Satellite System (PRSS) satellite distribution and emergency alert systems, ensuring uninterrupted station operations nationwide.

Quantifiable outcome

• Support for 1,300+ public media stations
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered founding and strategic.

• American Public Media Group (APMG)foundingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 November 2025APMG is one of five founding organizations, providing state and nationwide operations services. APMG is the largest station-based public radio organization in the U.S., reaching nearly 15 million listeners across 1,000 stations. APMG's operations include Minnesota Public Radio, BBC World Service, Marketplace, and YourClassical.
• PRXfoundingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 November 2025PRX is one of five founding organizations, providing Dovetail and Exchange platforms for digital audio and radio distribution. PRX is one of the world's top podcast publishers, public radio distributors, and audio producers, serving as an engine of innovation for the system.
• New York Public Radio (NYPR)foundingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 November 2025NYPR is one of five founding organizations, providing national programs and distribution network. NYPR produces innovative programming including WNYC, WQXR, WNYC Studios, Gothamist, and New Jersey Public Radio. NYPR's LaFontaine Oliver serves as Executive Chair of PMI's Board.
• Station Resource Group (SRG)foundingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 November 2025SRG is one of five founding organizations, providing research and convenings. SRG serves as fiscal agent for PMI, receiving CPB funds on behalf of PMI until the organization is fully established. SRG is an alliance of public media institutions operating dynamic public radio stations.
• National Federation of Community Broadcasters (NFCB)foundingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 November 2025NFCB is one of five founding organizations, providing direct support to community and Tribal stations. Founded in 1975, NFCB is the oldest and largest national organization dedicated to community stations. NFCB's CEO Rima Dael serves as a founding board member of PMI.
• NPR / Public Radio Satellite System (PRSS)strategicTechnology or Integration · 26 September 2025PMI intends to work collaboratively with NPR and PRSS to ensure continuity and excellence of core system-wide infrastructure including satellite and emergency alert systems during the transition period. Stations will continue to operate without interruption.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• BBC: The BBC operates as a publicly funded national broadcaster with its own end-to-end distribution, audience measurement, and content infrastructure — an internationally recognized reference model for what a unified public-broadcaster infrastructure stack can look like at scale, and a useful comparator for PMI's coalition-based approach.
• PBS (Public Broadcasting Service): PBS is the television analog of the public radio system PMI serves, operating as a national nonprofit that aggregates and distributes content to a member-station network via shared infrastructure. PBS's experience with member-station governance, federal funding, and shared distribution platforms is highly comparable to PMI's mandate on the radio side.
• Audacy: Audacy is a major commercial radio operator with significant investments in digital audio distribution, podcasting, and programmatic ad technology. Its scale and integrated ad-tech stack represent the commercial analog to PMI's planned sponsorship exchange and audience analytics offerings.
• Cumulus Media: Cumulus Media is one of the largest commercial radio broadcasters in the U.S. and has invested heavily in digital audio distribution and ad-tech partnerships. As a major buyer of radio audience measurement and sponsorship exchange services, it represents the demand-side analog to PMI's planned offerings.
• Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL): RFE/RL is a U.S.-funded international broadcaster that operates end-to-end content distribution infrastructure across geographies with constrained media environments. Its reliance on U.S. federal grant funding and shared distribution infrastructure makes it a comparable public-broadcaster model for PMI's grant-funded structure.

Emerging players

• SoundExchange: SoundExchange operates the digital performance rights infrastructure for U.S. radio and streaming — a nonprofit collecting/distributing royalties from non-interactive digital radio plays. It is comparable as a mission-driven, system-wide infrastructure intermediary for the radio ecosystem that PMI also serves.

Direct peers

• Triton Digital: Triton Digital (part of iHeartMedia) provides audio streaming/distribution technology, audience measurement, and programmatic ad serving for radio broadcasters. Its product overlap with PMI's planned audience measurement and premium sponsorship exchange makes it a direct competitive peer in radio distribution tech.
• PRX (Public Radio Exchange): PRX is both a PMI founding partner and a direct comparable — it operates the Dovetail and Exchange platforms that form the technological foundation of PMI's distribution infrastructure. PRX also publishes podcasts and distributes public radio content commercially, putting it in direct operational overlap with PMI's planned services.
• NPR (National Public Radio): NPR operates the Public Radio Satellite System (PRSS), the legacy distribution backbone that PMI is explicitly designed to complement and modernize for the same 1,300+ station network. Both organizations provide system-wide distribution, interconnection, and content services to U.S. public radio stations.

Regional players

• WNYC Studios: WNYC Studios is the podcast and on-demand content production arm of New York Public Radio (a PMI founder). It is comparable as a public-radio-native content and distribution operation that competes for the same podcast-listening audience PMI's multiplatform distribution strategy targets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 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 Infrastructure