Star Quest Production Network

What Star Quest Production Network does

The Star Quest Production Network, Inc. (operating as StarQuest Media and SQPN) is a US 501(c)(3) Catholic nonprofit media apostolate that produces audio and video programming exploring the intersection of Catholic faith and modern popular culture. Founded in the 2008-2010 period and incorporated in the United States under Tax ID 30-0384791, the network is led by CEO Dom Bettinelli (with the organization since 2010, CEO since 2018) and CFO Linda Little (with the organization since 2008), supported by a board that includes Jimmy Akin, Fr. Chip Hines, Steve Nelson, and Board Chaplain Fr. Jason Tyler. Its audience consists of individual Catholic faithful seeking engagement with pop culture through a faith lens, together with Catholic clergy and catechists who use the content for formation.

StarQuest's product surface is a portfolio of approximately 14 active podcasts, including Jimmy Akin's Mysterious World, Secrets of Star Trek, Secrets of Star Wars, Secrets of Doctor Who, Secrets of Stargate, Secrets of Middle-earth, Secrets of Technology, Secrets of Television, Secrets of Movies, Secrets of Sacred Art, Catholics of Oz, Let's Science!, Vatican II In A Year, Praystation Portable, American Catholic History, and Raising the Betts, supported by over 40 hosts, co-hosts, and panelists. The technology stack is conventional: a WordPress content management system at sqpn.com, standard podcast hosting, RSS syndication, and distribution to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Amazon Music, and TuneIn, with Google Analytics for traffic monitoring and Discord for community engagement.

The business model is donation-driven, consistent with its 501(c)(3) status. Revenue streams include tax-deductible listener donations, recurring monthly patronage through Patreon (with $10/month tiers referenced in fundraising), branded and show-specific merchandise and books sold through sqpn.com/merch and individual show bookstores, and podcast sponsorships. The go-to-market motion is community-led, relying on organic podcast discovery across major platforms, word-of-mouth within Catholic circles, an active Discord server, email newsletters, and Facebook. No equity, venture, or institutional capital has been identified; the organization has formally disaffiliated from prior entities SQPN Europe and Trideo Media.

Name

Star Quest Production Network

Legal name

The Star Quest Production Network, Inc.

Website

https://sqpn.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Star Quest Production Network (SQPN) is a US 501(c)(3) Catholic nonprofit media apostolate producing approximately 14 podcasts exploring the intersection of Catholic faith and science-fiction and fantasy franchises, funded by listener donations, Patreon support, merchandise sales, and sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Catholic Podcast Media

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (516210)

akta.pro primary industry

Faith-Based Media, Publishing & Broadcasting (Radio, TV, Digital, Press) (BPAGAJAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Religious/Faith-Based Broadcast Networks (MPABAAAF)

Keywords

• Catholic podcast network
• Faith-based media
• Religious audio content
• Pop culture commentary
• Non-profit media

Headquarters

HQ city

Roswell

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, StarQuest relies primarily on tax-deductible donations from listeners and supporters. The organization runs periodic fundraising campaigns and accepts one-time and recurring gifts.
2. Patreon/Membership Support: StarQuest operates a Patreon page where supporters can become recurring monthly patrons at various pledge levels, receiving exclusive benefits.
3. Merchandise Sales: The organization sells branded merchandise including t-shirts and show-specific items through sqpn.com/merch. Each show also has its own bookstore for related books and media.
4. Podcast Sponsorships: Shows mention sponsor opportunities and accept show sponsors who wish to support the mission while reaching the podcast audience.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

StarQuest Media (The Star Quest Production Network, Inc.) is a Catholic 501(c)(3) non-profit media apostolate that produces and distributes approximately 14 active audio and video podcast programs exploring the intersection of Catholic faith and modern pop culture, including franchises such as Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who, Stargate, and Middle-earth, plus shows on movies, television, sacred art, technology, science, Vatican II, and Catholic family life. Content is offered free to listeners and funded through donations, Patreon patronage, merchandise sales, and show sponsorships.

Product overview

StarQuest Media (Star Quest Production Network) is a Catholic non-profit podcast network that creates audio and video programs exploring the intersection of faith and modern culture. The organization operates as a portfolio of themed podcasts including Jimmy Akin's Mysterious World, Secrets of Star Trek, Secrets of Star Wars, Secrets of Doctor Who, Secrets of Stargate, Secrets of Middle-earth, Secrets of Technology, Secrets of Television, Secrets of Movies, Secrets of Sacred Art, Catholics of Oz, Let's Science!, Vatican II In A Year, Praystation Portable, American Catholic History, and Raising the Betts. Content is distributed through podcast platforms (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Amazon Music, TuneIn), RSS feeds, and Discord community. The network is funded through listener donations and merchandise sales.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Jimmy Akin's Mysterious World
• Secrets of Star Trek
• Secrets of Star Wars
• Secrets of Doctor Who
• Secrets of Stargate
• Secrets of Middle-earth
• Secrets of Technology
• Secrets of Television
• Secrets of Movies
• Secrets of Sacred Art
• Catholics of Oz
• Let's Science!
• Vatican II In A Year
• Praystation Portable
• American Catholic History
• Raising the Betts
• StarQuest Merchandise Store

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Catholic World Report: Catholic news and commentary publication that also produces podcast/audio content; comparable audience overlap and editorial mission (Catholic perspective on culture), though with a journalism orientation versus SQPN's pop-culture analysis.
• Word on Fire: Catholic media apostolate producing digital video, podcasts, and publications led by Bishop Robert Barron; directly comparable as a modern Catholic media apostolate with a multimedia portfolio reaching similar faith-seeking audiences.
• Catholic Answers: Largest Catholic apologetics media organization producing podcasts, radio, and online content; directly comparable in mission (Catholic media apostolate) and format (audio shows), and explicitly organizationally linked to SQPN via board member Jimmy Akin (Senior Apologist).

Emerging players

• Hallow: Leading Catholic prayer and meditation app with audio content; comparable Catholic-audio consumer audience and mission but delivers via mobile app experience rather than podcast distribution, and at significantly larger venture-backed scale.
• Pray.com: Multi-faith audio content platform (sleep, prayer, meditation) with celebrity-driven distribution; comparable in faith-based digital audio delivery and audience demographic, but operates across faiths and with venture capital.

Broad incumbents

• Focus on the Family: Large Christian (evangelical) media organization producing podcasts, radio and publications; comparable as a long-running faith-based media apostolate with multi-format distribution, though theologically and denominationally distinct from SQPN's Catholic focus.
• Christianity Today: Major Christian media publisher producing articles, podcasts, and multimedia content; comparable in faith-based media distribution to a believing audience, though Protestant-leaning rather than Catholic.
• Relevant Radio: Catholic radio network with nationally syndicated programming and digital distribution; comparable audience (U.S. Catholics) and mission but operates via traditional broadcast + digital rather than on-demand podcast-first.
• EWTN: The dominant Catholic broadcast network in the U.S., operating TV, radio and digital media; comparable in faith-based media distribution and audience, but orders of magnitude larger, multi-channel, and historically broadcast-centric rather than podcast-first.

Others

• Loyola Press: Catholic publisher producing books, media and educational resources; comparable in mission (Catholic media/apostolate) and book-related cross-sell via show-specific bookstores, though primarily a publisher rather than a podcast network.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/playlist?list=PL5Z4WGkdegZXD2QamYgb6Y-soc3sVDR7W
• Facebookfacebook.com/SQPN-26120051568
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/star-quest-production-network

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 Star Quest Production Network