StreamGuys and American Public Media have launched Inform Media Network, a private underwriting and sponsorship marketplace designed to help public radio stations generate revenue from unsold digital audio inventory.
The companies say the network connects local stations to a centralized national sales team, enabling them to monetize podcast and livestream inventory through coordinated underwriting campaigns. At launch, the network includes more than 30 public media organizations, representing over 55 million monthly impressions and reaching more than six million listeners.
APM says the network is intended to address a longstanding challenge for public radio stations — how to extract value from audiences outside their local broadcast markets. Justin Hach, director of digital sales operations and products at Minnesota Public Radio | APM, said those listeners can become valuable when aggregated at a national level.
“We’re a national organization that operates local stations, so we know that for a station like Minnesota Public Radio, the impressions represented by listeners who live outside the broadcast market aren’t particularly applicable to local sponsors,” Hach said. “But those out-of-state or out-of-market listeners are a fantastic potential audience for national advertisers — they become quite valuable if we can connect those audiences across the entire public radio system. And that’s exactly what we’re doing with Inform Media Network.”
Inform Media Network underwriting will be FCC-compliant and sound just like local underwriting sold by public radio stations
Tyler Huggins, director of advertising at StreamGuys
An alternative to programmatic advertising marketplaces
StreamGuys will manage the technical infrastructure, onboarding and payment processing for participating stations. Measurement and attribution are handled through the Magellan AI platform, which the companies say provides full-funnel insights from listening to conversion.
The company positions Inform Media Network as an alternative to programmatic advertising marketplaces, which some public radio organizations say can introduce unsuitable creative into their streams. Tyler Huggins, director of advertising at StreamGuys, said the new network will maintain public radio standards. “Programmatic ad networks sometimes come with creative that’s less suited to public radio audiences, but this is not an automated, algorithm-driven programmatic ad network,” Huggins said. “Inform Media Network underwriting will be FCC-compliant and sound just like local underwriting sold by public radio stations.”
Nancy Stuski, senior vice president of institutional advancement at WHYY, said creative control was a key factor in joining the network. “We’d tried other ad networks. Even with category blocking, the creative didn’t resonate with our audience,” Stuski said. “Inform Media Network’s creative guidelines will match our current on-air sound.”
Simplifying participation
APM also says the network allows stations to sell local underwriting against its national podcast portfolio, including titles such as “Marketplace,” “This Old House Radio Hour” and “The Slowdown,” adding inventory beyond their own content. “We know the opportunities and challenges in a local underwriting market,” Hach said. “Now, network partners can sell their local sponsors not just on their own content, but also with the added value of local folks listening to Marketplace on their digital devices. It’s a collaboration that really lifts all boats.”
Thomas De Napoli, vice president and head of sales and underwriting at APM, said the network was designed to simplify participation. “By combining trusted public media environments with a centralized national sales approach and proven technological infrastructure, we’re making it easier for stations to extend the value of the work they’re already doing — without adding complexity or compromising standards,” De Napoli said.
StreamGuys says stations can join regardless of size or prior network experience, with onboarding and technical support provided to reduce operational demands. Huggins said the aim was to make participation straightforward for stations already working with the company. “For most of our customers, they just need to say ‘Yes,’” he said.
More than 30 public radio organizations have joined the network, including Minnesota Public Radio, WHYY, WBUR, WETA and KEXP, spanning formats such as news-talk, AAA, classical and jazz.
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