NPR to re-align pricing for member stations

[PTBoardOp94]

NPR has recently announced a new pricing structure for its flagship programs, tied to member stations' donor revenue instead of total revenue, and also eliminating a reliance on Nielsen data for the fees charged for All Things Considered and Morning Edition.

Some smaller stations think their rate is too high. Jefferson Public Radio, based in Ashland, Ore and serving an extremely rural segment of America is profiled as on example:

https://current.org/2019/12/update-to-fee-model-ties-nprs-income-to-station-donor-revenue/

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

If the smaller stations managers and board have the data that the NPR Royalties pricing is too high wouldn't it resort to the smaller affiliates to consider merging with larger operations like forming a statewide NPR News/talk affiliate or having their local news originate from the state capital.

I understand California State University was in talks of getting North State Public Radio of Chico to merge their news operations with Capital Public Radio of Sacramento prior to this NPR announcement taking place.

https://radioinsight.com/headlines/...radio-exploring-psoa-to-capital-public-radio/

Should the deal come together, Capital Public Radio would provide programming, engineering and management services to the smaller group which is operated by Cal State University Chico. The groups are exploring the financial incentives of a deal with Public Media Company to allow NSPR to hire more reporters and utilize CapRadio’s resources to operate the stations, while CapRadio gets NSPR’s news coverage of the broad Northern California region served by NSPR.

NSPR is heard on 91.7 KCHO Chico, 88.9 KFPR Redding and a network of translators serving the northern parts of the state. Cap Radio operates two programming feeds across seven stations in northern and central California based at 88.9 KXPR and 90.9 KXJZ Sacramento.

 

[TheBigA]

If the smaller stations managers and board have the data that the NPR Royalties pricing is too high wouldn't it resort to the smaller affiliates to consider merging with larger operations like forming a statewide NPR News/talk affiliate or having their local news originate from the state capital.

I understand California State University was in talks of getting North State Public Radio of Chico to merge their news operations with Capital Public Radio of Sacramento prior to this NPR announcement taking place.

Several states already have done this, but it doesn't attract the membership money the way NPR programming does.

Now it seems that Cal State is seeking to get out of the radio business, given the announcement about KCSN.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

Several states already have done this, but it doesn't attract the membership money the way NPR programming does.

Now it seems that Cal State is seeking to get out of the radio business, given the announcement about KCSN.

I remember a month ago KPCC-FM was named as a candidate to get KCSN-FM.

If Cal State is really getting out of the radio business they would end up holding on to Capital Pubic Radio Sacramento and KPBS San Diego given that these are major public media outlets outside of Los Angeles and San Francisco. All I can see from this royalties fee is that smaller NPR affiliated in California would have to be converted into translators for KQED-FM San Francisco or Capital Public Radio Sacramento or Northern California and in Southern California the smaller NPR affiliated being converted into translators for KPCC Los Angeles or KPBS San Diego.

In the Case of Jefferson Public Radio a conversion to Oregon Public Broadcasting if that is the case?