NEW YORK CITY, June 2, 2008 –National Public Media, LLC (NPM), the premier sponsorship company for public broadcasting – representing NPR, PBS and all public radio and television stations around the country – has reached an agreement with Operative, Inc. to implement a sponsorship and underwriting workflow automation solution to support NPM’s broad array of online properties, including the active NPR and PBS national Web sites.
Through the agreement, Operative, a global advertising technology and operations management provider, will provide transparency into NPM’s online sponsorship and underwriting sales with its flagship software, Operative Dashboard™. Operative Dashboard™ will offer a seamless integration with NPM’s sponsorship serving technologies, providing a single process and data set that streamlines workflow for faster digital sales, implementation and execution.
“After a thorough evaluation of the vendors who offer solutions for our needs and opportunities, we chose Operative as the ‘best of breed’ provider of the level of quality technology and service expected by national brands like PBS and NPR,” said Bryan Moffett, Director of Digital Operations, NPM. “Operative’s feature-rich Dashboard will allow NPM to maximize revenue by providing an end-to-end solution to forecast, report and financially manage all our sponsorship and underwriting campaigns on the Web.”
Under the agreement, all NPM’s Web display activities will be managed through Operative Dashboard™, which will help support NPM’s inventory management, available forecasting, product optimization, approval setting, fragmentation alleviation and affiliate delivery reporting. NPM’s representation of online inventory includes:
NPR.org, one of the foremost news and information sites worldwide.
NPR Music, the successful music discovery site aggregating diverse broadcast and original-to-online content from NPR and NPR Member stations.
PBS.org, one of the most popular dot-org sites in the world, which hosts a broad range of content, including companion sites for PBS television programs and substantial Web-only content, podcasts, blogs and real-time learning adventures.
The NPR Podcasts, the most extensive slate of podcasts from any media company.
NPR Mobile, a mobil service offered by NPR and Member stations for cellphone and landline phones featuring NPR news, information and entertainment and local and regional news, as well as streaming and click-to-call audio.
“NPM represents some of the strongest, most trusted brands in digital media and these websites and podcasts continue to enjoy tremendous growth,” said Michael Leo, CEO and President of Operative. “We look forward to helping accelerate that growth by working with NPM to refine its sponsorship workflow management.”
About National Public Media, LLC
National Public Media is the largest representative of media assets in public broadcasting: on television, radio and digital media; locally, nationally and worldwide. It was created in October 2007 when NPR and WGBH acquired National Public Broadcasting, LLC, the company formed in 1997 to represent all the PBS and NPR Member stations in the U.S. Integrating the NPR Sponsorship Division into it, this new organization represents more than 150 weekly hours of NPR programming for Member stations; PBS’ “The News Hour,” on-air and online; and more than 200 public television and radio stations across the country. That inventory, combined with aggressive Web representation, enables national marketers to take advantage of rapidly-expanding cross-media opportunities that offer a comprehensive underwriting and sponsorship approach to multimedia audiences throughout the United States.
About NPR
Since its launch in 1970, NPR has evolved into a leading worldwide media company, award-winning primary news and information provider and dominant force in American life. NPR produces and/or distributes more than 1300 hours of programming weekly, including more than 150 hours of news, information, talk, and entertainment shows for 870 NPR Member stations, attracting more than 26 million listeners weekly. NPR also programs five 24/7 music multicast channels for Member stations’ HD Radio channels, two public radio channels for Sirius satellite radio and nearly 100 NPR Podcasts, making it the biggest podcaster among American media companies. Its NPR Worldwide program stream reaches listeners in more than 100 countries and the comprehensive website www.NPR.org has a global audience for its extensive original content, hourly newscasts and free audio streaming of current and archived NPR programs. NPR Music is a free music discovery website combining original and broadcast interviews, concerts and performances, artist information and other features from NPR and Member stations. NPR’s continuing expansion in digital media includes the recently-launched NPR Mobile, in partnership with public radio stations.
About PBS
PBS, with its 355 member stations, offers all Americans – from every walk of life – the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and online content. Each week, PBS reaches more than 73 million people and invites them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; hear diverse viewpoints; and take front row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS’ broad array of programs have been consistently honored by the industry’s most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. PBS’ premier children’s TV programming and Web site, pbskids.org, are parents’ and teachers’ most trusted partners in inspiring and nurturing curiosity and love of learning in children. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org Web sites on the Internet.
About Operative, Inc.
Established in 2000, Operative is a global organization that provides its clients with technology and services to improve all aspects of their advertising operations lifecycle, from pre-sale to collections, trafficking to reconciliation. OperativeDashboard™, an ASP software solution, is an end-to-end workflow management platform that enables media publishers to automate contract management, product packaging and pricing, inventory management, campaign reporting and revenue recognition. Operative’s client base includes The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, MSN, Smart Money, iVillage and NBC Universal. More information about Operative can be found at: www.operative.com.
