Hundreds of central and northern Michigan companies and individuals partner with WCMU each year by sponsoring television or radio programs and pledge events. It's the generosity and commitment of these underwriters that enable us to provide our viewers and listeners — your customers, potential customers, and employees — with the high-caliber programs they've come to expect from WCMU.

No matter what type of business you're in or what your budget is, WCMU offers a sponsorship opportunity for individuals and companies that provides valuable on–air exposure throughout central and northern Michigan and helps you reach the people you want to reach. To learn more about becoming an underwriter today, contact one of WCMU's Marketing Representatives.

Current Television Underwriters
Current Radio Underwriters

WCMU is your source for signature PBS programs such as Masterpiece Theatre, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Nature and Nova. It is the first-choice destination for quality children’s programming like Sesame Street, Arthur and Reading Rainbow.

Did you also know that WCMU:

• Promotes an informed, active citizenry with:
  Ask the Specialists, Meet the Candidate, Quiz Central, and Capitol Report.
• Promotes local industry, small business and tourism in Michigan with:
  Michigan Out-of-Doors, Northern Experience, Great Lakes Outdoors, and Wilderness Journal.
• Provides distance learning opportunities for students attending:
  Central Michigan University, several community colleges and pre-K-12 public, private and charter schools.
• Is the largest university-licensed public broadcasting system in the United States, and serves nearly one million households.
• Is the sole source of public television for most of its coverage area.
• Has provided exceptional broadcast service for more than 30 years.
• Relies significantly less on government funding than it did 30 years ago: 22% of WCMU TV’s funding comes from the federal government and 27% from CMU.
• Is your public television station: 50% of WCMU’s funding comes from private grants and individual viewers like you.

Today's television viewers are very selective about the programs they watch. Many are turning to public television for its diverse programming that offers a welcome change from commercial television.

Public television's programming attracts different kinds of viewers, both in terms of demographics and interest in the subject matter. CMU Public Television's penetration runs deeper into upscale households than any other medium. According to surveys conducted by Roper Reports, public television viewers have high incomes and are likely to have invested in stocks, bonds and mutual funds.

CMU Public Television viewers look for programming that helps them maintain and enhance their lifestyles. Surveys have found that public television viewers are very involved with their communities. They write to their representatives in Congress and to other officials, work for political parties, serve as club officers and vote with greater frequency than non-viewers. It seems the more they watch, the more active they become their communities.

Quality is the difference between ordinary television and public television. Viewers turn to public television for programs that command their attention, capture their imaginations, challenge them to think and leave them satisfied.

More than just an opportunity to communicate with upscale, influential, and involved people, underwriting CMU Public Television programs makes a strong statement about your company, its goals and its relationship with its community. It leaves a lasting impression on viewers who appreciate the corporate partners who make their favorite programs possible. Your role as a provider of quality public television can actually result in a big difference for you and your business.

Each week, CMU Public Radio's local and NPR news, classical music, jazz, blues, folk, and other programs attract many thousands of highly desirable radio listeners — loyal central and northern Michigan residents who recognize the sponsors of their favorite radio programs and reward those companies with their business.

Did you know that CMU Public Radio:

• Has seven transmitters in central and northern Michigan reaching from Lansing/Grand Rapids to north of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and from one Michigan coast to the other.
• Was the Michigan Public Station of the Year in 2003.
• Received more Broadcast Excellence Awards in 2002 and 2003 than any other public station in Michigan
• Has excellent Arbitron statistics during many day parts, including morning and afternoon drive time.

The typical listener of CMU Public Radio is an excellence source to improve your company’s market share. Here are some important distinctions between listeners of public radio and U.S. adults:

Listeners tune in CMU Public Radio in their homes, offices, cars, and on the Web for programs that excite their minds and buoy their spirits. When you become a CMU Public Radio sponsor, your on-air message will reach this huge pool of current and prospective customers. You'll enjoy valuable benefits that make a difference for your business.

The obvious beneficiary of your underwriting investment in CMU Public Broadcasting is the station itself. Your contribution helps to keep the station strong and allows us to maintain the quality programming that our audience has come to expect.

But the results of your underwriting effort reach far beyond the physical surroundings of our studios and into the living rooms and automobiles of thousands of viewers and listeners who turn to CMU Public Broadcasting daily for quality programming. Your support is an investment in a statewide resource - one that touches communities throughout central and northern Michigan and into Canada. Your commitment shows the thousands of people in this vast audience - as well as your employees, clients, and competitors - that you recognize the important role that public broadcasting plays in their individual communities.

Of course, another important beneficiary of your generosity is you. When you become a part of CMU Public Broadcasting, your company receives on-air acknowledgments. This announcement may include your name, address and telephone number, and a brief description of your business. Contact one of our marketing representatives today.