Longmont Public Media, Longmont’s media makerspace located at 457 Fourth Ave., updated the Longmont City Council on its third-quarter growth.
At the end of Q3, the nonprofit had 150 paying members and 331 free memberships. The organization offers a free membership to anyone in the community which allows them to use the facility and in-studio equipment during regular business hours. Paid memberships include other perks such as the ability to reserve studio space, access to equipment, 24/7 access to the space and more.
Longmont Public Media receives a portion of the Comcast PEG fees from the city of Longmont as well as a contract to operate and maintain the local public access television network.
In addition to the funding from the city, Longmont Public Media brought in just under $11,000 in membership revenue throughout the year, the most the nonprofit has made to date, according to Sergio Angeles, executive director. This year’s revenue outpaces the previous year’s, Angeles said.
Since January 2020, more than 31,000 hours of viewership has been tracked on LPM’s platforms including its website, YouTube and Roku channels.
LPM has made strides to become more involved with local schools by offering a high school internship program and classes to area students to teach music and video production skills, Angeles said.
In the future, LPM plans to expand its partnership with local schools to offer more options for students. It also plans to reach out to local businesses to increase its production of local content, look into other online streaming platforms and seek out more sponsorships and grant opportunities.
“I’m really happy to see how you’ve grown,” Mayor Joan Peck said. “It (LPM) has become an integral part of our city.”
