Connecticut Public Television
CPTV Underwriting, from $150 a Spot.
Underwriting is advertising's quietest form: fifteen seconds of your name beside PBS programming that Connecticut households have trusted since 1962. Spots start around $150, packages from about $1,500 a month.
Streaming is now 48.6% of all TV time. Your ad can live there from $500.
The Straight Answer
The trust channel: your name where nobody expects an ad.
Connecticut Public Television has broadcast statewide since 1962, and its underwriting credits, the brief sponsor messages around PBS programs, borrow a kind of trust no commercial break can buy.
FCC rules keep credits factual: name, what you do, a tagline without calls to action. The constraint is the credibility. Law firms, healthcare, colleges, banks and cultural brands renew here for decades.
1962 is when Connecticut Public Television began broadcasting, six decades of statewide PBS trust.
Source: Connecticut Public history
The Rate Card
What Connecticut Public Actually Costs.
Independently researched starting costs, checked against published materials and market data.
| Buy | Starting Cost | What You Get |
|---|---|---|
| Underwriting Credit | from $150/spot | 15 seconds beside PBS programming, statewide |
| Monthly Package | from $1,500/mo | A steady schedule across programs and dayparts |
| Program Sponsorship | from $5,000/series | Your name attached to a series Connecticut watches |
Last verified August 2026. Floors reflect published public-media underwriting guides for mid-size markets; exact CPTV rates come from Connecticut Public's underwriting team and vary by program and season.
The Process
How Buying Works
Three steps from budget to live, in plain English.
Pick Programs, Not Ratings
Underwriting buys association: news, drama, kids or documentaries each carry a different audience and halo. Choose the one your customers respect.
Write the Credit to the Rules
FCC underwriting rules allow who you are and what you do, not hype or offers. The station's team drafts compliant copy with you.
Pair TV With WNPR
Connecticut Public sells its radio side, WNPR, through the same team. The combined audience is the state's most educated and affluent.
Priced by Town
Where This Reaches.
Our town guides price Connecticut Public against every other option in the same market, so you can see what it beats and what beats it before you call anyone.
The Alternatives
Before You Buy, Compare.
We don’t sell for Connecticut Public and we don’t take a side: we tell you which option fits your towns and your budget.
WFSB CBS 3
Commercial reach with the market's biggest newscasts. Compare Prices
WNPR underwriting
The radio half of the same trusted audience, via our radio guide. Compare Prices
All Connecticut TV prices
Every station, zone and platform priced honestly. Compare Prices
Questions
Connecticut Public Questions, Answered Straight.
How much does CPTV underwriting cost?
Credits start around $150 a spot per published public-media guides, monthly schedules around $1,500, and program sponsorships from about $5,000 a series. Exact rates come from Connecticut Public's underwriting team and vary by program.
What can an underwriting credit actually say?
FCC rules allow identification, not advertising: your name, what you do, location and a value-neutral tagline. No prices, no calls to action, no comparatives. The restraint is precisely why the audience trusts what it hears.
Who watches CPTV?
The state's most educated and civically engaged households: PBS news and documentary audiences, parents of young children around kids programming, and donors who notice which businesses support what they value.
Is underwriting worth it against commercial TV?
As direct response, no; as reputation, often. Professional services, healthcare, education and cultural brands use CPTV the way they use sponsorships: to be seen supporting something respected, year after year.
Also Asked
Should I advertise on streaming TV or regular TV?
Streaming and cable zones for almost every local business, because you buy only the towns you serve from about $10 a spot. Broadcast makes sense once budgets reach several thousand a month and you genuinely want the whole market. TV and streaming rates
How much does TV advertising cost in Connecticut?
Cable zone spots start around $10, which lets you buy only the towns you serve. Streaming platforms take campaigns from about $500. Broadcast television on a Hartford or New Haven station costs considerably more and is priced by daypart and demand. TV and streaming rates
How much does a billboard cost in Connecticut?
A highway bulletin starts around $1,200 a month, a poster on a state route from about $329 for four weeks, and digital boards can be bought by the day from roughly $20. Production is separate for static boards, which is why short campaigns usually favour digital. Billboard prices
Stop Guessing. Price Your Underwriting.
Tell us your budget and your audience, and we'll come back with CPTV and WNPR underwriting numbers against commercial alternatives, free, in one business day.
Price My TV CampaignTakes 2 minutes · Free · Real rates in writing
Get Started
Borrow the Trust.
Tell us the basics. We'll match your budget to the programs and platforms that actually reach your customers. Here's what you get:
- The exact programs and schedules for your budget
- Real underwriting rates, in writing
- Public media versus commercial, priced side by side
Takes 2 minutes. Free. Real rates in writing.
Rate sources: Connecticut Public underwriting materials (ctpublic.org); Published public-media underwriting rate guides; FCC underwriting rules (fcc.gov). Last verified August 2026.
AdvertisingCT.com is an independent guide for Connecticut advertisers. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of Connecticut Public, and all names and trademarks belong to their owners. Rates shown are independently researched estimates of typical starting costs as of August 2026, drawn from published rate materials, public filings, market data and advertiser reports. They are not offers or quotes. Actual pricing is set solely by the vendor and varies by availability, season, placement and negotiation. Spot an outdated number? Tell us and we’ll verify it.