NPR Sponsorship Service
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For Agents
Request VAST sponsorship audio units from NPR and record playback tracking events for non-NPR-One client applications.
Use for: I need to request an NPR sponsorship unit for a third-party audio player, Record a VAST start event for a sponsorship that just played, Get a midroll sponsorship audio unit for an NPR show in a partner app, Submit playback completion tracking for an NPR sponsorship
Not supported: Does not handle editorial audio recommendations, listener profile, or NPR One client sponsorship - use for VAST sponsorship inventory and tracking in non-NPR-One partner applications only.
Jentic publishes the only available OpenAPI specification for NPR Sponsorship Service, keeping it validated and agent-ready. The NPR Sponsorship Service serves VAST-formatted sponsorship units to non-NPR-One client applications, allowing third-party players to request and report on NPR sponsorship audio. The two endpoints cover requesting a VAST sponsorship unit and recording playback tracking events. Authentication is OAuth 2.0 with credentials provisioned by NPR.
Install Jentic One Beta
Connect the NPR Sponsorship Service to your agent
Jentic One is a self-hosted execution layer for AI agents. It lets your agent call the NPR Sponsorship Service, or any other public or private API you need. You set the rules, the agent never sees your credentials, and every call is logged.
Two steps, two machines. Install the instance in a safe environment, then register your agent from wherever it runs.
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Step 1: Jentic One Host machine
# On the machine that will host your Jentic One instance:
curl -fsSL "https://jentic.com/install.sh?src=apis&api=%2Fapis%2Fnpr.org%2Fnpr-sponsorship-service" | sh2
Step 2: Agent machine
# On the machine where your agent runs (keep this separate from the instance):
curl -fsSL "https://jentic.com/install.sh?src=apis&api=%2Fapis%2Fnpr.org%2Fnpr-sponsorship-service" | sh
jentic register # connects your agent to your Jentic One instanceJentic One is in public beta. The setup above keeps your agent separate from the instance, which is what you want before using real credentials: an agent running as the same OS user as Jentic One can read its stored keys directly. Just evaluating? A single local install is fine to start. See the secure deployment guide for the tiers.
Capabilities
What an agent can do with NPR Sponsorship Service API.
Request a VAST sponsorship audio unit for insertion into a non-NPR-One audio player
Record VAST tracking events such as start, midpoint, and complete for a sponsorship unit
Authenticate as a sponsorship-enabled NPR client via OAuth 2.0
Operate sponsorship outside the NPR One client surface using the same backend logic
Use Cases
Patterns agents use NPR Sponsorship Service API for, with concrete tasks.
★ Sponsorship in Partner Audio Apps
Partner apps that surface NPR audio outside the NPR One client request a VAST sponsorship unit before or between segments via GET /v2/ads. The response is a VAST XML payload that the partner audio player can render directly, ensuring NPR sponsorship inventory is delivered consistently across third-party surfaces.
Call GET /v2/ads with the partner application credentials before each NPR audio segment, parse the returned VAST XML, and play the sponsorship audio.
VAST Tracking and Reporting
POST /v2/ads records VAST tracking events such as start, midpoint, and complete back to NPR. This closes the loop on sponsorship reporting, allowing NPR to attribute impressions and completions to the correct partner application and to ensure pacing across the sponsorship inventory.
On a complete event from the audio player, call POST /v2/ads with the VAST tracking payload to record the impression.
Agent-Driven Sponsorship Insertion
An audio agent assembling a partner experience uses Jentic to fetch the next sponsorship unit before each segment and report tracking events afterwards. Because Jentic exposes both /v2/ads operations as discrete tools, the agent does not need to maintain VAST request logic or hand-rolled OAuth state.
Search Jentic for 'request npr sponsorship unit', execute GET /v2/ads, play the returned audio, then call POST /v2/ads with the tracking payload.
Key Endpoints
2 endpoints — jentic publishes the only available openapi specification for npr sponsorship service, keeping it validated and agent-ready.
METHOD
PATH
DESCRIPTION
GET
/v2/ads
Request a VAST sponsorship unit
POST
/v2/ads
Record VAST tracking data for a sponsorship unit
GET
/v2/ads
Request a VAST sponsorship unit
POST
/v2/ads
Record VAST tracking data for a sponsorship unit
Why Jentic?
What agents get from Jentic-routed access to this vendor.
Setup
Wiring the NPR Sponsorship Service by hand means carrying OAuth 2.0 partner credentials into calls to sponsorship.api.npr.org and handling VAST ad retrieval and tracking yourself. Through Jentic you install once, import the NPR Sponsorship Service from the API Directory, store the partner credentials once, and your agent calls it.
Permission scoping
The sponsorship target here travels in the request and body rather than a URL path resource, so scope the agent to the operations it needs, such as requesting a sponsorship unit. You choose the operations it may call, so posting tracking events is not included unless you add it.
Credential isolation
Your NPR OAuth 2.0 partner credentials are stored once, encrypted, by your own Jentic One instance and injected at execution time. They never enter the agent's prompt, logs, or context.
Intent-based discovery
Agents search Jentic by intent such as 'request an NPR sponsorship unit', and Jentic returns the matching Sponsorship operation with its input schema so the agent calls the right endpoint without browsing the reference docs.
Related APIs
Alternatives and complements available in the Jentic catalogue.
FAQs
Specific to using NPR Sponsorship Service API through Jentic.
Why is there no official OpenAPI spec for NPR Sponsorship Service?
NPR does not publish an OpenAPI specification for the Sponsorship Service. Jentic generates and maintains this spec so that AI agents and developers can call NPR Sponsorship Service via structured tooling. It is validated against the live API and kept up to date. Get started with Jentic One, the self-hosted execution layer.
What authentication does the NPR Sponsorship Service use?
The Sponsorship Service uses OAuth 2.0 with partner-scoped credentials provisioned by NPR for non-NPR-One client applications. Jentic stores the access token in its encrypted vault and injects it into the Authorization header on each /v2/ads call.
Can I get a midroll sponsorship for a partner audio app with this service?
Yes. GET /v2/ads returns a VAST sponsorship unit ready for the partner audio player to render. Pair this with POST /v2/ads to record start, midpoint, and complete tracking events so NPR can attribute the impression.
How do I record a sponsorship completion event through Jentic?
Search Jentic with 'record vast tracking npr', load POST /v2/ads, and execute it with the tracking payload from the audio player. NPR's reporting pipeline registers the impression against the partner application.
Is the NPR Sponsorship Service intended for NPR One client apps?
No. NPR One client apps receive sponsorship through the main listening pipeline. This service is specifically for non-NPR-One client applications that need VAST sponsorship inventory and tracking, which is why it is documented at /guide/app-experience/sponsorship/.
Can I limit what my agent is allowed to do with the NPR Sponsorship Service?
Yes. Because you run Jentic One yourself, your own rules decide which of the two operations your agent may call: requesting a VAST sponsorship unit with GET /v2/ads, recording tracking events with POST /v2/ads, or both. You can grant only GET /v2/ads so the agent can fetch sponsorship inventory but cannot post start, midpoint, or complete tracking events unless you add that operation. The OAuth 2.0 partner credentials are held by your instance and injected at execution time, so the agent scope is defined entirely by the operations you enable.
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