Fox 4

What Fox 4 does

WINK News (branded Fox 4) is a local broadcast television station serving Southwest Florida as a Fox and CBS affiliate, operating under the Fort Myers Broadcasting Company. The station produces hyperlocal news, weather, investigative journalism, sports, and community programming across six counties — Lee, Charlotte, Collier, Hendry, Glades, and DeSoto — with headquarters in Fort Myers, Florida. Distribution spans free over-the-air broadcast, cable and satellite carriage agreements (including DirecTV and Dish Network), the winknews.com digital platform, native iOS and Android mobile applications, and an active social presence on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. The station is anchored by the WINK Doppler 3X radar system, a proprietary weather technology asset integrated with National Weather Service data that powers the Weather Authority and WINK Hurricane Watch coverage brands.

The product surface is segmented into multiple sub-brands: WINK Investigates (investigative journalism), WINK Smart (consumer tips and money-saving advice), WINK Listens (community feedback initiative), WINK Feeds Families (charitable outreach), and WINK Stop (consumer-focused reporting). Content production is supported by the BLOX Content Management System on the web side, and audience engagement is driven by email newsletters and push-notification mobile alerts. Direct audience participation is reinforced through the WINK Weather Watchers user-generated content program.

WINK News operates a free-to-access model with no subscription or paywall; revenue is generated entirely through television advertising, sponsored content, and brand sponsorships integrated into news, weather, and community programming. Retransmission consent fees from cable and satellite carriage provide a secondary revenue stream typical of broadcast affiliates. The company is privately held with 11–50 employees on record, no disclosed funding rounds, no parent company, and no M&A activity in the available data.

Name

Fox 4

Legal name

WINK News

Website

https://fox4now.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

WINK News (Fox 4) is a Southwest Florida Fox/CBS affiliate broadcast television station providing local news, weather forecasting, and investigative journalism across six counties, monetized through advertising and distributed via over-the-air, digital, mobile, and social channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Broadcast Television News

NAICS

Television Broadcasting Stations (516120)

SIC

Television Broadcasting Stations (4833)

akta.pro primary industry

Network-Affiliated Local TV Stations (ABC/CBS/NBC/FOX/CW/Telemundo/Univision, etc.) (MPABACAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Local News & Weather Stations (MPABACAJ), Local/Regional News Channels (MPABAIAD)

Keywords

• Local broadcast news
• Weather forecasting
• Investigative journalism
• Hurricane tracking
• Television advertising

Headquarters

HQ city

Cape Coral

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Advertising & Sponsorships: WINK News generates revenue through television advertising, sponsored content segments, and brand sponsorships integrated within news programming, weather segments, and community features. As a broadcast television station, ad revenue is the primary commercial model.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Fox 4 (WINK News) is a Southwest Florida local broadcast television station and digital news platform that produces and distributes local news, weather forecasting (anchored by the WINK Doppler 3X radar), investigative journalism, and community-focused content across over-the-air broadcast, a website, mobile apps, and social media channels. The station operates as a Fox/CBS affiliate serving Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hendry, and Lee counties, monetized primarily through advertising and sponsorships with no subscriber paywall.

Product overview

WINK News is a local Southwest Florida television news station operating as a Fox affiliate, providing a multi-platform news operation combining broadcast television with digital properties. The core offerings include the main WINK News broadcast service covering local, state, national, and international news, paired with the Weather Authority for weather forecasting and hurricane tracking. Additional modules include WINK Investigates for investigative journalism and WINK Smart for consumer-focused content. Digital access is extended through mobile iOS and Android applications, with the station covering Lee, Charlotte, Collier, Hendry, Glades, and DeSoto counties.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• WINK Smart: Consumer tips, money-saving advice, and alerts to help make informed decisions
• WINK Listens
• WINK Investigates
• WINK Feeds Families
• WINK Stop
• Weather Authority
• WINK Hurricane Watch

Products and services

• WINK News Broadcast WINK News is a local television news station serving Southwest Florida, providing broadcast news, investigative journalism, and digital news coverage across Lee, Charlotte, Collier, Hendry, Glades, and DeSoto counties. Distributed via over-the-air broadcast as a Fox/CBS affiliate, the website winknews.com, and mobile apps.
• Weather Authority Weather Authority provides weather forecasting, hurricane tracking, Doppler radar imagery (WINK Doppler 3X), and severe weather alerts for Southwest Florida communities, including marine weather statements, flood advisories, and severe thunderstorm warnings.
• WINK News Mobile App Mobile applications for iOS and Android platforms that enable users to access local news, weather forecasts, and breaking news alerts on mobile devices with push notification capability.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• National Weather Service (NWS) MiamicoreTechnology or IntegrationWINK News integrates National Weather Service data and alerts into its weather coverage, including marine weather statements, flood advisories, and severe thunderstorm warnings. The station's WINK Doppler 3X system works in conjunction with NWS radar data to provide accurate local forecasts and public safety alerts.
• FCC (Federal Communications Commission)coreTechnology or IntegrationAs a licensed broadcast television station, WINK TV operates under an FCC broadcast license and adheres to regulatory requirements including public file availability and equal employment opportunity reporting.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• WTSP (10 Tampa Bay): CBS affiliate in Tampa Bay. Comparable network-affiliated local news operation in an adjacent Florida DMA with similar broadcast-plus-digital-plus-weather positioning.
• WFLA-TV (News Channel 8): NBC affiliate serving the adjacent Tampa Bay DMA. Comparable mid-Florida regional broadcaster with similar multi-platform news/weather operations, illustrating the broader Florida local-news competitive set.
• WFTV (Channel 9): ABC affiliate in the Orlando DMA. Comparable mid-sized-market network-affiliated local broadcaster with strong weather brand and multi-platform distribution model.

Direct peers

• WBBH-TV (NBC2): NBC affiliate serving the same Fort Myers / Southwest Florida DMA. Direct head-to-head competitor for local news ratings, weather coverage, and local advertising share.
• WZVN-TV (ABC7): ABC affiliate in the Fort Myers market competing directly for local news viewership, weather audience share, and regional advertising dollars across the same 6-county footprint.
• WFTX-TV (FOX 4): Fox-affiliated station in the Cape Coral / Fort Myers market. Competes for the same Fox-branded audience in the SW Florida DMA; WINK also carries Fox programming per its dual affiliation, intensifying in-market overlap.

Broad incumbents

• Nexstar Media Group: Largest U.S. owner of local TV stations. Represents the consolidated operator model WINK competes against for retransmission fees, syndicated content, and national ad spend efficiency.
• Sinclair Broadcast Group: Major U.S. broadcast station group with heavy local-news investment. Comparable multi-platform local news template and group-wide ad-sales leverage that independent stations like WINK must compete against.
• Tegna: Owner of numerous mid-sized-market network-affiliated stations. Comparable station-level economics and group-backed multi-platform news operations.
• Gray Television: Large U.S. local broadcaster with portfolio skewed toward mid-sized markets similar to WINK's Fort Myers DMA. Useful benchmark for comparable mid-market station valuation and ad-revenue dynamics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Fox4Now
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@WINKNewsTV
• Facebookfacebook.com/Fox4FortMyers
• Instagraminstagram.com/winknewstv
• TikToktiktok.com/@winknewstv
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wftx-fox-4

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fox 4