What WAVE 3 News does

WAVE 3 News is a local television news station headquartered at 725 S. Floyd Street in Louisville, Kentucky, founded in 1948 as Kentucky's first television station and now operating under Gray Television's Gray Local Media division. The station produces local news, weather, sports, investigative reporting (Troubleshooters), and community content for the Louisville metropolitan area and surrounding Kentuckiana region across Kentucky and southern Indiana. Its core technical platform combines over-the-air digital broadcast (including NEXTGEN TV / ATSC 3.0) with a multi-channel digital footprint spanning the wave3.com website, iOS and Android mobile applications, and real-time livestreaming, plus proprietary long-form content under the WAVE Originals and Gray Gods brands. The business model is advertising-driven, monetizing both traditional broadcast spot inventory and digital inventory sold through Gray Digital Media Louisville, with secondary revenue from production, consulting, and digital management services offered by Gray Local Media; advertising pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. The customer base is primarily local viewers (B2C) with a secondary B2B segment of local businesses purchasing advertising and sponsored content, and the station employs between 101 and 250 people.

Name

WAVE 3 News

Legal name

WAVE-TV

Website

https://wave3.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1948

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

WAVE 3 News is a Louisville, Kentucky local television station founded in 1948, owned by Gray Television, that delivers local news, weather, sports, and investigative content over broadcast, web, and mobile platforms to the Kentuckiana region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Television News Broadcasting

NAICS

Television Broadcasting Stations (516120), Radio and Television Broadcasting Stations (5161), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (5162)

SIC

Television Broadcasting Stations (4833)

akta.pro primary industry

Local News & Weather Stations (MPABACAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

News Streaming Platforms (MPACAAAF)

Keywords

• Local news broadcasting
• Television advertising
• Weather coverage
• Investigative journalism
• Digital news streaming

Headquarters

HQ city

Louisville

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. Television Advertising: WAVE 3 News generates revenue through the sale of advertising time on its broadcast television station. This includes local commercials, sponsored segments, and promotional spots during news programming, weather updates, and sports coverage.
2. Digital Advertising: Revenue from digital advertising on wave3.com including display ads, video ads, sponsored content, and digital marketing services through Gray Digital Media Louisville.
3. Advertising Services: Production services, consulting services, and digital management services sold or offered by Gray Local Media, Inc. All advertising is subject to Gray's Standard Terms and Conditions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

WAVE 3 News is a local broadcast television station that produces and distributes local news, weather forecasts, sports coverage, and community content for the Louisville metropolitan area and surrounding Kentuckiana region. Content is delivered via over-the-air broadcast (channel 3), the wave3.com website, mobile applications, and livestreaming, with the station also operating NEXTGEN TV (ATSC 3.0) capabilities. The station produces original documentary content (WAVE Originals), investigative reporting (Troubleshooters), and community-focused segments (WAVE Country), and monetizes its audience through television and digital advertising sales.

Product overview

WAVE News operates as a local television news station serving the Louisville, Kentucky metropolitan area and surrounding communities. The station offers a unified news broadcasting platform with multiple content delivery channels including traditional broadcast television, mobile applications, live streaming services, and original proprietary content series. The core product portfolio consists of WAVE News (main news service), NEXTGEN TV (advanced broadcast technology with 4K capabilities), WAVE Apps (mobile access), Live Streaming services, WAVE Originals (investigative documentaries), and WAVE Country (community content). NEXTGEN TV represents the station's advanced television technology initiative, while WAVE Originals contains branded documentary content such as The Gray Gods series.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• WAVE Country: Community-focused content segment covering local Kentucky communities
• WAVE Originals
• Gray Gods

Products and services

• WAVE 3 News Local News Broadcasting The core local news broadcasting service for Louisville, Kentucky and the surrounding Kentuckiana region. Provides daily local news, weather forecasts, sports coverage, and investigative reporting distributed via over-the-air broadcast on channel 3, the wave3.com website, mobile apps, and livestreaming. Free and ad-supported for viewers.
• WAVE Originals Original documentary and long-form investigative content series produced in-house by WAVE 3 News, distributed through the station's broadcast and digital platforms. Targeted at local viewers interested in deeper storytelling and original reporting on regional topics.
• Gray Gods A signature documentary series under the WAVE Originals umbrella, produced by WAVE 3 News and distributed through the station's broadcast, website, and digital channels. Targeted at viewers of the Louisville and Kentuckiana region.
• WAVE Country Community-focused content brand under WAVE 3 News featuring local stories, regional events, and positive community features from across the Kentuckiana viewing area. Distributed via the station's broadcast and digital platforms.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Gray Television / Gray Local MediacoreOthersWAVE 3 News is owned and operated by Gray Television, Inc. through its Gray Local Media subsidiary. Gray Television provides corporate resources, advertising systems, technology infrastructure (including NEXTGEN TV capabilities), digital platforms, and operational support. The station operates under the Gray Television umbrella while maintaining local news operations.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• WLWT: Hearst-owned NBC affiliate serving the Cincinnati DMA, the adjacent regional market to Louisville. Comparable mid-market local news operation with similar broadcast and digital footprint.
• WTHR: TEGNA-owned NBC affiliate in Indianapolis, a nearby Midwestern DMA. Comparable mid-tier market local news station with similar broadcast + digital monetization model.
• WHAS11: TEGNA-owned NBC affiliate in the Louisville DMA, directly competing with WAVE for local news audiences and advertising share in the same Louisville/Kentuckiana market. The closest head-to-head competitor.
• WLKY: Hearst-owned CBS affiliate in Louisville. Competes directly with WAVE for evening news ratings, weather coverage, and local advertiser budgets in the same DMA.
• WDRB: Block Communications-owned FOX affiliate based in Louisville. Direct competitor in the same DMA for local news, weather, and sports audiences.
• WKYT: Sister Gray Television CBS affiliate serving Lexington and central Kentucky. Comparable local news station with shared Gray corporate resources, regional Kentucky broadcast footprint, and similar GTM.
• WBNS-10TV: TEGNA-owned CBS affiliate in Columbus, Ohio (a similarly sized mid-tier DMA). Highly comparable on market position, network affiliation, and digital/ broadcast monetization mix.
• WBKO: Sister Gray Television station serving Bowling Green, Kentucky. Direct operating peer with shared Gray corporate infrastructure, comparable broadcast + digital GTM, and Kentucky regional focus.
• LEX18: NBC affiliate serving Lexington, Kentucky (Scripps Howard). Direct regional competitor for Kentucky audience share and Kentucky statewide advertiser reach alongside WAVE.

Broad incumbents

• WFAA: ABC-owned flagship station in Dallas, a larger DMA but representative of broad-incumbent local TV stations with mature digital operations and substantial advertising scale. Provides benchmark for what scaled local TV operations look like.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sharonwave3
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@WAVENews
• Facebookfacebook.com/sharonwave3
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wave3news
• Instagraminstagram.com/wave3news

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 WAVE 3 News