WBTV

What WBTV does

WBTV is a full-power local television station and CBS affiliate (Channel 3) licensed to and operating from Charlotte, North Carolina, with its headquarters at 1 Julian Price Place. Founded in 1987, the station has broadcast continuously to the Charlotte metropolitan area and surrounding Carolinas for nearly four decades, delivering local news, weather forecasting under the 'First Alert Weather' brand, sports coverage, and community programming. WBTV functions as an owned-and-operated subsidiary of Gray Local Media, Inc., itself a subsidiary of publicly-traded Gray Television (NYSE: GTN), and operates within a centralized corporate structure headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

The station's content portfolio is anchored by the 'On Your Side Tonight' evening news magazine, the 'WBTV Investigates' investigative journalism unit, the 'First Alert Weather' forecasting brand, the 'QC Life' lifestyle vertical, and community programs such as 'Coffee & Conversations' and 'True Crime Carolinas.' Distribution spans over-the-air broadcast (including NextGen TV/ATSC 3.0), Gray Television's regional network infrastructure, cable and satellite partnerships, a livestream platform at wbtv.com, dedicated iOS and Android mobile applications, social media channels (Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram), and email/SMS alert systems. The station also produces the 'Good Question' podcast, extending its consumer-focused journalism into on-demand audio.

WBTV's business model is advertising-driven, generating revenue through broadcast commercials, digital advertising, and sponsored content placements sold via the Gray Television sales organization. The end-audience is the general consumer base in the Charlotte DMA and portions of North and South Carolina. The station has invested in content development partnerships outside its core broadcast business, including a co-development arrangement with Hulu for original scripted programming. No station-level revenue figures are publicly disclosed, and the station does not operate a public-facing API, SDK, or developer platform.

Name

WBTV

Legal name

Gray Local Media, Inc.

Website

https://wbtv.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

WBTV is a CBS-affiliated local television station serving the Charlotte, North Carolina metropolitan area and surrounding Carolinas, delivering news, weather, sports, and community programming via broadcast, digital, mobile, and streaming channels under Gray Television ownership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Television Broadcasting

NAICS

Television Broadcasting Stations (51612), Television Broadcasting Stations (516120)

SIC

Television Broadcasting Stations (4833)

akta.pro primary industry

Local News & Weather Stations (MPABACAJ)

Keywords

• Local television news
• Broadcast journalism
• Weather forecasting
• Investigative reporting
• Digital news platforms

Headquarters

HQ city

Myrtle Beach

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 Revenue: WBTV generates primary revenue through advertising sales, including broadcast commercials, digital advertising, and sponsored content placements across its television and digital platforms.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

WBTV is a CBS-affiliated local television broadcast station (Channel 3) serving the Charlotte, North Carolina metropolitan area and surrounding Carolinas. The station delivers local news, weather forecasting (First Alert Weather), sports coverage, investigative journalism (WBTV Investigates), lifestyle content (QC Life), and community programming through over-the-air broadcast, digital streaming, mobile applications, and on-demand video. Revenue is generated through advertising sales across its broadcast and digital platforms.

Product overview

WBTV is a local broadcast television station (Channel 3, CBS affiliate) serving the Charlotte, North Carolina market, owned by Gray Television. The station operates a multi-platform news and entertainment portfolio centered on its core broadcast signal, supported by digital properties including the WBTV.com website, mobile apps for news and weather, the On Your Side Tonight evening news magazine program, the QC Life lifestyle vertical, and the WBTV Investigates investigative unit. The station also maintains streaming capabilities through its livestream platform and produces the Good Question podcast. First Alert Weather serves as the station's weather branding, providing severe weather alerts and forecasts across the Carolinas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• On Your Side Tonight: WBTV's flagship evening news program featuring investigative journalism, community stories, and consumer advocacy content.
• WBTV Investigates
• First Alert Weather
• QC Life
• Coffee & Conversations

Products and services

• WBTV Main Broadcast Station Primary local television broadcast station (Channel 3, CBS affiliate) serving the Charlotte, NC market, delivering local news, weather, sports, and entertainment content via over-the-air broadcast signal, digital streaming, website, and mobile platforms.
• WBTV News and Weather Apps Mobile applications for iOS and Android providing news alerts, live streaming of WBTV broadcasts, weather forecasts including radar and severe weather alerts, and on-demand video content to viewers in the Carolinas region.
• Good Question Podcast Podcast series hosted by Jamie Boll that answers viewer questions on consumer issues, local government, and community topics, extending WBTV's On Your Side Tonight brand into an audio format.
• WBTV Investigates Investigative journalism unit that uncovers corruption, exposes wrongdoing, and produces in-depth investigative reports on community issues for Charlotte-area viewers.
• First Alert Weather Weather forecasting service providing severe weather alerts, live radar, 7-day forecasts, 3 Degree Guarantee, closings, power outage maps, and real-time weather updates for the Carolinas region.
• QC Life Lifestyle content vertical covering food, entertainment, travel, wellness, and things to do in the Charlotte area, operating as a digital lifestyle publication with social media presence on Facebook (QC Life WBTV).

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• HuluminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHulu and WBTV are jointly developing a scripted series titled 'American Hustlers' (also referred to as 'Gay Grifters'). This represents a content development partnership for original programming.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• WJZY (FOX 46 Charlotte): WJZY is the FOX-affiliated local station in the Charlotte market, directly competing with WBTV in the same DMA for news audiences, advertising revenue, and sports content rights.
• WSPA-TV (7 News, Greenville-Spartanburg): WSPA is a Gray Television-owned CBS affiliate in the Greenville-Spartanburg-Asheville market; comparable as a sister station under the same parent, sharing editorial resources, tech, and business model in an adjacent Carolinas DMA.
• WSOC-TV: WSOC is the ABC affiliate serving the Charlotte market, directly competing with WBTV as a local broadcast station for news, weather, and advertising share in the same DMA with comparable CBS-style programming and digital platforms.
• WCNC-TV: WCNC is the NBC affiliate in the Charlotte market, the most direct head-to-head competitor to WBTV for local news viewers, sports rights (Panthers, Hornets), and regional ad budgets, with overlapping digital and streaming offerings.
• WLTX (Columbia, SC): WLTX is a Gray Television-owned CBS affiliate serving Columbia, SC, providing a comparable operating model and sister-station structure within Gray's Carolina cluster alongside WBTV.
• WCSC-TV (Charleston, SC): WCSC is a Gray Television-owned local CBS affiliate in Charleston, SC, comparable to WBTV in network affiliation, ownership structure, and Carolinas geography.

Broad incumbents

• Tegna (parent of local affiliates): Tegna is a large publicly traded broadcast group owning multiple major-market network-affiliated local stations; comparable to Gray Television as a peer broadcast portfolio operator that owns similar CBS/NBC/ABC affiliates in Top 25 DMAs.
• Nexstar Media Group: Nexstar is the largest U.S. television broadcaster and a clear broad incumbent peer to Gray Television, owning network-affiliated stations and competing for ad share and political-cycle revenue in similar-sized markets.
• Hearst Television: Hearst Television owns a portfolio of major-market network-affiliated local stations comparable in scale and operating model to Gray Television's stations like WBTV.
• Sinclair Broadcast Group: Sinclair is one of the largest U.S. broadcast groups operating local network-affiliated television stations; a broad incumbent peer to Gray Television, competing for retransmission carriage and operating local stations across overlapping Southeast markets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/WBTV_NEWS
• Facebookfacebook.com/WBTVNews3
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/1381409
• Instagraminstagram.com/wbtv_news

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 WBTV