WRCB Television

What WRCB Television does

WRCB Television is a local broadcast television station headquartered at 900 Whitehall Road in Chattanooga, Tennessee, founded in 1956 and operating under the unified consumer brand "Local 3 News" (also referred to as Channel 3). It is an NBC network affiliate broadcasting on Channel 3 across the Tennessee Valley, with coverage extending into parts of Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. The station is structured around a verticalized product portfolio — Local 3 News (general news), Local 3 Weather (forecasts, Storm Alert Weather Days, 3 Degree Guarantee, power-outage tracking), Local 3 Sports (Chattanooga Lookouts, Chattanooga FC, Tennessee Volunteers, Lady Vols, Titans, high school football), and Local 3 Traffic (integrating TDOT, GDOT, ALDOT, and NCDOT feeds plus a fuel finder and flight tracker). Content is distributed across over-the-air broadcast, native iOS and Android mobile apps, a website with live streaming at local3news.com, an OTT application (Local 3 Now) for cord-cutters, and social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn). The underlying technology backbone is the BLOX Content Management System; a notable on-air asset is the Sky 3 helicopter used for aerial news and traffic coverage, and the operation supports Spanish-language content under a Local 3 En Español brand.

Name

WRCB Television

Legal name

WRCB Television

Website

https://wrcbtv.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1956

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

WRCB Television, operating as Local 3 News, is a Chattanooga-based NBC-affiliated local broadcast TV station serving the Tennessee Valley (Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama) since 1956 with news, weather, sports, and traffic across broadcast, mobile apps, and streaming.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Broadcast Television

NAICS

Television Broadcasting Stations (51612), 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), News OTT & Live News Streaming Channels (MPABAHAK)

Keywords

• Local broadcast television
• Local news coverage
• Weather forecasting
• Sports broadcasting
• Traffic reporting

Headquarters

HQ city

Chattanooga

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Advertising: Local broadcast advertising including TV commercials and digital ad placements across website and streaming platforms. The station offers advertising options through their 'Advertise On Local 3' page.
2. NBC Network Affiliation: Revenue through NBC network programming and advertising share arrangements typical of network-affiliated stations.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

WRCB Television operates Local 3 News, an NBC-affiliated Channel 3 local broadcast television station serving the Chattanooga Tennessee Valley across Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. It produces and distributes local, regional, and national news, weather forecasts (including Storm Alert Weather Days and the 3 Degree Guarantee), sports coverage (Chattanooga Lookouts, Chattanooga FC, Tennessee Volunteers, Titans, high school football), and traffic information across over-the-air broadcast, mobile apps, website live stream, and social platforms. Revenue is generated primarily through local advertising sales and NBC network affiliation arrangements.

Product overview

WRCB Television operates Local 3 News as a unified local broadcast and digital media platform serving the Chattanooga, Tennessee Valley region. The core offering consists of the Local 3 News broadcast covering local, regional, and national news across Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama markets. The product portfolio is structured around the main Local 3 News content platform supplemented by specialized verticals: Local 3 Weather (weather forecasting with Storm Alert features), Local 3 Sports (comprehensive sports coverage), and Local 3 Traffic (traffic information). Digital access is provided through native iOS and Android mobile applications, a live streaming service, and video on demand content including Must See Videos. The station also operates community-focused initiatives such as Local 3 Plus You and seasonal programs including the St. Jude Dream Home giveaway.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Local 3 News broadcast Primary local news broadcast and digital news platform providing local, regional, and national headlines covering Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama markets for Tennessee Valley viewers.
• Local 3 Weather

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• NBC (National Broadcasting Company)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWRCB operates as an NBC network affiliate, carrying NBC programming and benefiting from network brand association, shared advertising revenue arrangements, and access to national news content and sports programming rights.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• WTVC: WTVC is the ABC/Fox-affiliated local broadcast television station in the Chattanooga DMA (NewsChannel 9). It is the most direct in-market competitor to WRCB, offering parallel local news, weather, and sports coverage for the same Tennessee Valley audience and competing for the same local ad budget.
• WDEF-TV: WDEF is the CBS-affiliated local broadcast station (News 12) in Chattanooga, operating a near-identical model of local news, weather, and sports for the Tennessee Valley. It is a head-to-head in-market competitor for viewers and local advertisers.
• WBIR-TV: WBIR is the NBC-affiliated local broadcast station (Channel 10) in Knoxville, TN, operating a near-identical business model to WRCB — same network, similar mid-size Tennessee market, similar local news/weather/sports verticals. Closest peer in terms of network affiliation and market profile.

Broad incumbents

• WXIA-TV: WXIA (11Alive) is the NBC-owned affiliate in Atlanta, a larger-market NBC counterpart. While in a different market, it shares WRCB's network affiliation, multi-platform digital strategy, and NBC programming pipeline, making it a useful benchmark for affiliate economics.
• WTVF: WTVF (NewsChannel 5) is the CBS-affiliated local station in Nashville, the dominant Tennessee market station. It operates a comparable local-news, weather, and digital strategy and serves as a benchmark for what scaled Tennessee-market broadcasting can achieve.
• Nexstar Media Group: Nexstar is the largest U.S. owner of local TV stations and a likely acquirer or operating-partner candidate. WRCB's profile is consistent with the kind of mid-market NBC affiliate Nexstar has historically rolled up, providing useful reference on potential acquirer economics.
• Gray Television: Gray Television is a major U.S. local-broadcast station group with a strong footprint in mid-size Southeastern markets similar to Chattanooga. Comparable business model and likely comparable acquirer profile for assets like WRCB.
• TEGNA: TEGNA is a large U.S. broadcast station group operating network-affiliated stations with strong local-news brands. It is broadly comparable to WRCB in business model and offers a reference for mid-size market affiliate economics and digital monetization.
• Sinclair Broadcast Group: Sinclair is a major U.S. broadcast station group with a national network of local affiliates, including NBC affiliations. Comparable business model and a potential acquirer or operating-partner peer for WRCB's station profile.
• WRAL-TV: WRAL is the NBC affiliate in Raleigh-Durham and is widely regarded as a high-performing mid-Atlantic local station. It is comparable in network affiliation, multi-platform digital strategy, and local-news-led programming approach, and serves as an aspirational peer for station-level digital monetization.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/WRCB
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCZvWI9aiyzMp-osh-XbU7xA
• Facebookfacebook.com/rletzeiser1
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wrcb-tv
• Instagraminstagram.com/local3news

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 WRCB Television