KOMU 8

What KOMU 8 does

KOMU 8 (KOMU-TV) is the NBC-affiliated television station for Mid-Missouri, headquartered at 5550 Highway 63 South in Columbia, Missouri. Founded on December 21, 1953, as the first commercially licensed university-owned television station in the United States, it is owned by the Curators of the University of Missouri and operates under a dual mission: commercial broadcaster and working laboratory for the University of Missouri School of Journalism. The station broadcasts a high-definition digital signal on VHF channel 8 with 13,600 watts of power from a 774-foot antenna, reaching more than 150,000 families across Columbia, Jefferson City, Boone County, and the surrounding Mid-Missouri region. It also operates Mid-Missouri's CW as a digital subchannel.

The station's product portfolio centers on scheduled local newscasts (KOMU 8 News Today, Noon, 5/6/9/10 p.m.), First Alert Weather with interactive radar and severe weather coverage, Mizzou Xtra sports programming, Target 8 investigative reporting, and KOMU 8 Cares community outreach. Distribution spans over-the-air broadcast, Mediacom cable carriage under a multi-year agreement, live streaming via komu.com, native iOS and Android mobile apps, OTT apps on Roku/Apple TV/Amazon Fire TV/Android TV, and an Alexa Flash Briefing skill. Adjacent products include email newsletters (Breaking News Alerts, First Alert Weather, Friday Night Fever), a Community Calendar, and a Career Connect regional job board. Weather, breaking news, and community verticals are managed as distinct sub-brands with their own trademarks.

KOMU 8 generates all of its revenue from advertising — broadcast spot sales, komu.com digital formats (leaderboard, tile, tower, pre-roll video), and multi-platform packages — with no state funding; any surplus is reinvested in the station's educational mission. The go-to-market is sales-led via an in-house team (General Sales Manager plus multiple Account Executives) selling to local businesses and national advertisers targeting Mid-Missouri, including the 18–49 and 12–34 demographic via the CW subchannel. Viewer-side distribution is free over-the-air and through cable/streaming; the university-ownership and alumni pipeline (notable graduates on-air at ABC, NBC, CBS, ESPN, CNBC, Fox News, CNN) function as both a cost advantage and a brand asset. The station has no subsidiaries, no external funding, and no M&A activity.

Name

KOMU 8

Legal name

KOMU 8

Website

https://komu.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1953

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

KOMU 8 is the NBC-affiliated television station for Mid-Missouri, owned by the University of Missouri and serving as a working journalism training lab. It broadcasts local news, weather, and sports across over-the-air, cable, mobile, and OTT platforms, funded entirely by advertising.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Television Advertising: KOMU 8 generates all its revenue from advertising. The station sells advertising to local and national advertisers across its broadcast, streaming, and digital platforms. Online advertising includes leaderboard, tile, tower ads, and pre-roll videos. The CW network targets young adults 18-49 and people 12-34 for advertisers seeking that demographic.
2. Digital/Online Advertising: Website advertising through KOMU.com including various ad formats. Multi-platform campaigns combine broadcast and digital advertising to help businesses reach larger audiences.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

KOMU 8 is the NBC-affiliated television station for Mid-Missouri, broadcasting a high-definition digital signal on VHF channel 8 and producing local news, weather, and sports programming. The station delivers content across over-the-air broadcast, cable carriage, website, mobile apps, and streaming platforms (OTT devices such as Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Roku), and monetizes all of its inventory through local and national advertising. It also operates Mid-Missouri's CW sub-channel and serves as a working newsroom laboratory for University of Missouri journalism students.

Product overview

KOMU 8 is a university-owned NBC-affiliated television station serving Mid-Missouri from Columbia, Missouri. The product portfolio consists of a core broadcast news platform (KOMU 8 News) delivering local, state, national, and world news coverage through scheduled newscasts, combined with a dedicated weather service (KOMU 8 Weather / First Alert Weather) providing forecasts and severe weather alerts. The station distributes content across multiple platforms including a live streaming service, mobile applications for iOS and Android, and streaming apps for Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Roku. Sports coverage is delivered through the Mizzou Xtra branded programming, while the CW sub-brand extends entertainment programming. Additional offerings include the Target 8 investigative series, the KOMU 8 Cares community outreach initiative, Career Connect job board, email newsletters, and a community calendar for local events. The station operates as a training lab for University of Missouri journalism students and generates all revenue from advertising with no state funding.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• KOMU 8 First Alert Weather: Weather forecasting brand offering severe weather alerts and expert short-term forecasts
• Mizzou Xtra
• Target 8
• KOMU 8 Cares
• Show-Me Missouri

Products and services

• KOMU 8 News Primary local news broadcasting platform delivering Mid-Missouri news including breaking news, state news, nation and world news, and investigative reporting through scheduled live newscasts and online articles for general viewers.
• KOMU 8 Live Streaming Live streaming service for watching KOMU 8 newscasts in real-time, including regularly scheduled newscasts and live event streaming for viewers across web, mobile, and OTT devices.
• KOMU 8 Weather / First Alert Weather Weather forecasting and severe weather alerting service featuring interactive radar, weather maps, dog walking forecast, and Sunsense UV tracking from the First Alert Weather team for Mid-Missouri viewers.
• KOMU 8 Mobile Apps (iOS/Android) Native mobile applications for iOS and Android devices providing KOMU 8 news content, alerts, and streaming video access for users on-the-go.
• KOMU 8 Weather App (iOS/Android) Dedicated weather application offering location-based forecasts, severe weather alerts, and interactive radar features with personalized weather notifications for mobile users.
• KOMU 8 Streaming Apps (Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku) Over-the-top streaming applications for smart TV platforms enabling viewers to watch live KOMU 8 news and on-demand content on Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Roku devices.
• Mid-Missouri's CW CW broadcast network affiliate programming available in Mid-Missouri, carrying primetime entertainment shows alongside KOMU 8's local news coverage, targeted at millennials (18-49) and youth (12-34).
• Target 8 In-depth investigative reporting series covering significant local issues, government accountability, and community concerns in Mid-Missouri.
• Email Newsletters (Breaking News Alerts, First Alert Weather, Today's Top Stories, Friday Night Fever) Subscription-based email notification services delivering breaking news alerts, weather forecasts, top local stories, and specialized content like high school football coverage directly to Mid-Missouri subscribers.
• Career Connect Employment listing platform connecting Mid-Missouri job seekers with local employers, allowing businesses to post job openings and workers to find opportunities in the region.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• MediacomcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorKOMU 8, Mid-Missouri's CW and Mediacom signed a multiyear agreement for cable distribution of the station's broadcast content. This partnership ensures carriage of KOMU 8's NBC programming and the CW subchannel through Mediacom's cable services in the region.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/KOMUnews
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/komunews
• Facebookfacebook.com/komu8
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/komu8
• Instagraminstagram.com/komunews

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

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 KOMU 8