WMC

What WMC does

WMC, legally WMC-TV and operating as WMC Action News 5, is a Memphis, Tennessee-based local broadcast television station founded in 1949 as the NBC affiliate for the Mid-South market. Since 1996 it has been owned by Gray Television (NASDAQ: GTN), a publicly traded media conglomerate that operates the station as part of its Gray Local Media portfolio. WMC serves residents of Memphis, Shelby County, DeSoto County, and parts of Arkansas, providing local news, weather, sports, political coverage, and community information via over-the-air broadcast, live digital streaming, mobile applications (iOS and Android), and the actionnews5.com website.

WMC's core product surface consists of six streams: (1) a live streaming and on-demand video platform under the Action News 5 brand, (2) the First Alert Weather severe-weather alert system with 7-day forecasting and real-time alerts for the Mid-South, (3) local and regional sports coverage spanning the Memphis Grizzlies, college football/basketball, high school sports (Friday Football Fever), and Atlanta Braves MLB, (4) the Digital Desk online-exclusive news product, (5) the Video Gallery on-demand archive, and (6) the NextGen TV (ATSC 3.0) advanced broadcast signal. Supporting content initiatives include Healthier 901, a community health sub-brand; Bluff City Life, a local lifestyle/lifestyle program; and PowerNation syndicated motorsports programming. Strategic partners include Gray Local Media (parent), InvestigateTV (national investigative journalism network), and PowerNation. The company employs 51-100 staff at its 1960 Union Avenue, Memphis headquarters.

WMC's revenue model is advertising-based, monetizing its broadcast and digital audience through local and regional advertisers across the Memphis/Mid-South market. As a licensed broadcast station, WMC does not sell products or services directly to consumers in a SaaS-style transaction; instead, it sells audience attention to advertisers through on-air spots, digital display and video inventory, sponsored content, and event marketing (advertiseonaction5.com). The station's competitive position relies on FCC-licensed broadcast exclusivity, NBC network programming, the First Alert Weather brand, and decades of local market presence — rather than on technology differentiation or premium pricing.

Name

WMC

Legal name

WMC-TV

Website

https://wmctv.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1949

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

WMC Action News 5 is an NBC-affiliated local broadcast television station in Memphis, Tennessee, owned by Gray Television since 1996 and serving the Mid-South region with news, weather, sports, and community programming across broadcast, digital, and mobile platforms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Broadcast Television

NAICS

Television Broadcasting Stations (516120), 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 OTT & Live News Streaming Channels (MPABAHAK)

Keywords

• Local broadcast television
• News coverage
• Weather forecasting
• Live streaming
• Sports broadcasting

Headquarters

HQ city

Memphis

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

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

WMC Action News 5 is an NBC-affiliated local broadcast television station delivering news, weather, sports, and community programming to the Memphis/Mid-South region. The station distributes content through over-the-air broadcast television (including NextGen TV/ATSC 3.0), live digital streaming, mobile applications, and the actionnews5.com website. Core offerings include the First Alert Weather system, comprehensive Memphis Grizzlies and local sports coverage, investigative reporting via InvestigateTV, and community-focused content.

Product overview

WMC Action News 5 is a local television broadcast station providing news, weather, and sports coverage to the Memphis/Mid-South region. The station operates as a digital media platform offering live streaming, on-demand video content, and community-focused programming through multiple channels including its core broadcast, digital desk, and specialized sub-brands.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

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

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Gray Local MediacoreOthersParent company operating WMC Action News 5 as part of the Gray Television network. Gray Local Media provides corporate infrastructure, shared resources, and broadcast technology across its station portfolio including AI policy frameworks.
• InvestigateTVcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational investigative journalism unit that WMC participates in, providing regional investigative reporting content and resources for in-depth consumer and political investigations.
• PowerNationminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorProgramming block syndicated across Gray Television stations providing motorsports and outdoor content that WMC broadcasts as part of its programming schedule.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• WREG-TV: CBS-affiliated local television station serving the Memphis DMA, directly competing with WMC for local news, weather, sports, and advertising share in the same Mid-South market.
• WHBQ-TV (Fox 13 Memphis): Fox-affiliated local television station in Memphis, competing head-to-head with WMC across news, weather, and local sports coverage in the same DMA.
• WLMT-TV (CW30 Memphis): CW-affiliated local television station in Memphis, also competing in the Memphis DMA for advertising dollars, news audiences, and syndicated programming slots.

Broad incumbents

• Tegna Inc. Major U.S. local-TV station group operating dozens of network-affiliated stations across mid- and large-sized markets, with a similar advertising-driven, multi-platform local-news operating model to WMC.
• Sinclair Broadcast Group: One of the largest U.S. local-TV station operators, with a portfolio of network affiliates and regional sports networks that share WMC's local-news, weather, and sports programming focus.
• Nexstar Media Group: The largest U.S. television station operator, with overlapping local-news and advertising business model and the scale advantages that come with operating 200+ stations nationwide.
• Hearst Television: Division of Hearst Corporation operating network-affiliated local TV stations with comparable news, weather, and digital-streaming offerings to WMC, though generally in larger markets.
• E.W. Scripps Company: Diversified local media company operating network-affiliated TV stations and national networks, with a similar local-news and advertising-driven business model to WMC's.
• Allen Media Group: Operator of local TV stations and the Weather Channel, with overlapping local-news, weather, and advertising businesses, plus a strong streaming/local-news digital platform strategy.

Emerging players

• NewsNation: National cable and digital news network that competes for news audiences and digital ad budgets, representing the kind of national-streaming competitor that could erode WMC's local-news reach over time.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

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 WMC