WMTW-TV

What WMTW-TV does

WMTW-TV is a local broadcast television station licensed by the FCC and operating on Channel 8 in Portland, Maine, with a founding date of 1954. It is owned and operated by Hearst Television, a subsidiary of Hearst Properties Inc., and serves the broader Maine market with local news, weather forecasts, sports coverage, and community-oriented programming. The station's core technology stack comprises standard broadcast transmission infrastructure supplemented by digital video production, weather radar integration, and a digitized video archive containing tens of thousands of historical news stories available for licensing.

The company reaches viewers through a multi-platform distribution footprint: over-the-air broadcast on Channel 8, cable and satellite carriage via DirecTV, Comcast, and Dish Network, the wmtw.com website with streaming, native mobile applications on iOS and Android, and original series content distributed through the Very Local streaming platform across Roku, Amazon Fire, and smart TVs. It maintains active social media presences on Facebook, Twitter/X, and YouTube, and offers email newsletter subscriptions for breaking news and weather alerts.

WMTW generates revenue primarily through local advertising — including broadcast commercial spots, website/app display ads, and sponsored content — sold to Maine-area businesses under quote-based multi-year contracts. A secondary revenue stream comes from licensing archival news footage to documentary makers, production companies, and other media organizations. The station's customer base is geographically segmented: a broad consumer audience of Maine residents consuming free local content, and a business audience of local advertisers seeking regional market reach. Operational headcount is in the 11–50 range, and the company has no publicly disclosed revenue or independent funding history.

Name

WMTW-TV

Legal name

Hearst Properties Inc.

Website

https://wmtw.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1954

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

WMTW-TV is a Hearst Television-owned local broadcast station on Channel 8 in Portland, Maine, delivering news, weather, sports, and community content to Maine viewers via over-the-air broadcast, cable/satellite, web, mobile apps, and the Very Local streaming platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Television Broadcasting

NAICS

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

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 TV Station Groups (Owned & Operated/Station Chains) (MPABACAA), Local News & Weather Stations (MPABACAJ)

Keywords

• Local television broadcasting
• News and weather coverage
• Broadcast advertising sales
• Video footage licensing
• Local news media

Headquarters

HQ city

Westbrook

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, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Advertising Revenue: The station generates revenue primarily through advertising, including sponsored content, display ads on the website and app, and commercial breaks during broadcast programming.
2. Content Licensing: Revenue generated from licensing archived footage to third parties including documentaries, productions, and other media companies seeking historical Maine news content.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

WMTW-TV (Channel 8) is a local ABC-affiliated television station based in Portland, Maine, owned and operated by Hearst Television. It produces and delivers local news, weather forecasts, sports coverage, and community-oriented programming to Maine viewers via over-the-air broadcast, cable/satellite carriage, its website (wmtw.com), iOS and Android mobile applications, and the Very Local streaming platform. The station also licenses archived news footage to third-party producers.

Product overview

WMTW-TV (Channel 8) is a local television station based in Portland, Maine, owned by Hearst Television. The station offers news content through its primary broadcast channel, a mobile application (WMTW News 8 App), and the Very Local streaming platform. Content categories include local news, weather, sports, politics, health, and entertainment coverage for the Maine region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• WMTW News 8 App Mobile application for iOS and Android that provides local news, weather updates, breaking news alerts, and live streaming of WMTW Channel 8 content for Maine viewers.
• WMTW Channel 8 Broadcast Over-the-air television broadcast on Channel 8 (ABC affiliate) serving the Portland, Maine market with local news, weather, sports, politics, health, and entertainment programming, also carried by cable and satellite providers including DirecTV, Comcast, and Dish Network.
• News Video Footage Licensing Licensing of WMTW's extensive video archive — tens of thousands of digitized historical news stories from the Portland/Maine market — to documentary producers, production companies, and other media organizations seeking historical Maine news content.
• Very Local Original Series Original streaming series content (e.g., 'Stitch') produced by WMTW and distributed through the Very Local streaming platform to audiences on connected TV and mobile devices.
• Local Broadcast and Digital Advertising Advertising placements across WMTW's broadcast, website, and mobile app inventory — including commercial spots, display ads, and sponsored content — sold to local Maine businesses seeking local-market reach.

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

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.

• Hearst TelevisioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWMTW-TV is owned and operated by Hearst Television, providing access to national news content, shared resources, advertising networks, and corporate support infrastructure.
• Very LocalcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerWMTW produces original series content including 'Stitch' that is distributed through the Very Local streaming platform, reaching audiences on Roku, Amazon Fire, iOS, Android, and smart TV platforms.
• FCC Public Inspection File SystemminorOthersRegulatory partnership for public file accessibility as required by FCC regulations.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Bangor Daily News: Largest Maine-focused digital news outlet. Competes with WMTW for Maine local news audience, digital ad spend, and breaking-news coverage, especially among younger cord-cutting consumers.

Direct peers

• WPFO (Fox 23): Fox-affiliated station in the Portland, Maine market. Competes directly with WMTW for local news audiences and the same local advertising pool.
• WGME-TV: CBS affiliate (Channel 13) serving the same Portland, Maine market as WMTW. Directly competes for the same local audience, advertisers, and news coverage in the Portland-Auburn DMA.
• WPTV (NewsChannel 5): Hearst Television-owned NBC affiliate in West Palm Beach, Florida. Sister station under the same parent, providing a direct comparison for station operations, ad sales approach, and digital product strategy.
• WCSH 6 / WLBZ 2: NBC-affiliated duopoly covering Portland and Bangor, Maine — the closest direct in-market competitor to WMTW for news viewers, ad spend, and political coverage across the state.
• WCVB Channel 5: ABC affiliate in Boston owned by Hearst Television. Larger-market sister station serving as a benchmark for content, technology, and audience scale within the same Hearst portfolio.
• WMUR-TV: ABC-affiliated sister station in Manchester, New Hampshire, also owned by Hearst Television. Closest operational peer — identical network affiliation, parent, technology stack, and programming model, but serving an adjacent New England market.

Broad incumbents

• NECN (New England Cable News): Regional 24/7 cable news channel covering New England including Maine. Competes for the same regional advertisers and audience attention that WMTW targets, though on a different distribution platform.

Regional players

• WVII (Fox 7) / WFVX (Fox 22): Fox affiliates serving Bangor and central Maine. Overlaps with WMTW's statewide coverage ambitions and competes for the same Maine regional advertisers.
• Maine Public (MPBN): Maine's public broadcasting network (PBS/NPR affiliate). Competes for audience attention and some local advertising in Maine, while also serving as a content-sharing partner for statewide news and weather coverage.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/WMTWTV
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/wmtwtv
• Facebookfacebook.com/wmtwtv
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wmtw

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 WMTW-TV