WCCO-TV

What WCCO-TV does

WCCO-TV is a CBS-owned-and-operated local television station headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul Designated Market Area (DMA), one of the top 15 US television markets, along with Greater Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Founded in 1949, the station delivers breaking local news, weather, sports, and community journalism content, with an editorial portfolio that includes the WCCO Investigates unit and original local programming such as Good Question, Finding Minnesota, Talking Points, and On the Edge. Its core proprietary technology platform is NEXT Weather, a branded forecasting system that combines a dedicated team of meteorologists with a weather radar, the NEXT Weather Tower, and the NEXT Drive feature.

The station's product surface spans traditional over-the-air broadcast television, the cbsnews.com/minnesota/ website, a YouTube channel, iOS and Android mobile applications, a live streaming service, and social media channels on Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, and TikTok. Sports coverage is a major content pillar, with dedicated verticals for the Minnesota Vikings, Twins, Timberwolves, Lynx, Wild, United FC, Aurora FC, and Gophers, plus a High School Sports Rally segment. WCCO-TV is part of CBS Broadcasting Inc., itself a subsidiary of Paramount Global, and operates under the corporate umbrella of CBS News' national structure while maintaining locally produced news for the Twin Cities market.

WCCO-TV's revenue model is advertising-based, with no consumer subscription pricing. Revenue streams include local television commercials, national spot advertising, and digital advertising on its owned-and-operated digital properties, supplemented by content distribution through the CBS network and the Paramount+ streaming platform. The station does not disclose pricing, and no standalone financial figures are available, as its results are consolidated within CBS Broadcasting Inc. and Paramount Global. The customer base is end-viewer households in the Twin Cities (primary) and Greater Minnesota / western Wisconsin (secondary), with no named advertiser or agency relationships disclosed in the available data.

Name

WCCO-TV

Legal name

CBS Broadcasting Inc.

Website

https://minnesota.cbslocal.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1949

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

WCCO-TV is a CBS-owned-and-operated local television station in Minneapolis serving the Twin Cities DMA with local news, NEXT Weather, sports, and community journalism across broadcast, digital, and mobile platforms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Broadcast Television & Local News

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 industry

Local News & Weather Stations (MPABACAJ)

Keywords

• Local news broadcasting
• Weather forecasting services
• Television advertising sales
• Community journalism content
• Regional sports coverage

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Advertising Revenue: WCCO-TV generates revenue through television advertising sales, including local commercials, national spot advertising, and digital advertising on its website and streaming platforms. The station also benefits from its affiliation with CBS and Paramount+ content distribution.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

WCCO-TV produces and distributes local news, weather forecasting, sports coverage, and community journalism content to viewers in the Minneapolis-St. Paul DMA, Greater Minnesota, and western Wisconsin. The station delivers programming across over-the-air broadcast television, its website, mobile applications, and social media platforms, with advertising as its primary revenue stream. Its flagship differentiated offering is the NEXT Weather system, which provides dedicated meteorologist-led forecasting and live radar coverage.

Product overview

WCCO-TV is a CBS-owned local television station serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul (Twin Cities) market in Minnesota, operating as part of the CBS News network. The station operates as a local news platform delivering breaking news, weather coverage, and community journalism. The primary offerings include NEXT Weather (WCCO's branded weather forecasting system), original local programming (WCCO Investigates, Good Question, Finding Minnesota, Talking Points, On the Edge), national CBS News programs (48 Hours, 60 Minutes, CBS Evening News, CBS Mornings), and a mobile application for news consumption. The station distributes content across multiple platforms including over-the-air broadcasts, the CBS News App, and social media channels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NEXT Weather: WCCO's proprietary weather forecasting system and brand featuring a dedicated weather team and radar coverage for the Minneapolis-St. Paul region.

Products and services

• NEXT Weather WCCO-TV's branded weather forecasting system featuring a team of dedicated meteorologists, live radar capabilities, the NEXT Weather Tower, and weather coverage with features including NEXT Drive, serving the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota region.
• WCCO-TV Mobile App Mobile application for iOS and Android devices providing users with access to local news, weather forecasts, live video streams, weather radar, and breaking news alerts for the Minneapolis-St. Paul market.
• CBS News Minnesota Live Stream Live streaming video service providing continuous coverage including CBS News 24/7, local news updates, and on-demand video content for the Minnesota market.
• Local News Broadcast Over-the-air broadcast television news programming for the Minneapolis-St. Paul DMA covering breaking local news, Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota news, Wisconsin news, politics, crime, health, and community journalism.
• WCCO Investigates Investigative journalism unit producing original investigative reports on local issues affecting the Minneapolis-St. Paul market and Greater Minnesota.
• Minnesota Sports Coverage Comprehensive sports coverage of Minnesota professional teams (Vikings, Twins, Timberwolves, Lynx, Wild, United FC, Aurora FC), University of Minnesota Gophers athletics, and high school sports.

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

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Tegna: Large operator of local TV stations across US DMAs. Comparable local-news and advertising-driven broadcast business model, though with broader geographic diversification.
• KCBS-TV (CBS Los Angeles): CBS O&O in the #2 US DMA. Comparable local-broadcast operation within the same corporate family as WCCO, including news, weather, and digital content distribution.
• WNBC (CBS New York): Flagship CBS O&O station in the #1 US DMA. Sister station within the Paramount CBS station group, sharing network content, corporate resources, and digital platform infrastructure.
• WBBM-TV (CBS 2 Chicago): Fellow CBS-owned-and-operated station in another major market (Chicago). Operates under the same Paramount CBS O&O umbrella with comparable local-news, weather, and digital platform strategy.
• Sinclair Broadcast Group: Major US TV station group operator with regional sports and local-news assets. Comparable local-broadcast business model and reliance on advertising revenue.
• Nexstar Media Group: Largest US TV station owner with extensive local-news operations across multiple DMAs. Comparable broadcast business model focused on local advertising and network affiliations.

Direct peers

• KMSP-TV (FOX 9): FOX-owned station in Minneapolis-St. Paul. Competes head-to-head with WCCO across local news, weather, and Minnesota sports coverage in the same DMA.
• KARE-TV: NBC affiliate serving the same Minneapolis-St. Paul DMA. Directly competes with WCCO for local news, weather, and sports audiences and advertising revenue in the Twin Cities market.
• KSTP-TV: ABC affiliate in Minneapolis-St. Paul. Direct competitor for local news, weather, and sports viewership and the same pool of regional advertisers as WCCO-TV.

Emerging players

• Minnesota Public Radio (APM): Major regional public-broadcasting competitor in the Twin Cities, providing local news, weather, and talk content. Competes with WCCO for audience attention and undercuts ad-supported news via membership funding.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/wcco
• YouTubeyoutube.com/wcco
• Facebookfacebook.com/cbslocal
• Instagraminstagram.com/wcco
• TikToktiktok.com/@wcconews
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cbs-local

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 WCCO-TV