WQAD-TV

What WQAD-TV does

WQAD-TV (branded as "News 8") is a local broadcast television station serving the Quad Cities market across the Iowa–Illinois border, including Davenport, Bettendorf, Moline, Rock Island, and Silvis. Founded in 1963, the station is owned and operated by TEGNA (NYSE: TGNA), a publicly traded broadcast and digital media company. Its core product is a multi-platform local news and information offering that combines a traditional over-the-air broadcast signal with the WQAD News 8+ streaming app (available on Roku, Amazon Fire Stick, and smart TVs) and the MyTV 8-3 subchannel, providing 24/7 access to live news, on-demand content, and sports programming.

The station's content stack is built around four anchor verticals: local news (WQAD News 8), weather (Storm Track 8 with radar maps, live cameras, severe weather alerts, and the Weather Kids program), sports (The Score for high school athletics plus Chicago White Sox/Sky/Fever games on the subchannel), and community features (Good Morning Quad Cities morning program, School Zone education coverage, Hard Work & Determination profiles). Supporting products include a podcast portfolio distributed via the Locked On Podcasts Network and supplementary live coverage through "Weather on the Road." Technology infrastructure centers on broadcast television transmission paired with OTT streaming delivery and a GasBuddy-integrated gas prices data feed.

WQAD-TV monetizes primarily through local and regional advertising sales sold across its broadcast and digital inventory, supplemented by streaming/app distribution and TEGNA-level syndication infrastructure. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; advertisers engage the station directly via an "Advertise With Us" channel. The customer base is two-sided: end viewers in the Quad Cities DMA (a geographically concentrated consumer segment) and SMB/regional advertisers. Operational headcount is reported in the 101–250 range, and the station maintains FCC compliance for broadcast licensing and closed captioning.

Name

WQAD-TV

Legal name

WQAD-TV

Website

https://wqad.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1963

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

WQAD-TV is a TEGNA-owned local broadcast television station serving the Quad Cities region (Iowa/Illinois border), delivering news, weather, sports, and community content via over-the-air broadcast, the News 8+ streaming app, and the MyTV 8-3 subchannel.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Broadcast Television

NAICS

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

Rolling News & Breaking News Channels (MPABAIAH), News OTT & Live News Streaming Channels (MPABAHAK), News Streaming Platforms (MPACAAAF)

Keywords

• Local broadcast television
• Television news
• Weather forecasting
• Streaming news
• Community journalism

Headquarters

HQ city

Moline

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, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Advertising Revenue: Local broadcast television station generating revenue through advertising sales to local and regional businesses. The station sells commercial airtime across multiple programs including news, weather, sports, and entertainment content.
2. Streaming Services: WQAD News 8+ streaming app provides 24/7 news channel access on connected TV platforms including Roku and Amazon Fire Stick. The station also offers a subchannel (MyTV 8-3) for additional programming including Chicago White Sox, Chicago Sky, and Indiana Fever sports content.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

WQAD-TV (News 8) is a local broadcast television station serving the Quad Cities region of Iowa and Illinois. It produces and distributes hyperlocal news, weather (Storm Track 8), sports (The Score), and community programming via over-the-air broadcast, the WQAD News 8+ streaming app on connected TV platforms, and the MyTV 8-3 subchannel, generating revenue primarily through advertising sales to local and regional businesses.

Product overview

WQAD-TV operates as a local broadcast television station providing multi-platform news and entertainment content to the Quad Cities region. The core offering is WQAD News 8, delivering breaking news, weather (Storm Track 8), and sports coverage via traditional broadcast and digital channels. The product portfolio centers on the WQAD News 8+ streaming app which provides 24/7 access to live and on-demand content including the expanded Good Morning Quad Cities morning program. Supporting products include The Score high school sports program, the Weather Kids child engagement feature, and various podcasts. The station also maintains specialized content verticals for School Zone (education news) and Hard Work & Determination (community success stories), collectively serving local communities across Iowa and Illinois.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Good Morning Quad Cities: WQAD News 8's morning news program
• The Score

Products and services

• WQAD News 8

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Locked On Podcasts NetworkminorGTM or Marketing PartnerWQAD partners with Locked On Podcasts Network to distribute sports podcasts including Locked On Hawkeyes (Iowa), Locked On Illini (Illinois), Locked On Bears, Locked On Big 10, Locked On White Sox, Locked On Cubs, and Locked On Bulls. These podcasts are promoted on the WQAD website.
• TEGNAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWQAD-TV is owned and operated by TEGNA, a large American publicly traded broadcast television and digital media company. TEGNA provides shared technology infrastructure, content syndication across sister stations, and operational support.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Nexstar Media Group: Largest U.S. television station operator, owning numerous local affiliates including stations competing in adjacent mid-size markets. Peer because it competes for advertising and content syndication at the same corporate-station level as TEGNA.
• Hearst Television: Division of Hearst operating local TV stations and digital properties across U.S. markets. Comparable to TEGNA at the group level with overlapping local-news and multi-platform distribution strategies.
• Gray Television: Large U.S. television broadcast group with a footprint of local affiliates. Functions as a corporate-station peer to TEGNA/WQAD with similar local news and digital strategies.
• Sinclair Broadcast Group: Major U.S. broadcast station group operating local affiliates and producing national news content. Comparable to TEGNA at the group level and competes for advertisers, syndicated programming, and digital audiences.
• KUSA (9NEWS): TEGNA-owned NBC affiliate serving the Denver market. Direct TEGNA sister station to WQAD with the same corporate playbook: local news, weather, multi-platform streaming, and syndicated content.
• WFAA: TEGNA-owned ABC affiliate in Dallas–Fort Worth. Sister station under the TEGNA umbrella operating an analogous local news, weather, and digital/streaming product portfolio as WQAD.

Direct peers

• KWQC-TV: NBC-affiliated local television station serving the Quad Cities market (Davenport, IA / Moline, IL). Directly competes with WQAD for local viewers, news, and advertisers in the same DMA.
• KLJB-TV: FOX-affiliated Quad Cities television station owned by TEGNA — a sister station to WQAD under the same parent, operating in the same DMA with a similar local-news + syndicated programming model.
• WHBF-TV: CBS-affiliated local television station based in Rock Island, IL, serving the Quad Cities. Competes head-to-head with WQAD for local news audiences and advertising spend.

Regional players

• WQPT-TV: PBS member station serving the Quad Cities public-broadcasting audience. Comparable local-market broadcaster in the same geography, with a non-commercial funding model versus WQAD's ad-supported model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/wqad
• Facebookfacebook.com/wqad8
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wqad-tv

Compliance2 records

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 WQAD-TV