What WGRZ does

WGRZ (Channel 2) is a local broadcast television station serving the Buffalo, New York metropolitan area and the broader Western New York region, including Erie, Niagara, and Genesee counties. The station is an NBC affiliate and has operated continuously since 1954, currently functioning as part of the TEGNA media network following TEGNA's 2015 acquisition of the station from Gannett. WGRZ produces daily local news, weather, sports, and lifestyle programming distributed via over-the-air broadcast, cable/satellite carriage, the WGRZ+ connected-TV streaming application (Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire), iOS/Android mobile apps, and the wgrz.com digital hub.

The station's core product portfolio includes scheduled news programming (Daybreak, Most Buffalo), lifestyle and community shows (commUNITY, WNY Living, Spiel the Wine), investigative journalism (2 Investigates), and proprietary weather coverage under the Storm Team 2 brand featuring live radar, 10-day forecasts, hourly temperatures, and HD weather cameras placed at the Seneca Niagara and Seneca Allegany casinos. Production capability is centered on a traditional broadcast studio at 259 Washington Street in Buffalo, supplemented by multi-platform digital production for streaming and social distribution.

WGRZ's business model is overwhelmingly advertising-driven, with no direct consumer charges for over-the-air access. Revenue is generated from local business advertising, national spot advertising, and digital advertising across wgrz.com and streaming platforms; cable and satellite subscription fees are set independently by distributors. Audience monetization is anchored in a Western New York geographic segment seeking local news, weather, sports (Buffalo Bills, Sabres, Bisons, UB Bulls), and community information. The station operates as a single-DMA local asset under TEGNA corporate ownership, with no independent venture funding structure.

Name

WGRZ

Legal name

WGRZ-TV

Website

https://wgrz.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1954

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

WGRZ (Channel 2) is the NBC-affiliated local broadcast television station serving Buffalo and Western New York, delivering local news, weather (Storm Team 2), and sports coverage to Buffalo DMA viewers and monetizing audiences through advertising.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Broadcast Television

NAICS

Television Broadcasting Stations (516120)

SIC

Television Broadcasting Stations (4833)

akta.pro primary industry

Network-Affiliated Local TV Stations (ABC/CBS/NBC/FOX/CW/Telemundo/Univision, etc.) (MPABACAE)

Keywords

• Local broadcast television
• NBC affiliate station
• Regional news coverage
• Weather forecasting service
• Over-the-air streaming media

Headquarters

HQ city

Buffalo

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

Revenue model

1. Advertising Revenue: Local broadcast television station generating primary revenue through advertising sales including local business advertising, national spot advertising, and digital advertising across wgrz.com and streaming platforms

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

WGRZ is the NBC-affiliated local broadcast television station (Channel 2) serving Buffalo and Western New York, providing local news, weather forecasts from Storm Team 2, sports coverage, and community-focused programming. The station generates revenue primarily by selling advertising across its broadcast, digital, and streaming platforms to reach a regional consumer audience.

Product overview

WGRZ (Channel 2) is a local broadcast television station serving Buffalo, New York, and the Western New York region. The station operates as a unified platform combining traditional broadcast television with digital properties. Its core product portfolio includes scheduled news programming (Daybreak morning show, Most Buffalo afternoon program), lifestyle programming (commUNITY, WNY Living, Spiel the Wine), investigative journalism (2 Investigates), and weather services (Storm Team 2). The station also offers a streaming app (WGRZ+) for Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire devices. Content categories span local news, sports (Sabres, Bills), entertainment, health, money, politics, and nation/world news.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Storm Team 2: WGRZ's weather team providing forecasts for Western New York including Buffalo, Erie County, and Niagara County
• Daybreak
• Most Buffalo
• commUNITY
• WNY Living
• 2 Investigates
• WGRZ+

Products and services

• Daybreak
• Most Buffalo A local WGRZ program highlighting stories, people, and community topics of interest across the Buffalo and Western New York region.
• commUNITY A WGR2 program dedicated to community news, stories, and nonprofit/charitable coverage in Western New York.
• WNY Living A WGRZ lifestyle program covering food, entertainment, and local living topics relevant to the Western New York audience.
• Spiel the Wine A WGRZ program focused on wine, food, and entertaining topics, targeted at Western New York viewers.
• WGRZ+ Streaming App WGRZ's over-the-top streaming application, available on Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and mobile devices, providing live newscasts and on-demand local news, weather, and sports content to Western New York audiences.
• Storm Team 2 Weather WGRZ's dedicated local weather brand, Storm Team 2, providing forecasts, severe weather alerts, live radar, and weather coverage for the Buffalo and Western New York region.
• 2 Investigates WGRZ's investigative reporting brand, producing in-depth original journalism exposing local issues and holding institutions accountable for Western New York viewers.
• Live Weather Cameras A network of live, publicly accessible weather cameras operated by WGRZ/Storm Team 2 across Western New York, providing real-time visual weather and traffic conditions to viewers.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• TEGNAcoreOthersTEGNA is the parent company and owner of WGRZ-TV. TEGNA is a media company that operates local broadcast stations and provides shared services including technology, advertising sales support, and content partnerships across its station group.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• WKBW-TV: Buffalo's ABC affiliate (Channel 7), owned by Sinclair. Directly competes with WGRZ for local news audiences, political ad dollars, and sports rights in the same Western New York DMA.
• WIVB-TV: Buffalo's CBS affiliate (Channel 4), owned by Nexstar. Competes head-to-head with WGRZ for evening news ratings, weather coverage, and local sports programming in the same DMA.
• WUTV: Buffalo's FOX affiliate (Channel 29), also owned by Sinclair. Competes with WGRZ in the same market on local news and primetime network programming.
• WNED-TV: Buffalo's PBS member station. Competes for community-oriented and educational audience share in the same DMA, though with a non-commercial funding model.

Broad incumbents

• TEGNA: WGRZ's publicly traded parent company (NYSE: TGNA) operating a national portfolio of local broadcast stations. The corporate parent provides shared services and strategy that shape WGRZ's operations.
• Nexstar Media Group: Largest US television station operator (owns WIVB in Buffalo). A broad incumbent competitor with overlapping local broadcast capabilities and larger scale for content and ad tech investment.
• Sinclair Broadcast Group: Major US station group operating WKBW and WUTV in Buffalo plus numerous other affiliates. Competes directly in the Buffalo DMA and shares similar mid-sized market economics.
• Gray Television: Large US local broadcast group with a portfolio of mid-market affiliates comparable to WGRZ's positioning. Operates in similar DMA tiers with parallel advertising and digital strategies.

Regional players

• WHEC-TV: Rochester, NY NBC affiliate owned by Sinclair. Operates the same NBC network affiliation in a geographically adjacent upstate New York market with similar mid-sized market dynamics.
• WSTM-TV: Syracuse NBC affiliate owned by Sinclair. Comparable NBC-affiliated mid-sized market station in upstate New York with similar weather-driven viewership patterns.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/WGRZ
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/WGRZTVNews
• Facebookfacebook.com/2onyourside
• Instagraminstagram.com/wgrz
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wgrz-tv

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 WGRZ