Local21 News

What Local21 News does

Local21 News (also branded as CBS 21 / WHP-TV) is a local broadcast television station headquartered in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, serving the Harrisburg-Lebanon-York television market across Central Pennsylvania including Dauphin, Lancaster, York, Cumberland, and Schuylkill counties. Founded in 1953, the station operates as the local CBS affiliate and recently marked its 70th anniversary. The core offering consists of local news, weather, sports, political coverage, and community-oriented programming distributed simultaneously through over-the-air broadcast, cable and satellite carriage, and digital streaming via the local21news.com website plus dedicated iOS and Android mobile applications (CBS 21 News App and CBS 21 Weather App). Distinctive content features include Sky View 21 (drone-based aerial footage), Face the State (political analysis), Heart-to-Heart (sponsored health content), and Days of Caring (community volunteer spotlights).

The business model is advertising-led. Revenue is generated through three streams: traditional television advertising (broadcast spots and sponsored segments targeting Central Pennsylvania viewers), digital advertising (website display ads, Partner Spotlight and Money Cents sponsored sections), and sponsored content (health, wellness, and community segments funded by healthcare and local business sponsors including WellSpan, UPMC, and Renewal by Andersen). Distribution is free to end viewers over-the-air and through cable/satellite, with revenue captured entirely on the advertiser side. The station operates as a subsidiary within Sinclair Broadcast Group (NASDAQ: SBGI), one of the largest U.S. television broadcasting companies, which provides corporate infrastructure, network affiliation arrangements, and cross-station resources. Customer segments are twofold: local and regional advertisers purchasing reach to Central Pennsylvania consumers, and the viewing public itself, which is not a direct revenue source but the audience product sold to advertisers.

Name

Local21 News

Legal name

Sinclair Broadcast Group

Website

https://local21news.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1953

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Local21 News (CBS 21/WHP-TV) is a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania local broadcast television station owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, delivering news, weather, sports, and sponsored community content to Central Pennsylvania viewers via broadcast, cable, digital, and mobile platforms.

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/Regional News Channels (MPABAIAD), Local Sports Broadcast Stations (Regional Local Rights, High School/College) (MPABACAK)

Keywords

• Local television news
• Broadcast journalism
• Weather forecasting
• Digital news streaming
• Community news coverage

Headquarters

HQ city

Harrisburg

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Television Advertising: Traditional broadcast advertising including TV spots, sponsored segments, and branded content for local businesses and regional/national advertisers targeting Central Pennsylvania viewers.
2. Digital Advertising: Online advertising through website display ads, sponsored content sections (Partner Spotlight, Money Cents), and digital marketing services.
3. Sponsored Content: Health, wellness, and community content sponsored by healthcare providers and local businesses, including segments like Heart-to-Heart sponsored by WellSpan.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Local21 News operates as a local television broadcast station (CBS 21 / WHP-TV) delivering local news, weather forecasts, sports coverage, and community content to viewers in Harrisburg and Central Pennsylvania. The station distributes content through over-the-air broadcast, cable/satellite carriage, a website (local21news.com), and mobile news and weather applications for iOS and Android.

Product overview

Local21 News operates as a local television news broadcast station (CBS 21/WHP-TV) serving the Harrisburg and central Pennsylvania market under Sinclair Broadcast Group. The offering consists of a core broadcast television and website platform delivering local news, weather, sports, and breaking news coverage. Supporting digital products include mobile applications for news and weather, a live streaming/watch service, and specialized content sections covering community stories, drone aerial footage (Sky View 21), and niche topics such as crime (Unsolved in PA, Criminally Obsessed), health (Heart to Heart, Staying Aware), and lifestyle content. The portfolio is unified under the CBS 21 brand identity with both traditional broadcast and digital distribution channels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sky View 21: Drone footage and aerial imaging segment covering Pennsylvania communities
• CBS 21 Weather App
• CBS 21 News App
• Face the State
• Heart-to-Heart
• 70th Anniversary

Products and services

• Local21 News Website

Named customers3 records

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

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Renewal by AndersencoreGTM or Marketing PartnerRenewal by Andersen sponsors Sky View 21 drone segments and community content programming, including 'Moment of Zen' drone footage and local community features. The partnership provides sponsored content visibility during drone aerial footage segments across Central Pennsylvania.
• WellSpancoreGTM or Marketing PartnerWellSpan Health sponsors health-related community segments including Heart-to-Heart health content programming, featuring medical experts from WellSpan discussing cardiovascular health, chronic conditions, and preventive care topics relevant to Central Pennsylvania viewers.
• UPMCminorGTM or Marketing PartnerUPMC provides sponsored health content including preventive care and nutrition segments for community programming, offering health tips and medical information to local viewers.
• Sinclair Broadcast GroupcoreOthersParent company owning and operating Local21 News (WHP-TV/CBS 21) as part of Sinclair's portfolio of local television stations across the United States. Provides corporate resources, national content partnerships, and operational infrastructure.
• CBS NetworkcoreOthersCBS 21 affiliation provides CBS network programming and branding for the Harrisburg market station. Sinclair operates CBS-affiliated stations under licensing and content partnership arrangements.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Tegna: Tegna is a major US broadcast group operating dozens of network-affiliated local stations. Comparable as a peer broadcaster of similar scale and ad-supported revenue model, though its stations sit in different geographic markets.
• Gray Television: Gray Television operates a large portfolio of local TV stations across smaller and mid-sized US markets. Comparable as a Sinclair/Tegna-tier broadcast group with similar ad-driven revenue model and mid-market station profile.
• Nexstar Media Group: Nexstar is the largest television broadcaster in the US, owning over 200 stations including WHTM that competes directly with Local21 in Harrisburg. Comparable as a peer broadcaster parent with overlapping capabilities and competitive pressure in the same DMA.
• Cox Media Group: Cox Media Group operates local TV and radio stations across the US. Comparable as a broader broadcasting incumbent with overlapping capabilities in local news, advertising, and sponsored content verticals.
• E.W. Scripps Company: E.W. Scripps owns and operates a portfolio of local broadcast stations and national networks. Comparable as a peer broadcast operator with similar ad-supported revenue model and mid-market station economics.

Direct peers

• WGAL (Hearst Television): WGAL is the NBC affiliate serving the same Harrisburg-Lancaster-York DMA as Local21. Owned by Hearst Television, it competes head-to-head for viewers, advertising dollars, and digital audience share in Central Pennsylvania.
• WHTM-TV (Nexstar Media Group): WHTM is the ABC affiliate in the Harrisburg market, operated by Nexstar — the largest US TV broadcaster. It competes directly with CBS 21 for local news viewers and advertisers across the same Central PA geography.

Regional players

• WNEP-TV (Nexstar Media Group): WNEP is the ABC affiliate serving the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton market in northeastern Pennsylvania. Operated by Nexstar, it is comparable as a mid-sized Pennsylvania local news broadcaster with similar ad-driven revenue model and regional sponsorship verticals.
• WTAJ-TV (Nexstar Media Group): WTAJ is the CBS affiliate serving the Altoona-Johnstown-State College market in central Pennsylvania. Comparable as a Nexstar-operated CBS-affiliated station with similar news, weather, and community content verticals targeting a regional PA audience.
• WBRE-TV (Nexstar Media Group): WBRE is the NBC affiliate in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton/Hazleton market. Owned by Nexstar and operated alongside WNEP, it represents a comparable mid-market Pennsylvania local broadcaster in a similar revenue tier.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cbs21news
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCEyqrfHvDzwfSPn63vXl13Q
• Facebookfacebook.com/cbs21news
• Instagraminstagram.com/whptv
• TikToktiktok.com/@cbs21news

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 Local21 News