What Cunningham Broadcasting Corporation does

Cunningham Broadcasting Corporation is an independent, privately held television broadcast company headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. It owns FCC broadcast licenses for, and/or operates, 14 television stations across 14 U.S. markets spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, South, and West (including Baltimore MD, Dallas TX, Reno NV, Flint MI, Birmingham AL, Anderson SC, Charleston SC, Columbus OH, Dayton OH, Charleston WV, Peoria IL, and Johnstown/Altoona/State College PA). The station portfolio consists of affiliates of major U.S. networks including Fox, ABC, and CW. The company was formerly known as Glencairn, Ltd. and was rebranded in 2002; it is led by President and CEO Michael Anderson (appointed 2009) and Treasurer/CFO Lisa Asher.

The company's core technology is conventional over-the-air broadcast television infrastructure operated under FCC licenses, distributed to viewers directly via OTA signals and indirectly via cable and satellite carriage. A subset of stations are operated directly by Cunningham (e.g., WWCP-TV, KTXD-TV, WTAT-TV), while the majority are managed under agreements with larger broadcast operators: Sinclair Broadcast Group operates eight stations (WNUV, WTTE, WMYA, WRGT, WVAH, WDBB, WBSF, KRNV/KENV), Nexstar Broadcasting Group operates WYZZ-TV (Peoria IL), and Palm Television operates WATM-TV (Johnstown PA) under an interim agreement. The company complements broadcast with integrated digital advertising products, including targeted digital campaigns, marketing coordination, and research support sold through station-level Account Executives.

Cunningham's revenue model is advertising-based, monetizing local broadcast reach by selling television and digital advertising inventory to local and regional businesses in each of its 14 markets. Sales are conducted through station websites, station-level social media accounts (Twitter), and direct outreach by Account Executives and Digital Sales Specialists targeting SMB advertisers. Pricing is quote-based, varying by market, time slot, and audience reach, and is not publicly disclosed. The company has 11-50 employees and reports no institutional investors, venture capital, or private equity backing.

Name

Cunningham Broadcasting Corporation

Legal name

Cunningham Broadcasting Corporation

Website

https://cunninghambroadcasting.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cunningham Broadcasting Corporation is an independent, privately held TV broadcast company that owns FCC licenses for 14 television stations across 14 U.S. markets, offering broadcast and integrated digital advertising to local and regional advertisers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Television Broadcasting

NAICS

Television Broadcasting Stations (51612), 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)

akta.pro secondary industries

Independent Local TV Stations (MPABACAB), Local TV Station Groups (Owned & Operated/Station Chains) (MPABACAA)

Keywords

• Television broadcasting
• Local tv advertising
• Network affiliate stations
• Broadcast station operations
• Spot advertising sales

Headquarters

HQ city

Baltimore

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Television Broadcasting and Advertising Sales: Cunningham Broadcasting Corporation generates revenue through owning and operating television broadcast stations. The company operates Fox, ABC, and other affiliate stations across 14 markets, generating advertising revenue from local and regional advertisers. The stations broadcast programming content to viewers in their respective markets.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Cunningham Broadcasting Corporation owns and operates 14 television broadcast stations across 14 US markets, carrying programming from major network affiliates including Fox, ABC, and CW. The company sells commercial advertising time on these stations to local and regional advertisers seeking to reach broadcast audiences in each of its designated market areas, generating revenue through the sale of advertising inventory against network and locally produced programming.

Product overview

Cunningham Broadcasting Corporation operates as an independent television broadcast company owning and/or operating 14 television stations across 14 markets in the United States. The company offers core television broadcast operations through its station portfolio (including WATM-TV, WWCP-TV, WTAT-TV, KTXD-TV, WYZZ-TV, WNUV-TV, WTTE-TV, WMYA-TV, WRGT-TV, WVAH-TV, WDBB-TV, WBSF-TV, KRNV-TV, and KENV-TV), providing local and network programming distribution across Fox, ABC, and CW affiliates. The company complements its broadcast operations with integrated advertising services that combine television and digital product offerings, including targeted digital advertising campaigns, marketing coordination, research support, and campaign execution for advertising clients. The station portfolio is managed through various arrangements including direct ownership, interim operating agreements with partners like Palm Television and Nexstar Broadcasting Group, and management agreements with Sinclair Broadcast Group.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Owned-and-Operated Television Station Broadcasting

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Palm TelevisioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCunningham Broadcasting operates WATM-TV, the ABC affiliate in Johnstown/Altoona/State College, Pennsylvania through an interim operating agreement with Palm Television.
• Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCunningham Broadcasting operates WYZZ-TV, the Fox affiliate in Peoria, Illinois, through a management agreement with Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc.
• Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCunningham Broadcasting operates through various management agreements with Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. for WNUV-TV (Baltimore, MD), WTTE-TV (Columbus, OH), WMYA-TV (Anderson, SC), WRGT-TV (Dayton, OH), WVAH-TV (Charleston, WV), WDBB-TV (Bessemer, AL), WBSF-TV (Flint, MI), and KRNV-TV & KENV-TV (Reno, NV).

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Tegna Inc. Tegna is a U.S. broadcast television and digital media company operating ~60-70 network-affiliated stations in mid-sized markets. It is a direct peer in the network-affiliated local TV station space and competes for the same local advertising and retransmission revenue.
• E.W. Scripps Company: Scripps operates a portfolio of local broadcast television stations across the U.S., including ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX affiliates. It is a direct peer in the local network-affiliated TV station group category and competes for the same local advertisers and political ad revenue.
• Cox Media Group (CMG): Cox Media Group owns and operates a portfolio of local broadcast television stations across the U.S., as well as radio and digital media properties. It is a direct peer in the local TV broadcasting space and competes for similar advertisers and audiences.
• Nexstar Media Group: Nexstar is the second-largest U.S. television broadcaster and operates Cunningham's WYZZ-TV in Peoria, IL under a management agreement. Nexstar is a direct peer in the network-affiliated local TV station space and has been the most active acquirer in U.S. broadcast consolidation.
• Hearst Television: Hearst Television owns and operates a portfolio of ~30+ network-affiliated local TV stations across the U.S. It is a direct peer in the network-affiliated local TV station group category, with a strong mix of mid- and large-market station holdings.
• Mission Broadcasting: Mission Broadcasting is widely considered the closest direct comparable to Cunningham: a privately held license-holding entity that owns/operates TV stations almost entirely through management agreements with Nexstar Media Group. The structural similarity is near-identical, making it the single best comparable for Cunningham's license-holding business model.
• Sinclair Broadcast Group: Sinclair is the largest U.S. television broadcaster and operates eight of Cunningham's 14 stations under management agreements. It is the most directly comparable peer because it controls the same operating model (license-holding + management agreement structure) at massive scale and is essentially the dominant counterparty in Cunningham's business.
• Gray Television: Gray Television operates a portfolio of approximately 100+ network-affiliated local TV stations across the U.S. It is a direct peer in the local broadcast TV station group category, with similar geographic footprint strategy and network affiliate mix (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX).

Emerging players

• Deerfield Media: Deerfield Media is a smaller, private broadcast TV station holding company that uses a similar license-holding + management agreement structure (with Sinclair). It is an emerging structural peer with partial overlap in business model and operating partners.
• Imagicomm Broadcasting: Imagicomm Broadcasting is a smaller, emerging TV station operator that owns stations through a license-holding + management agreement structure. It is comparable as an emerging participant in the same local broadcast TV station space with similar structural approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cunningham-broadcasting-corporation-the-cw-baltimore-television

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 Cunningham Broadcasting Corporation