What WLWT does

WLWT is a local broadcast television station headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, operating as Channel 5 and serving the Cincinnati tri-state area across Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. Founded in 1948 and owned-and-operated by Hearst Television (a subsidiary of Hearst Communications), the station functions as the market's NBC network affiliate, airing NBC programming alongside locally produced news, weather, sports, and public affairs content led by Chief Meteorologist Kevin Robinson. The station has independently validated weather accuracy through WeatheRate's "Most Accurate Forecast" rating. Core products include its broadcast signal, the WLWT News 5 mobile application for iOS and Android, the Nowcast on-demand streaming service on wlwt.com, the Stitch video series on community and culture, a video footage licensing service, the Very Local streaming/app integration, and political programming such as Matter of Fact. Distribution spans over-the-air broadcast, web, mobile apps, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter/X.

Name

WLWT

Legal name

Ohio/Oklahoma Hearst Television Inc.

Website

https://wlwt.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1948

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

WLWT is a Hearst-owned, NBC-affiliated local television station (Channel 5) based in Cincinnati, Ohio, providing news, weather, sports, and digital streaming content to viewers in the Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana tri-state area since 1948.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Television Broadcasting

NAICS

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

24/7 National & International News Channels (MPABAIAA), News OTT & Live News Streaming Channels (MPABAHAK), Public/Community Local Stations (PBS Member Stations, Community Radio, LPFM) (MPABACAG)

Keywords

• Local television broadcasting
• Broadcast news
• Weather forecasting
• Video content licensing
• Digital media advertising

Headquarters

HQ city

Cincinnati

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Television Advertising: Traditional broadcast television commercials sold to local and national advertisers targeting the Cincinnati DMA audience
2. Digital Advertising: Online advertising on wlwt.com website including display ads, sponsored content, and programmatic advertising
3. Footage Licensing: Licensing of historical and current video footage from their archive for documentaries, productions, and commercial use

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

WLWT (Channel 5) is an NBC-affiliated local broadcast television station serving the Cincinnati tri-state area across Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. It produces and distributes local news, weather forecasting, sports coverage, breaking news alerts, and entertainment programming via over-the-air broadcast, wlwt.com, mobile apps, streaming, social media, and newsletters. Complementary offerings include the Stitch video content series, the Matter of Fact public affairs program, and a service for licensing archival video footage.

Product overview

WLWT is a local broadcast television station serving the Cincinnati, Ohio area (Channel 5) as part of Hearst Television. The station operates as a unified content platform delivering news, weather, sports, and entertainment programming across multiple distribution channels. The core product is broadcast television news content, supplemented by digital products including the WLWT News 5 mobile app (iOS/Android) for on-the-go access, the Stitch video content series featuring community and cultural stories, and a video licensing service allowing documentary filmmakers and productions to license archival footage from WLWT's collection spanning decades of local history. The station also provides streaming video via Nowcast and operates the Matter of Fact political news program. Weather forecasting is a key service offering, with the team led by Chief Meteorologist Kevin Robinson.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• WLWT News 5 App A mobile application available on iOS and Android that delivers local news, weather forecasts, breaking news alerts, and video content to viewers in the Cincinnati tri-state area.
• Stitch Video Content Series A video content series featuring stories about Cincinnati-area community, culture, heritage, entrepreneurs, and inspiring individuals, available on the WLWT platform.
• WLWT Video Footage Licensing Service A service that allows documentary producers, production companies, and other organizations to license historical and current video footage from WLWT's archive of tens of thousands of digitized news stories for use in documentaries, productions, and other media projects.
• Nowcast (Watch on Demand) A live streaming and on-demand video service that allows users to watch WLWT News 5 content directly on the wlwt.com website.
• WLWT Weather Forecasting Service Local weather forecasting service for the Cincinnati tri-state area, including hourly forecasts, severe weather alerts, radar maps, and traffic information, led by Chief Meteorologist Kevin Robinson.
• Matter of Fact A political news program featuring correspondent segments on various national and political topics, aired and distributed through WLWT.
• Very Local App A companion mobile application that provides local news, exclusive original content, and streaming video content to WLWT viewers through the Very Local streaming platform partnership.

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

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Hearst TelevisioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWLWT is owned and operated by Hearst Television, one of the nation's largest television broadcasting companies. Hearst Television provides national content, syndication deals, technical resources, and operational support across its portfolio of stations including WLWT.
• NBC (National Broadcasting Company)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWLWT is the NBC affiliate for Cincinnati, carrying NBC programming including national news, sports events (Olympics coverage), and entertainment content. NBC provides network programming while WLWT provides local content.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• WKRC-TV: Cincinnati's CBS affiliate (Sinclair), competing head-to-head with WLWT on local news, weather, and primetime network programming in the same DMA.
• WTHR-TV: Indianapolis NBC affiliate (owned by Tegna), the closest direct network-affiliate comparison to WLWT in terms of NBC programming leverage, mid-sized Midwestern DMA, and Hearst/Tegna-class ownership.
• WBNS-TV: Columbus CBS affiliate (owned by Tegna), comparable to WLWT as a top-rated Ohio local TV news station competing in a similar Midwestern market with multi-platform digital distribution.
• KSDK-TV: St. Louis NBC affiliate (owned by Tegna), closely comparable to WLWT as a Hearst/Tegna-class NBC affiliate in a mid-sized Midwestern DMA with strong local news and weather franchises.
• WXIX-TV: Cincinnati's Fox affiliate (Cincinnati Broadcasting), directly competing with WLWT in the same local market on news, weather, and sports coverage.
• WAVE-TV: Louisville NBC affiliate (Gray Television), directly comparable to WLWT as a regional NBC affiliate in a neighboring Kentucky/Southern Indiana market with similar size and audience dynamics.
• WCPO-TV: Cincinnati's ABC affiliate (E.W. Scripps), directly competing with WLWT for the same tri-state audience, ad dollars, and local news/weather coverage leadership.

Broad incumbents

• Tegna Inc. Large publicly-traded U.S. television broadcasting group operating dozens of local network-affiliated stations; directly comparable to Hearst Television as an industry peer and owner of several NBC affiliate peers.
• Nexstar Media Group: Largest U.S. local TV broadcaster with ~200 stations; comparable to Hearst Television in scale and a relevant industry-wide comp for WLWT's broadcast economics and ad market dynamics.
• Sinclair Broadcast Group: One of the largest U.S. local TV station operators, owning WKRC in Cincinnati and many other affiliates; comparable to WLWT's parent Hearst as a broad industry incumbent shaping the local TV landscape.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/WLWT
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/wlwttv
• Facebookfacebook.com/wlwt5

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 WLWT