WKBT News 8

What WKBT News 8 does

WKBT News 8 is a local broadcast television station operating as the CBS affiliate for the La Crosse, Wisconsin television market, with content coverage extending into Eau Claire, Winona, Tomah, and parts of southeastern Minnesota. Owned and operated by Morgan Murphy Media — a family-owned regional media company headquartered in the upper Midwest that operates multiple television stations — WKBT produces local news, weather, sports, and community programming from its headquarters at 141 South 6th Street, La Crosse. Its core product surface includes traditional over-the-air broadcast television, the News 8+ 24/7 Live Stream, a First Warn Weather mobile application, a News8000 general news mobile application on iOS and Android, and OTT streaming distribution, complemented by active social media channels and an email newsletter.

The station's technology foundation is standard broadcast infrastructure augmented by digital streaming capabilities. It supplements locally produced content with national and international material from the Associated Press wire service and CNN Newsource, and benefits from CBS network affiliation for national news, entertainment, and NFL sports programming. Proprietary features include the First Warn Weather radar system tailored to the western Wisconsin/southeastern Minnesota viewing area and the News 8+ continuous streaming service with weather updates every 10 minutes.

WKBT News 8 generates revenue through three documented streams: local broadcast television advertising (commercial spots during news programming, weather sponsorships), digital advertising on news8000.com (display ads, sponsored content, newsletter placements), and recurring cable/satellite carriage fees paid by distribution partners. Advertising pricing is not publicly disclosed. The customer base is bifurcated: viewers in the La Crosse DMA consume content across broadcast, streaming, mobile, and social channels, while advertiser customers consist of local and regional businesses seeking access to this geographic audience. No specific advertiser logos, revenue figures, or headcount data are disclosed in available source material.

Name

WKBT News 8

Legal name

NEWS 8000

Website

https://news8000.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1954

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

WKBT News 8 is a CBS-affiliate local broadcast television station serving the La Crosse, Wisconsin market and surrounding western Wisconsin/southeastern Minnesota communities, owned by Morgan Murphy Media. It distributes local news, weather, and sports across broadcast TV, 24/7 streaming, mobile apps, and OTT, monetized through advertising and carriage fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Broadcast Television News

NAICS

Television Broadcasting Stations (516120), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (51621)

SIC

Television Broadcasting Stations (4833)

akta.pro primary industry

Local News & Weather Stations (MPABACAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

News OTT & Live News Streaming Channels (MPABAHAK)

Keywords

• Local broadcast television
• Local news coverage
• Weather forecasting
• Live news streaming
• Sports broadcasting

Headquarters

HQ city

La Crosse

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, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Television Advertising: Local broadcast television advertising including local news segments, weather sponsorships, and commercial spots during news programming. Businesses in the La Crosse area and surrounding communities advertise to reach local viewers.
2. Digital Advertising: Online advertising through news8000.com website including display ads, sponsored content, and digital newsletter placements
3. Cable/Satellite Carriage: Revenue from cable and satellite providers for broadcast carriage fees

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

WKBT News 8 is a local CBS-affiliate broadcast television station serving La Crosse, Wisconsin and surrounding western Wisconsin/southeastern Minnesota communities. It produces and distributes local news, weather forecasting (First Warn Weather), sports coverage, and community information through over-the-air broadcast, a 24/7 live streaming service (News 8+), mobile applications for iOS and Android, OTT streaming platforms, and a website (news8000.com).

Product overview

WKBT News 8 is a local television news station offering a multi-platform news operation centered on its News 8+ 24/7 Live Stream service. The station distributes content across traditional broadcast TV, dedicated mobile applications for iOS and Android, and over-the-top (OTT) streaming platforms. Core offerings include local news, national/world news, weather forecasting via the First Warn Weather system, sports coverage, and live streaming of newscasts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• News 8+ 24/7 Live Stream: The station's round-the-clock live streaming service providing continuous news coverage

Products and services

• News 8+ 24/7 Live Stream 24/7 live streaming news service delivering continuous local news, breaking news alerts, and weather updates every 10 minutes to viewers in the La Crosse market.
• Live TV Broadcast Traditional broadcast television programming including local news, national and world news, weather, sports, and entertainment content delivered as a CBS affiliate to the La Crosse television market.
• First Warn Weather App Dedicated weather mobile application providing local forecasts, radar imagery, and severe weather alerts for the La Crosse and Eau Claire coverage areas.
• News8000 Mobile App Mobile application available on iOS App Store and Google Play providing on-the-go access to local news content, video clips, live streaming, and station updates for the La Crosse market.
• OTT (Over-the-Top) Streaming Streaming of WKBT television content through over-the-top platforms, enabling viewers to watch live TV and on-demand content on connected devices such as smart TVs, Roku, Fire TV, and similar OTT devices.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Morgan Murphy MediacoreOthersWKBT News 8 is owned and operated by Morgan Murphy Media, a media company that operates multiple television stations. The parent company provides corporate support, resources, and strategic direction for the station.
• CBS (Television Network)coreOthersWKBT is the CBS affiliate in the La Crosse market. This affiliation provides access to CBS national programming, news content, sports broadcasts including NFL, and the CBS brand.
• Associated PresscoreTechnology or IntegrationThe station utilizes Associated Press content for national and international news coverage, wire services, and breaking news updates.
• CNN NewsourcecoreTechnology or IntegrationThe station sources national and international video content from CNN Newsource for news coverage.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• WBAY-TV: ABC affiliate serving the Green Bay/Appleton market in Wisconsin; comparable regional broadcast news operation with multi-platform distribution.
• WKOW 27 News: ABC affiliate serving Madison, Wisconsin; comparable mid-sized Wisconsin local TV station with similar news, weather, and sports coverage model.

Broad incumbents

• TEGNA: Large diversified local media operator with network-affiliated TV stations and digital properties; comparable business model combining broadcast advertising, digital, and marketing services.
• Gray Television: Major local TV station group owner with a portfolio of network-affiliated stations in mid-sized and smaller U.S. markets, directly comparable to Morgan Murphy's portfolio strategy.
• Sinclair Broadcast Group: One of the largest owners of local TV stations in the U.S.; operates dozens of network-affiliated local stations with similar advertising and carriage-revenue business models.
• Nexstar Media Group: Largest U.S. owner of local TV stations; operates network-affiliated stations across markets with comparable broadcast and digital advertising monetization.

Direct peers

• WQOW News 18: CBS affiliate serving the Eau Claire, Wisconsin market; a direct CBS-network peer station in the same regional cluster with similar content mix and advertising model.
• WEAU 13 News: NBC affiliate serving the Eau Claire, Wisconsin market; directly comparable local broadcast news station with overlapping coverage of western Wisconsin and multi-platform distribution.
• KTTC: NBC affiliate serving Rochester, Minnesota and southeastern Minnesota; comparable small-market CBS/NBC local news operation with overlapping audience geography.
• WXOW News 19: ABC affiliate serving the La Crosse, Wisconsin television market; directly competes with WKBT for local viewers, news content, and regional advertising dollars in the same DMA.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/news8news
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/wkbttv
• Facebookfacebook.com/news8000
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/morgan-murphy-media
• Instagraminstagram.com/wkbtnews8

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 WKBT News 8