What WJZ-TV does

WJZ-TV is a local broadcast television station licensed to CBS Broadcasting Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global (NASDAQ: PARA). Operating under the CBS Baltimore brand and founded in 1948, WJZ-TV is Maryland's longest-running television station and serves the Baltimore metropolitan area, including Baltimore County, Howard County, Anne Arundel County, and Carroll County. The station's core products are the WJZ At 9 evening news, the First Alert Weather forecasting and severe-alert service, the WJZ Investigates accountability journalism unit, and dedicated sports coverage under the Purple Zone sub-brand (covering the Baltimore Ravens, Orioles, and Maryland Terrapins). Distribution spans free over-the-air broadcast on channel 13, cable carriage (Comcast, Cox), satellite (DirecTV, Dish), and digital streaming through Paramount+ and the CBS News mobile app, with web presence at cbsnews.com/baltimore.

The underlying technology is conventional television broadcast and digital streaming infrastructure; no proprietary technology stack or software products are disclosed. Content production is supported by a multi-platform social distribution footprint on Facebook, X/Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram, alongside email newsletters, with community engagement tied to the AFRAM festival, the Community MVP program, and HealthyMD (a health-content partnership with LifeBridge Health). WJZ-TV and The Baltimore Banner operate a cross-promotional content partnership to extend local journalism reach.

The business model is advertising-supported: WJZ-TV is free-to-air, with no viewer subscription fees. Revenue is generated through commercial spots sold to advertisers including local businesses, healthcare providers, and national brands targeting the Baltimore DMA. The viewer/audience side is geographically segmented to Baltimore-area households, with content designed to address local information needs including breaking news, severe weather warnings, traffic, local politics, and community stories.

Name

WJZ-TV

Legal name

CBS Broadcasting Inc.

Website

https://wjz.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1948

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

WJZ-TV is a CBS-affiliated local television station serving the Baltimore, Maryland metropolitan area since 1948, delivering local news, First Alert Weather, sports, and investigative reporting via broadcast, cable, satellite, and Paramount+ streaming to advertisers targeting the region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Broadcast Television

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)

Keywords

• Local broadcast television
• Local news programming
• Weather forecasting
• Investigative journalism
• Sports coverage

Headquarters

HQ city

Baltimore

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Advertising Revenue: Television advertising revenue generated through commercial spots aired during news broadcasts, sports coverage, and other programming. Advertisers include local businesses, healthcare providers, and national brands targeting the Baltimore market.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

WJZ-TV is a free-to-air CBS-affiliated local broadcast television station serving the Baltimore, Maryland metropolitan area. It produces and distributes local news, weather forecasting (First Alert Weather), sports coverage (Ravens, Orioles, Terrapins), and investigative journalism (WJZ Investigates) across over-the-air broadcast, cable, satellite, streaming (Paramount+), the CBS News app, the cbsnews.com/baltimore website, and social media platforms, monetized through television advertising.

Product overview

WJZ-TV operates as CBS News Baltimore, a local broadcast television station offering a multi-platform news operation. The station provides a unified news portfolio centered on its core broadcast products including the WJZ At 9 evening news program, First Alert Weather forecasting service, and WJZ Investigates investigative unit. The digital platform CBS News Baltimore extends coverage across multiple content verticals including local news, Maryland state news, politics, consumer news, business news, health news, and entertainment news. Sports coverage is delivered through the Purple Zone sub-brand focusing on Baltimore Ravens and Orioles teams. Video content is distributed via live streaming and on-demand video services. The station maintains presence across social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram for content distribution.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• First Alert Weather: The station's weather forecasting brand providing severe weather alerts and meteorological coverage for the Baltimore metropolitan area and Maryland.
• WJZ At 9

Products and services

• First Alert Weather Weather forecasting and alerts service for the Baltimore area, providing current conditions, radar maps, and severe weather warnings for local viewers.
• WJZ At 9 Local evening news program featuring Baltimore-area news, weather, sports updates, and community stories for Maryland viewers.
• WJZ Investigates Investigative journalism unit producing in-depth reports on local issues, government accountability, and community concerns in the Baltimore area.
• CBS News Baltimore Digital news platform providing local Baltimore news, weather, sports, politics, business, health, and entertainment coverage for Maryland-area readers.
• Live Video Streaming Live streaming video content including CBS News 24/7, local news broadcasts, and on-demand video news coverage for 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

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• The Baltimore BannerminorGTM or Marketing PartnerWJZ-TV and The Baltimore Banner partnership provides cross-promotional content and collaboration on local stories. The partnership expands reach for both news organizations and provides readers/viewers with comprehensive local journalism coverage.
• LifeBridge HealthminorGTM or Marketing PartnerHealthyMD is a health-focused initiative featuring content from LifeBridge Health, including health news, wellness tips, and medical information for Baltimore area residents. WJZ-TV provides the platform while LifeBridge Health contributes medical expertise and health content.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• WCCO-TV: CBS owned-and-operated station in Minneapolis–St. Paul, a top-20-market CBS O&O. Comparable in affiliate structure, local news/sports mix, and Paramount distribution integrations.
• WMAR-TV: ABC-affiliated local station in Baltimore (DMA #25), competing head-to-head with WJZ-TV for local news audiences and advertising dollars in the same market.
• WBBM-TV: CBS owned-and-operated station in Chicago (DMA #3), a larger-market sibling under CBS Broadcasting Inc. Directly comparable in affiliate structure, newsroom operations, and Paramount+ integration.
• WFOR-TV: CBS owned-and-operated station in Miami (DMA #16). Comparable as a top-25-market CBS O&O operating the same local news, weather, and sports model under Paramount.
• WBAL-TV: NBC-affiliated local station competing directly in the Baltimore DMA. Operates the same local-news/weather/sports model against WJZ-TV for the same Baltimore advertisers and viewers.
• WBZ-TV: CBS owned-and-operated station in Boston, an East Coast peer under CBS Broadcasting Inc. Highly comparable in market size tier, news/sports mix, and multi-platform distribution strategy.
• KPIX-TV: CBS owned-and-operated station in the San Francisco Bay Area, comparable in affiliate structure, local news production, and cross-platform streaming strategy.
• KYW-TV: CBS owned-and-operated station in Philadelphia (DMA #4), a fellow East Coast CBS O&O. Comparable in affiliate-driven content mix, local investigative journalism, and OTA + streaming distribution.

Broad incumbents

• Sinclair Broadcast Group: Largest US operator of local broadcast TV stations (Fox, CBS, NBC, ABC affiliates) across many DMAs. Comparable as a multi-station owner competing for the same local ad budgets, though with a much larger and more diversified station portfolio.
• Nexstar Media Group: The largest US television station operator by revenue, owning the most local stations nationwide. Comparable as a major broadcast incumbent pursuing the same multi-platform local content and political advertising strategy as WJZ-TV.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cbsbaltimore
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/CBSBaltimore
• Facebookfacebook.com/cbsbaltimore
• Instagraminstagram.com/wjztv
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wbff-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 WJZ-TV