WWL-TV

What WWL-TV does

WWL-TV is a local broadcast television station serving the New Orleans metropolitan area and Southeast Louisiana, founded in 1957 and currently owned by TEGNA Inc. (NYSE: TGNA). The station operates on Channel 4 as a network affiliate and produces local news, weather, sports (Saints, Pelicans, LSU, Tulane, high school), investigative journalism under the "WWL Investigates" brand, and lifestyle programming such as "Great Day Louisiana" and the daily "WWL Louisiana Morning News." Its core technology stack is a hybrid of traditional broadcast television production and digital streaming infrastructure, anchored by a multi-region weather radar network covering Southeast Louisiana, the Northshore, Southshore, Metro New Orleans, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Louisiana Gulf Coast, plus a 24/7 live radar stream and a hurricane tracking system with 5-day projected paths, spaghetti plots, and storm trackers. The station distributes content across over-the-air broadcast, cable/satellite carriage (DIRECTV, DISH), connected TV streaming (WWL+ on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV), a mobile app on iOS and Android, YouTube, and Facebook.

WWL-TV's business model combines four revenue streams: (1) traditional broadcast TV advertising sold against local news, sports, and entertainment programming; (2) recurring subscription revenue from the WWL+ premium streaming service, launched in 2024; (3) digital and mobile advertising on the station's website and mobile app, including display and sponsored content; and (4) sponsored segments and branded content partnerships, notably within weather and lifestyle programming. The audience is consumer-direct and geographically concentrated in the New Orleans DMA, with a particular focus on Gulf Coast hurricane-affected populations during the June-November Atlantic season. The 2024 product launches of WWL+ and the mobile app represent a clear pivot toward direct-to-consumer distribution and recurring revenue, layered on top of the traditional ad-supported broadcast base. The station is also pursuing strategic content partnerships — most notably with Colorado State University's TC-RAMS team for authoritative hurricane forecasting — to deepen its weather authority positioning in a market where storm coverage carries acute life-safety relevance.

Name

WWL-TV

Legal name

WWL-TV

Website

https://wwltv.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1957

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

WWL-TV is a 1957-founded, TEGNA-owned local broadcast television station in New Orleans (Channel 4) delivering local news, weather, sports, and investigative content across broadcast, WWL+ streaming, and a mobile app to Southeast Louisiana consumers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Broadcast Television

NAICS

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

SIC

Television Broadcasting Stations (4833)

akta.pro primary industry

Local News & Weather Stations (MPABACAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

News Magazine & Investigative Journalism Channels (MPABAIAG), News OTT & Live News Streaming Channels (MPABAHAK)

Keywords

• Broadcast television
• Local news
• Weather forecasting
• Live streaming
• Digital media

Headquarters

HQ city

New Orleans

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

Revenue model

1. Television Advertising: Traditional broadcast advertising model generating revenue from local and national commercials aired during news programming, sports coverage, and entertainment content
2. WWL+ Streaming Subscription: Premium streaming service offering live TV and on-demand content available on connected TV platforms (Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV) with subscription revenue
3. Digital/Mobile Advertising: Online advertising through the station's website and mobile app including display ads, sponsored content, and targeted digital marketing
4. Sponsored Content and Partnerships: Branded content and sponsored segments, particularly in weather and lifestyle programming such as 'Great Day Louisiana'

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

WWL-TV is a local broadcast television station serving Southeast Louisiana, providing local news, weather coverage, sports reporting, and investigative journalism to viewers in the New Orleans market. The station distributes its content via over-the-air broadcast on Channel 4, cable/satellite carriage, the WWL+ streaming service, a mobile application, and the wwltv.com website. Programming verticals include scheduled newscasts, the WWL Louisiana Morning News program, WWL-TV Investigations documentaries, and the user-generated Near Me feature.

Product overview

WWL-TV is a local television station serving the New Orleans metropolitan area, operating as a single-station local news broadcaster with multiple content verticals and digital distribution platforms. The core product is WWL-TV (wwltv.com), a local news and media platform delivering news, weather, sports, entertainment, and investigative journalism. Supporting digital products include WWL+, a streaming service for Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and Apple TV; the WWL-TV Mobile App for iOS and Android; a Weather Forecasting Service with live radar and hurricane tracking; the WWL-TV Investigations unit producing documentary content; and a user-generated content feature called 'Near Me' for photo/video submissions. The station also produces a daily morning news program, WWL Louisiana Morning News, and maintains a 24/7 Live Radar streaming feature.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• WWL+: Streaming service offering live news, weather, and on-demand content for Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and Apple TV

Products and services

• WWL-TV Broadcast Service Free over-the-air local broadcast television service on Channel 4 serving Southeast Louisiana, delivering scheduled newscasts, weather coverage, sports programming, and investigative journalism to viewers in the New Orleans market.
• WWL+ Streaming Service Subscription-based over-the-top streaming service providing live newscasts and on-demand access to WWL-TV's local news, weather, sports, and investigative content for viewers who want to access programming beyond traditional broadcast and cable distribution.
• WWL-TV Mobile App Cross-platform mobile application (iOS and Android) that delivers WWL-TV's news, weather, live video, and push notifications to mobile device users in the Southeast Louisiana market.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Colorado State University (CSU) TC-RAMS TeamcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 July 2026WWL-TV partners with Colorado State University's Tropical Cyclones, Radar, Atmospheric Modeling, and Software Team (TC-RAMS) for hurricane season forecasting data and analysis. The station reports on CSU's Atlantic hurricane season projections, including the 2026 forecast of nine named storms and four hurricanes, providing viewers with authoritative tropical weather intelligence.
• Entergy New OrleansminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEntergy New Orleans and the City of New Orleans, facilitated by WWL-TV coverage, applied jointly for a $20 million federal grant to fund development of the New Orleans East Investment and Job Corridors, including the Michoud Innovation Corridor and Port Logistics Corridor.
• New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWWL-TV covers the New Orleans Convention Center's community programming including the Porchside Performances free concert series, featuring local artists such as Big Sam's Funky Nation, Honey Island Swamp Band, and Rockin' Dopsie & the Zydeco Twisters.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• WVUE-TV: FOX-affiliated local broadcast television station directly competing with WWL-TV in the New Orleans DMA for news, weather, and sports audiences across broadcast, web, and mobile. Same market, same customer segments, same business model — the closest direct peer.
• WGNO (ABC 26): Another New Orleans-market local broadcast TV station competing with WWL-TV for hyperlocal news, weather coverage, and regional sports audiences. Operates with a similar broadcast-plus-digital distribution model.
• WDSU: Competing local network-affiliated TV station serving the New Orleans DMA with overlapping news, weather, and sports coverage. Direct market competitor sharing the same advertiser base and viewer pool as WWL-TV.

Broad incumbents

• AccuWeather: Major commercial weather forecasting and content company that competes with WWL-TV for audience attention, advertising spend, and credibility on severe-weather and hurricane coverage across digital and broadcast channels.
• KHOU 11 (TEGNA): TEGNA sister station in Houston, a larger Top-10 DMA. Operates the same broadcast-plus-OTT-plus-mobile playbook (incl. 'KHOU 11+' streaming) and faces comparable Gulf Coast hurricane-coverage dynamics — a highly relevant TEGNA-platform comparable.
• WGAL (TEGNA): Another TEGNA-owned local broadcast station with multi-platform distribution (broadcast + 'Watch WGAL' streaming + mobile app). Operates a similar mid-sized-market local news and weather model.
• The Weather Channel: National 24/7 weather-focused cable and streaming network and the dominant brand in weather content. Competes with WWL-TV's weather vertical at the national scale but lacks WWL-TV's hyperlocal Gulf Coast geographic specialization.
• WRAL (Capitol Broadcasting): Independently owned local NBC affiliate in Raleigh-Durham widely regarded as a benchmark for local TV news innovation, multi-platform distribution, and weather coverage — comparable to WWL-TV as a model mid-sized-market broadcast-plus-digital station.
• WXIA 11Alive (TEGNA): TEGNA-owned NBC-affiliated local broadcast station in Atlanta sharing WWL-TV's parent, content verticals (investigations, weather, sports), and digital streaming/mobile app infrastructure.
• KING 5 (TEGNA): TEGNA-owned NBC affiliate in Seattle-Tacoma and one of the highest-profile stations in the TEGNA portfolio. Comparable in terms of newsroom scale, OTT streaming product, mobile app distribution, and multi-platform advertising monetization.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/wwltv
• Facebookfacebook.com/wwltv
• Xx.com/WWLTV

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 WWL-TV