NBC29

What NBC29 does

NBC29 (legal name WVIR-TV) is a local NBC-affiliated broadcast television station headquartered at 503 E. Market St. in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1973 and operating under Gray Television's ownership since at least 2002, the station serves Charlottesville and surrounding Central Virginia communities including Albemarle County, the Shenandoah Valley, Louisa County, and Culpeper County. Its core offering is a daily local newscast covering politics, government, weather, sports, health, and community affairs, anchored by the Storm Team 29 weather brand and supplemented by investigative reporting under the 29Investigates banner and consumer-finance coverage under Watching Your Wallet.

The station's technology stack centers on traditional broadcast television production and over-the-air transmission infrastructure, augmented by a dedicated digital footprint: the 29news.com website, dedicated iOS and Android mobile applications for news and weather, a live streaming portal, and adoption of NextGen TV (ATSC 3.0) broadcast technology. Content is syndicated and cross-promoted through Gray Media network properties including InvestigateTV, Local News Live, and PowerNation. Programming is also distributed via cable and satellite carriage agreements.

Revenue is generated entirely through advertising across three streams: television advertising (commercials, pre-roll, and sponsored segments priced by daypart, program, and spot length), digital advertising (display, video pre-roll, and sponsored content on owned digital properties), and Business Spotlight / sponsored-content placements featuring local businesses. Advertising rates are quote-based rather than published, and multi-year and multi-spot packages are available. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. The audience is a horizontal general-public segment seeking hyper-local news, severe-weather alerts, sports coverage, and community information not provided by national outlets.

Name

NBC29

Legal name

WVIR-TV

Website

https://nbc29.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

NBC29 (WVIR-TV) is an FCC-licensed NBC-affiliated local television station headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia, providing local news, weather (Storm Team 29), sports, and community programming to Central Virginia viewers through broadcast, digital, and mobile platforms under Gray Television ownership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Broadcast Television

NAICS

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 industry

Local News & Weather Stations (MPABACAJ)

Keywords

• Local television news
• Broadcast journalism
• Weather forecasting
• Digital advertising
• Community news coverage

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlottesville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Television Advertising: Traditional broadcast advertising including TV commercials, pre-roll spots during programming, and sponsored segments. Rates vary by time slot, program, and ad format.
2. Digital Advertising: Online advertising through the station's website including display ads, video pre-roll, and sponsored content placements.
3. Business Spotlight/Sponsored Content: Paid feature segments showcasing local businesses and community organizations within the Business Spotlight and community programming.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

NBC29 (WVIR-TV) is a local NBC-affiliated broadcast television station that produces and distributes local news, weather forecasts, sports coverage, and community programming for the Charlottesville and Central Virginia market. Revenue is generated primarily through television and digital advertising sold to local businesses, agencies, and community organizations, supplemented by sponsored content segments. The station distributes content via over-the-air broadcast, cable/satellite carriage, a streaming website, and dedicated mobile applications for news and weather.

Product overview

NBC29 (WVIR) is a local television news station serving Charlottesville, VA and the central Virginia region. The station operates as part of the Gray Television network and offers a portfolio of news, weather, and sports content across broadcast television and digital platforms. The core offering consists of local news broadcasting supplemented by mobile applications (News App, Weather App), live streaming services, and specialized community programs including investigative journalism (29Investigates), consumer news (Watching Your Wallet), weather alerting (Storm Team 29 First Alert), and community engagement features (We the People, 29 Experts, Business Spotlight).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Storm Team 29: The weather forecasting team producing 7-day forecasts, current conditions, radar maps, and First Alert weather coverage for the Charlottesville region.
• 29Investigates

Products and services

• NBC29 News App Mobile application for iOS and Android providing Charlottesville and Central Virginia viewers with local news content, breaking news alerts, and news video coverage.
• NBC29 Storm Team Weather App Mobile weather application providing 7-day forecasts, current conditions, radar maps, and First Alert severe-weather notifications for the Charlottesville region.
• 29News Live Stream Live streaming service allowing viewers to watch NBC29 TV broadcasts in real-time via the website, including news, weather, and sports content.
• Storm Team 29 First Alert Weather Severe weather alerting service providing timely warnings and weather updates when dangerous conditions develop in the Charlottesville viewing area.
• NBC29 Digital Marketing Services Digital marketing services offered through Gray Digital Media (GDM) Charlottesville, providing local businesses with online advertising, digital campaign management, and web marketing solutions.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered parent company, core and minor.

• Gray Media Groupparent companyGTM or Marketing PartnerParent company owning and operating WVIR/NBC29 as part of the Gray Local Media station group. Provides shared technology, content, and operational resources across the Gray Media network.
• InvestigateTVcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInvestigative journalism unit producing in-depth investigative reports. Content is syndicated across Gray Media stations including NBC29, providing locally-relevant investigative coverage.
• Local News LiveminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNational news content partnership providing national/international news segments that supplement local coverage on NBC29.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Tegna: Major US local TV broadcaster with stations in mid-sized markets across the country. Operates with the same network-affiliate model, local news-first programming strategy, and digital expansion playbook as NBC29 under Gray's ownership.
• Nexstar Media Group: Largest US local television broadcaster with 200+ stations across virtually all DMAs. NBC29's closest peer at the broadcast group level — same network-affiliate operating model, similar mid-market station economics, same ad-tech and digital growth challenges.
• Gray Television: NBC29's parent company and one of the largest US local TV broadcasters, with a portfolio of network-affiliated stations in mid-sized and small markets. Closest group-level peer — same operating playbook, shared services, technology, and content syndication feeding NBC29.
• Sinclair Broadcast Group: One of the largest US local TV broadcasters, operating numerous network-affiliated and independent stations in mid-sized markets similar to NBC29's Charlottesville position. Direct peer at the station-group level — same business model, similar scale stations, shared exposure to cord-cutting and digital transition dynamics.
• Hearst Television: Private broadcasting subsidiary of Hearst operating network-affiliated TV stations in mid-sized and large US markets. Operates with comparable local news, weather, and community engagement programming strategy to NBC29.
• E.W. Scripps Company: Diversified local media company operating broadcast TV stations and national networks. Comparable at the station level — operates network-affiliated stations in mid-sized markets with the same local news/advertising business model as NBC29.

Direct peers

• WSET-TV: ABC-affiliated local television station serving the Lynchburg/Roanoke DMA in western/central Virginia. Comparable network-affiliate local broadcaster with similar news/weather/sports programming model and partial geographic overlap with NBC29's Shenandoah Valley coverage.
• WCAV (CBS19): CBS-affiliated local television station serving the Charlottesville DMA. Directly competes with NBC29 for the same local viewers, advertisers, and news audience in Charlottesville and Central Virginia, operating with a similar network-affiliate broadcast model.
• WAHU-TV (FOX): FOX-affiliated local television station serving the Charlottesville/Harrisonburg market. Competes head-to-head with NBC29 for local news audiences, sports rights, and advertising dollars across Central Virginia, with the same over-the-air/cable/digital distribution mix.

Regional players

• WTVR-TV: CBS-affiliated local TV station serving the Richmond DMA in Central Virginia. Regional peer operating in adjacent/overlapping geography with NBC29 — similar mid-sized Virginia market dynamics, comparable station economics, partial audience overlap.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nbc29
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@29news
• Facebookfacebook.com/NBC29
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nbc29-wvir-tv
• Instagraminstagram.com/nbc29

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 NBC29