Fox Carolina News

What Fox Carolina News does

Fox Carolina News (WHNS-TV, Channel 21) is a local broadcast television station serving the Greenville-Spartanburg-Upstate South Carolina, Western North Carolina, and Northeast Georgia markets as the Fox network affiliate. The station operates a multi-platform content operation delivering local news, weather, sports, and investigative journalism across over-the-air broadcast, website streaming (foxcarolina.com), iOS and Android mobile applications, social media, and podcasts. Core content brands include First Alert Weather (severe weather alerting and forecasting), Palmetto Sports (regional team coverage including Clemson, South Carolina Gamecocks, Furman, and the Carolina Panthers), FOX Carolina Investigates (investigative journalism including the Murdaugh trial franchise), and lifestyle/community verticals such as Access Carolina and We the People. The technical stack is centered on ATSC broadcast infrastructure augmented with NextGen TV (ATSC 3.0) capabilities, plus digital content management for web, mobile, and social distribution.

The station has been owned by Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE: GTN), one of the largest U.S. local broadcast television operators with approximately 90 stations across roughly 50 markets, since 2002. Operationally, the station benefits from Gray's shared content networks (Local News Live, InvestigateTV), centralized technology infrastructure, and Gray Digital Marketing services that sell digital advertising on behalf of the station. The business model is advertising-driven across two streams: traditional broadcast television spot sales and digital marketing services revenue. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, with multi-year advertising contracts available alongside shorter broadcast-only buys. The free-to-air distribution model means viewers are not paying customers; advertisers — predominantly local and regional businesses — are the monetizing counterparties. Headquartered at 21 Interstate Court, Greenville, SC, the station is led by Jeff Holub as Vice President and General Manager.

Name

Fox Carolina News

Legal name

Gray Local Media, Inc.

Website

https://foxcarolina.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Fox Carolina News (WHNS-TV, Channel 21) is a Gray Television-owned Fox-affiliated local broadcast station delivering news, weather, sports, and investigative content across broadcast, web, mobile, and social platforms to the Greenville-Spartanburg-Upstate SC and Western NC markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Television Broadcasting

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
• Regional sports coverage
• Digital advertising sales

Headquarters

HQ city

Greenville

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. Advertising Revenue: Fox Carolina generates revenue through the sale of advertising time on broadcast television and digital platforms. Advertisers include local businesses, regional companies, and national brands purchasing commercial airtime. The station also sells advertising through its website and digital marketing services.
2. Digital Marketing Services: The station offers digital marketing services through Gray Digital Marketing for local businesses seeking online advertising solutions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Fox Carolina News (WHNS-TV) is a Fox-affiliated local television station that broadcasts news, weather, sports, and community programming to the Greenville-Spartanburg-Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina markets. It distributes content via over-the-air broadcast, website livestream, mobile apps, podcasts, and social media, while selling broadcast and digital advertising to local, regional, and national advertisers.

Product overview

Fox Carolina News (WHNS-TV) is a local television news station owned by Gray Television, serving the Greenville, Spartanburg, and Upstate South Carolina markets. The station operates as a multi-platform news organization offering a unified news product portfolio anchored by its core broadcast news service, First Alert Weather, and Palmetto Sports. Supporting products include FOX Carolina Investigates (investigative journalism unit), Murdaugh Trial Coverage (dedicated legal coverage), Access Carolina (lifestyle content), We the People (community engagement), Podcasts (audio programming), and Mobile Apps (iOS/Android). The station also provides NextGen TV broadcasting technology. Content is distributed across broadcast television, website, mobile apps, and social media platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• First Alert Weather: Weather forecasting and severe weather alert brand used by the station for its weather coverage.
• Palmetto Sports
• Access Carolina

Products and services

• Fox Carolina News Broadcast Service Primary local television news broadcasting service covering Greenville, Spartanburg, and the Upstate South Carolina region, delivering breaking news, investigative reporting, and community coverage across broadcast (WHNS-TV Channel 21) and digital platforms. Free to view over-the-air and supported by advertising.
• Fox Carolina Mobile Apps iOS and Android mobile applications providing access to live streaming, on-demand video, weather alerts, news content, and push notifications for breaking news and severe weather alerts.
• Gray Digital Marketing Services Digital marketing services offered through Gray Digital Marketing for local businesses seeking online advertising solutions to reach the Upstate/WNC viewing audience.

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

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 core and minor.

• Ingles MarketscoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 23 June 2026Ingles Markets serves as the primary partner for Fox Carolina's annual School Supply Jam community initiative. The partnership involves collecting school supply donations at participating Ingles store locations across the Upstate and Western North Carolina to benefit local students and teachers.
• Gray TelevisioncoreOthersGray Television is the parent company and owner of Fox Carolina News (WHNS-TV). As a Gray Television station, Fox Carolina operates within the company's broadcast network, sharing content, technology, and operational resources across the Gray Local Media portfolio of television stations.
• Telemundo Greenville SCminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFox Carolina provides a link to Telemundo Greenville SC (En Español) on its website, extending Spanish-language news coverage options to viewers in the market.

Scale indicators2 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Tegna Inc. US broadcast holding company operating dozens of local network-affiliated stations across mid-sized markets. Comparable portfolio composition to Gray Television, with similar reliance on local advertising and political cycles.
• Cox Media Group: Privately held media company operating local television stations and radio stations across US markets. Overlapping business model combining local broadcast TV with broader digital advertising capabilities.
• Hearst Television: Privately held broadcast division of Hearst Corporation operating local network-affiliated TV stations. Comparable station-level economics, multi-platform newsroom operations, and local advertising sales model.
• Nexstar Media Group: The largest US television broadcasting group (NASDAQ: NXST), operating ~200 stations. Closest large-cap peer to Gray Television, with overlapping station portfolio strategy, multi-platform distribution, and political advertising exposure.
• Sinclair Broadcast Group: One of the largest US local broadcast TV groups (NASDAQ: SBGI), operating hundreds of stations across major networks including Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC. Direct corporate peer to Gray Television and competitor for local ad budgets and syndicated content at scale.

Direct peers

• WSPA 7News: CBS-affiliated local television station based in Spartanburg, SC. Direct in-market competitor to Fox Carolina with overlapping news, weather, and sports coverage serving the same Upstate SC audience.
• WYFF News 4: NBC-affiliated local television station competing head-to-head with Fox Carolina for viewers and advertisers in the Greenville-Spartanburg-Asheville-Anderson DMA. Direct competitor with similar broadcast + digital + mobile platform mix.
• WLOS News 13: ABC-affiliated local television station serving the Asheville/Western North Carolina portion of the same DMA. Direct competitor for viewers, advertisers, and the Fox Carolina overlap with regional sports and weather coverage.

Others

• Gray Television: Public parent company of Fox Carolina (NYSE: GTN), operating ~90 stations. Included as the direct parent/corporate owner whose strategy, capital allocation, and content-sharing infrastructure shape Fox Carolina's competitive position.

Emerging players

• Telemundo Greenville SC: Spanish-language local news outlet operating in the same DMA, formally linked to Fox Carolina via cross-promotion. Comparable hyper-local news + digital distribution model but focused on Hispanic audience, providing partial rather than direct overlap.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/foxcarolinanews

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Fox Carolina News