WAVY-TV
An NBC-affiliated television station serving the Hampton Roads region from Portsmouth, Virginia.
Last updated August 31, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile since Oct 28, 2026.
Overview
WAVY-TV is a commercial television station licensed to Portsmouth, Virginia, and serving the Hampton Roads media market. The station broadcasts on virtual channel 10 and is affiliated with NBC. Its coverage area includes the communities surrounding Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and the broader coastal region, as well as parts of northeastern North Carolina. WAVY-TV operates from studios on Wavy Street in downtown Portsmouth, while its main transmitter is located in Suffolk, Virginia. The station began broadcasting on September 1, 1957, as the Hampton Roads area's third-oldest television station. It was established by Tidewater Teleradio, which also owned WAVY radio. WAVY-TV initially carried ABC programming, but switched affiliations with WVEC-TV in 1959 and became the market's NBC affiliate. The change was influenced in part by the long-standing NBC relationship of its radio sister station. NBC has remained the station's principal network affiliation since that exchange. WAVY-TV became the second television station owned by LIN Broadcasting in 1968. Over subsequent decades, the station expanded from a conventional network outlet into a multiplatform local media operation. It moved into its present downtown Portsmouth facility in April 1989 and developed a substantial local news operation, including early-morning, daytime, evening, and late-night programming. WAVY was an early adopter of local television news technology in the market, introducing a helicopter unit known as Chopper 10 in 1982, beginning a 5:30 p.m. newscast in 1989, launching a 5:30 a.m. morning newscast in 1992, and becoming the first station in the market to produce local newscasts in high definition in 2008. Its weather operation includes Super Doppler 10, a station-operated radar brand, while Drone 10 was introduced in 2015 for aerial news coverage. WAVY-TV has also been closely linked with WVBT, the area's Fox affiliate on channel 43. WAVY began operating WVBT under a local marketing agreement after WVBT became a WB affiliate in 1995. Following an affiliation arrangement between LIN TV and Fox, WVBT assumed Fox programming from WTVZ in 1998, and LIN acquired WVBT outright in 2002. WAVY subsequently produced WVBT's nightly 10 p.m. newscast and other programming, creating a long-running local television duopoly. The station's corporate ownership changed several times. Media General acquired LIN Media, the parent of WAVY-TV, in a transaction completed in December 2014. Nexstar Broadcasting Group then acquired Media General in January 2017, creating Nexstar Media Group and placing WAVY-TV and WVBT under the Nexstar umbrella. Nexstar later acquired Tribune Media, but regulatory limits on station ownership in the Hampton Roads market required the company to sell WTKR and WGNT rather than combine those stations with the WAVY-WVBT operation. The WTKR-WGNT group was sold to the E. W. Scripps Company in 2019. WAVY-TV's core brand proposition is local service: regional news, weather, emergency information, sports, lifestyle programming, and community coverage delivered through broadcast television and digital platforms. In addition to its primary programming, the station has used digital subchannels for services including Bounce TV and the CBN News Channel. Its signal is also extended through translators serving Portsmouth, Chesapeake, and Virginia's Eastern Shore. The station remains an active NBC affiliate and a significant local news provider in the Hampton Roads market.
History
WAVY-TV began broadcasting on September 1, 1957, from Portsmouth, Virginia. It was founded by Tidewater Teleradio, which also owned WAVY radio. The television station initially carried ABC programming. In 1959, WAVY-TV and WVEC-TV exchanged affiliations, making WAVY the NBC affiliate for Hampton Roads. The NBC relationship has remained central to the station's identity. In 1968, WAVY-TV became the second television station owned by LIN Broadcasting. The station expanded its local service over the following decades, adding news programming and specialized reporting resources. It introduced Chopper 10 in 1982, becoming the first Hampton Roads station to use a helicopter for local news coverage. WAVY added a 5 p.m. weekday newscast in 1989, moved into its current Wavy Street studios in downtown Portsmouth that same year, and began an early-morning newscast at 5:30 a.m. in 1992. A 5:30 p.m. newscast followed in 1994. WAVY's relationship with WVBT developed in the 1990s. After WVBT became a WB affiliate in 1995, WAVY began operating the station through a local marketing agreement. LIN TV later reached an affiliation agreement with Fox, and WVBT took over Fox programming in the market in 1998. LIN purchased WVBT outright in February 2002. The two stations thereafter operated as a locally integrated duopoly, with WAVY producing a nightly 10 p.m. newscast for WVBT and supporting additional programming on the Fox outlet. The station was an early adopter of digital broadcasting. WAVY-TV began transmitting a digital signal in March 2001, becoming the first station in the Hampton Roads market to do so. It ended regular analog broadcasting on June 12, 2009, as part of the federally mandated digital television transition. Its post-transition digital signal operated on UHF channel 31 while retaining virtual channel 10. Local news technology remained an important part of the brand. WAVY and WVBT began producing local newscasts in high definition in July 2008, ahead of other stations in the market. The station later introduced Drone 10 in November 2015, becoming the first Hampton Roads station to use drones in its news coverage. WAVY also operates Super Doppler 10, a branded weather radar service. Its local programming has included The Hampton Roads Show, a lifestyle and entertainment program that moved from WVBT to WAVY in 2011. Corporate ownership changed in the 2010s. Media General announced its acquisition of LIN Media in March 2014, and the transaction closed in December of that year. Nexstar Broadcasting Group subsequently agreed to acquire Media General after Media General's proposed combination with Meredith failed to proceed. The Federal Communications Commission approved the Nexstar transaction in January 2017, and the sale closed shortly afterward. WAVY-TV and WVBT became stations of Nexstar Media Group. Nexstar's acquisition of Tribune Media created a regulatory issue in Hampton Roads because Tribune-operated WTKR and WGNT joined the same market as the WAVY-WVBT pair. Ownership rules limited Nexstar's ability to retain all four stations, particularly because WAVY and WTKR were among the market's highest-rated stations. Nexstar therefore retained WAVY-TV and WVBT and announced the sale of WTKR and WGNT, along with WTVR-TV in Richmond, to the E. W. Scripps Company in 2019. The supplied reference material also reports that Nexstar agreed to acquire Tegna in 2025 and completed the transaction in March 2026. Because Tegna owned WVEC in the same Hampton Roads market, the reported transaction included a commitment to divest WAVY-TV within two years. This reported future ownership change should be checked against current regulatory and company filings before being treated as settled historical fact. WAVY-TV otherwise remains an active NBC affiliate and local news operation, distributed through its primary signal, digital subchannels, translators, website, and associated digital platforms.
- 2019
WTKR and WGNT are divested
[1]Nexstar announces the sale of WTKR and WGNT to Scripps to address Hampton Roads ownership restrictions following its Tribune acquisition.
- 2017
Nexstar acquires Media General
[1]WAVY-TV and WVBT become part of Nexstar Media Group.
- 2015
Drone 10 launches
[1]WAVY introduces drone-based reporting for local newscasts.
- 2014
Media General acquires LIN Media
[1]WAVY-TV changes corporate ownership when Media General completes its LIN Media acquisition.
- 2011
Bounce TV launches on a digital subchannel
[1]WAVY-TV adds Bounce TV to its digital multicast lineup.
- 2008
Local news moves to high definition
[1]WAVY and WVBT begin producing local newscasts in high definition.
- 2002
LIN acquires WVBT
[1]LIN TV completes its purchase of WVBT, formalizing the station pair's ownership relationship.
- 2001
Launches digital transmission
[1]WAVY-TV begins digital broadcasting on March 22 and becomes the first Hampton Roads station to transmit a digital signal.
- 1989
Moves to Wavy Street studios
[1]The station relocates to its current downtown Portsmouth facility.
- 1982
Chopper 10 is introduced
[1]WAVY begins helicopter-based local news coverage.
Products and positioning
A locally focused NBC network affiliate emphasizing regional news, weather, severe-weather information, sports, public-service coverage, and multiplatform reporting for Hampton Roads.
Local news programming · 1957
WAVY News
The station's principal local-news service, covering Hampton Roads through morning, daytime, evening, and late-night broadcasts. The operation includes reporting, investigations, public-affairs coverage, regional sports, and emergency information. WAVY has historically emphasized extended local-news hours and has also supplied a prime-time newscast for sister Fox affiliate WVBT.
Weather service
Super Doppler 10
WAVY-TV's branded weather radar and forecasting operation. It supports live weather reports, severe-weather tracking, current conditions, and forecast updates for the coastal Virginia and northeastern North Carolina region.
Aerial news coverage · 1982
Chopper 10
A helicopter-based news-gathering service introduced in 1982. The station used the unit to provide aerial views of traffic, breaking news, weather events, and major incidents. The reference material identifies the current Bell 206 LongRanger as having been used since 2000.
Aerial news coverage · 2015
Drone 10
A drone-reporting initiative introduced in 2015. WAVY described itself as the first Hampton Roads station to use drone aircraft in its newscasts, adding a lower-cost and more flexible aerial perspective to local reporting.
Lifestyle and entertainment programming
The Hampton Roads Show
A locally produced lifestyle and entertainment program covering regional people, events, culture, and consumer-oriented topics. The program moved from WVBT to WAVY in 2011 and became part of the station's daytime local-programming schedule.
Prime-time local news · 1998
WVBT 10 p.m. News
A nightly local newscast produced by WAVY-TV for sister Fox affiliate WVBT. It began after WVBT's transition to Fox in 1998 and is followed by a sports segment known as Fox 43 Sports Wrap.
Digital television · 2011
Digital multicast services
WAVY-TV has used its digital spectrum for additional services, including Bounce TV beginning in 2011 and the CBN News Channel on virtual channel 10.4 beginning in 2018. The station's digital distribution is supplemented by translators in Portsmouth, Onancock, and Chesapeake.
Brand decisions
2019
Retain WAVY-WVBT and divest WTKR-WGNTM&ABackground
Nexstar's proposed acquisition of Tribune Media created overlapping station ownership in Hampton Roads because Tribune operated WTKR and WGNT while Nexstar owned WAVY-TV and WVBT.
Action taken
Nexstar retained the WAVY-WVBT duopoly and announced the sale of WTKR and WGNT to the E. W. Scripps Company.
Aftermath
The decision allowed Nexstar to complete the Tribune transaction while addressing FCC limits on common ownership of television stations in the market.
2017
Media General is acquired by NexstarM&ABackground
Media General considered a combination with Meredith before entering negotiations with Nexstar after an unsolicited offer and shareholder opposition to the Meredith proposal.
Action taken
Nexstar completed its acquisition of Media General after FCC approval, placing WAVY-TV and WVBT in Nexstar Media Group.
Aftermath
The transaction created common ownership with Nexstar stations in other Virginia markets and expanded the company's national station portfolio.
Transaction valuation. $4.6 billion plus assumed debt (Agreement reached January 2016; completed January 2017)
2014
LIN Media is acquired by Media GeneralM&ABackground
LIN Media owned WAVY-TV and WVBT when Media General announced its acquisition in March 2014.
Action taken
Media General completed the transaction in December 2014, bringing the WAVY-WVBT operation under common ownership with other Media General stations.
Aftermath
WAVY-TV remained part of Media General until Nexstar acquired the company in 2017.
Transaction value. $1.6 billion (Announced March 2014; completed December 2014)
2008
Convert local newscasts to high definitionOtherBackground
WAVY and WVBT were upgrading their local production infrastructure as television viewing shifted toward widescreen and high-definition formats.
Action taken
The stations began producing local newscasts in true high definition on July 21.
Aftermath
The stations became the first in the Hampton Roads market and the first in their station group to produce local news in high definition.
1998
WVBT becomes a Fox affiliateStrategyBackground
WAVY had been operating WVBT under a local marketing agreement after WVBT became a WB affiliate in 1995.
Action taken
Following LIN TV's agreement with Fox, WVBT assumed the market's Fox affiliation from WTVZ and became closely integrated with WAVY's local news operation.
Aftermath
WAVY began producing a nightly 10 p.m. newscast for WVBT, establishing the programming model used by the station pair.
1959
Exchange ABC affiliation for NBC affiliationStrategyBackground
WAVY-TV initially operated as an ABC affiliate, while WVEC-TV carried NBC programming in the Hampton Roads market.
Action taken
The stations exchanged affiliations, making WAVY-TV the local NBC affiliate.
Aftermath
NBC became the station's long-term network identity and remained its affiliation in the supplied reference material.
Sources2 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/wavy-tv · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled