CBS17 (Raleigh)
U.S. center
Background
WNCN signed on the air on April 11, 1988 as WYED-TV, an independent station owned by the Beasley Broadcast Group and based in Clayton, North Carolina. In 1994, Outlet Communications purchased the station and in 1995 converted it into the Raleigh-Durham area's NBC affiliate, renaming it WNCN. NBC acquired the station outright and held it for roughly a decade before selling it to Media General in 2006. On February 29, 2016, WNCN switched its network affiliation from NBC to CBS as part of an affiliate swap with WRAL-TV, which departed CBS to become the local NBC outlet. The station initially branded itself 'CBS North Carolina' before settling on 'CBS 17' in March 2018. In 2017, Nexstar Media Group acquired Media General, folding WNCN into a portfolio that now spans more than 200 local TV stations nationwide. Nexstar's corporate posture has been described as slightly right-of-center — its cable news channel NewsNation has drawn criticism from some media observers for conservative leanings — but the company does not issue the kind of centralized editorial mandates associated with Sinclair Broadcast Group, leaving local stations like CBS17 to operate with considerable day-to-day independence. CBS17's recent coverage includes straightforward reporting on the effects of Trump administration policies on North Carolina residents — immigration enforcement, SNAP funding court orders, tariff polling, and local protests — without a pronounced editorial angle.
Sources
- WNCN – Wikipedia
- Nexstar Media Group – Wikipedia
- WNCN – TV Stations Wikia (Fandom)
- CBS17.com – Raleigh, Durham News & Weather
- NewsNation Media Bias – AllSides
- Nexstar's NewsNation is just another right-wing cable network – Media Matters
- CBS17: 'Hands Off' protest draws thousands to downtown Raleigh
- CBS17: Local food banks strained as judge orders full SNAP funding
Profile compiled 2026-07-05; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.