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Outlet profile

NBC Chicago

U.S. center-left

Owned byComcast Corporation, through its NBCUniversal subsidiary and the NBC Owned Television Stations division; WMAQ-TV (Channel 5) is an NBC owned-and-operated station and runs a duopoly with Telemundo's WSNS-TV (Channel 44)
FundingPrimarily advertising revenue; as an NBC owned-and-operated station, national advertising sales are handled centrally through NBCUniversal
On the administrationmostly neutral

Background

The station's roots trace to August 1930, when the Chicago Daily News launched an experimental mechanical television station, W9XAP. The commercial station signed on October 8, 1948, as WNBQ on Channel 5, making it the fourth TV station in Chicago and the 38th in the United States. In 1956 it became the first station in the world to broadcast its entire schedule in color. Call letters changed to WMAQ-TV in August 1964 to align with co-owned NBC radio station WMAQ (670 AM). The station has been part of NBC's owned-and-operated group since its commercial launch. Comcast acquired majority control of NBCUniversal in 2011 and completed full ownership in 2013, making WMAQ-TV part of a large media conglomerate alongside cable networks, a film studio, and theme parks. In November 2024, Comcast announced plans to spin off most NBCUniversal assets—including cable networks—into a new company called Versant, though the status of local broadcast stations remained under review. Media Bias/Fact Check rates NBC Chicago as left-center in political framing with high factual accuracy, while AllSides has assigned it a center rating at low confidence; both agree it produces no opinion content and relies on standard news sourcing.

Sources

  1. WMAQ-TV – Wikipedia
  2. NBC 5 Chicago Media Bias – AllSides
  3. NBC Chicago – WMAQ Bias and Credibility – Media Bias/Fact Check
  4. Acquisition of NBC Universal by Comcast – Wikipedia
  5. Comcast plans to spin off NBCUniversal and Sky – PBS NewsHour

Profile compiled 2026-09-14; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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