WLOS (Asheville ABC affiliate, Sinclair-owned)
U.S. right-leaning
Background
WLOS-TV launched in September 1954 under Skyway Broadcasting Company in Asheville, North Carolina, serving the western part of the state and parts of upstate South Carolina. Wometco Enterprises bought the station in 1958 and held it until a 1984 leveraged buyout by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts took Wometco private. AnchorMedia (associated with the Robert Bass Group) purchased WLOS for $50 million in 1987, and the station subsequently passed to River City Broadcasting in 1993. River City merged with Sinclair Broadcast Group in 1996, and WLOS has remained a Sinclair property ever since, operating in an effective duopoly with WMYA-TV (channel 40, Anderson, SC). Sinclair has drawn sustained criticism for requiring its local stations to air 'must-run' nationally produced segments, most notably pro-Trump commentary from former Trump aide Boris Epshteyn. A widely covered 2018 controversy arose when Sinclair ordered WLOS and its other stations to read scripted promos echoing Donald Trump's 'fake news' language. Media Bias/Fact Check rates WLOS as Right-Center biased but high in factual credibility—reflecting a station whose local journalism meets basic sourcing standards while carrying a conservative corporate editorial overlay. WLOS received notable attention for extensive live coverage of Hurricane Helene's catastrophic impact on western North Carolina in fall 2024 and the region's ongoing recovery through 2025.
Sources
- WLOS - Wikipedia
- WLOS (ABC13News) - Bias and Credibility - Media Bias/Fact Check
- Sinclair Broadcast Group - Wikipedia
- Sinclair Broadcast Group - Bias and Credibility - Media Bias/Fact Check
- WLOS TV news anchors in Asheville read Sinclair-ordered promos
- How Sinclair Broadcasting puts a partisan tilt on trusted local news - PBS NewsHour
- Sinclair Broadcast Group | History, Holdings, & Political Controversies - Britannica
Profile compiled 2026-07-19; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.