Local Channels in Missouri: Every TV Market, Station and Way to Watch

Missouri TV markets and their channels

Each Missouri TV market has its own ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX stations, and Nielsen calls each market a DMA, short for designated market area. Missouri shares several markets with its neighbors. Kirksville belongs to Ottumwa-Kirksville with Iowa, Hannibal to Quincy-Hannibal with Illinois, and the Bootheel to Paducah-Cape Girardeau. Our guide to local channels by state explains how markets work nationwide. Our Illinois guide covers the same St. Louis, Quincy and Paducah markets from the Illinois side.

We took the numbers below on November 2, 2026 from the broadcast records on RabbitEars. They show what each station sends to your TV, and we compared them with the list of Missouri TV stations.

Market	Main Missouri cities	ABC	CBS	NBC	FOX
Kansas City	Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit	9	5	41	4
St. Louis	St. Louis, St. Charles, Florissant	32	4	5	2
Springfield	Springfield, Branson, Lebanon	33	10	3	49
Columbia-Jefferson City	Columbia, Jefferson City, Sedalia	17	13	8	22
Joplin-Pittsburg	Joplin, Carthage, Neosho	12	7	16	14
St. Joseph	St. Joseph, Maryville	2	26.2	21	26
Ottumwa-Kirksville	Kirksville	3	3.2	15.2	15
Paducah-Cape Girardeau	Cape Girardeau, Sikeston, Poplar Bluff	3	12	6	23
Quincy-Hannibal	Hannibal	7.2	7	10	10.3

Kansas City keeps its classic numbers, such as FOX 4 and CBS 5, though all four stations now broadcast on higher channels behind the scenes. Springfield's FOX station is on 49 and calls itself Fox 49.

Spanish-language TV is strongest in Kansas City, with Univision on 14 and Telemundo on 39. St. Louis has Telemundo on 14.

ABC on 32 in St. Louis, and two-network stations

St. Louis lost its longtime ABC station on September 1, 2026. The network now runs on a KMOV subchannel that your TV lists as 32, per RabbitEars and KDNL's station history. KDNL is now an independent station. If ABC vanished from your antenna lineup, scan again and look for 32.

Outside the big two, Missouri's smaller markets often fit two networks on one signal. A subchannel is a second stream from the same station, numbered like 3.2:

Market	One signal	Networks it carries
Ottumwa-Kirksville	KTVO 3	ABC on 3, CBS on 3.2
Ottumwa-Kirksville	KYOU 15	FOX on 15, NBC on 15.2
St. Joseph	KNPN 26	FOX on 26, CBS on 26.2
Quincy-Hannibal	WGEM 10	NBC on 10, FOX on 10.3
Joplin-Pittsburg	KOAM 7	CBS on 7, with a copy of FOX 14 on 7.2

This cuts both ways. In Kirksville, for example, one good signal from KTVO brings in two networks. Lose that signal, though, and both go at once.

Why some Missouri channels won't come in

VHF, the band that covers channels 2 to 13, causes most antenna trouble outside the two big cities. Compact indoor antennas pick it up poorly:

Market	Station on VHF	Shows as	Broadcasts on
Springfield	KOLR (CBS)	10	VHF 10
Joplin-Pittsburg	KOAM (CBS), KFJX (FOX)	7, 14	VHF 7, 13
St. Joseph	KQTV (ABC), KNPG (NBC)	2, 21	VHF 7, 9
Paducah-Cape Girardeau	KFVS (CBS)	12	VHF 11

Our finding: Kansas City, St. Louis and Columbia-Jefferson City have all four networks on UHF, so a basic antenna is usually enough there. Joplin and St. Joseph are the opposite: two of their four networks depend on VHF. In Joplin, losing VHF 7 costs you both CBS and the FOX copy on 7.2.

The fix is an antenna with VHF elements, mounted high and aimed using the FCC reception map. In Springfield, for example, a small window antenna often finds NBC 3 and FOX 49 but loses CBS 10.

Ways to watch local channels in Missouri

Spectrum is the largest cable company in Missouri, serving both St. Louis and Kansas City, with smaller systems and fiber providers in other areas. Cable bills add a broadcast TV fee on top of the plan. The main ways to get your locals compare like this:

Option	What it costs	Missouri locals	Watch out for
Antenna	One-time purchase	Every station in range	VHF stations, and ABC on 32 in St. Louis
Cable (mainly Spectrum)	Spectrum Stream TV Signature from $100 a month for the first year	All main locals	Fees on top of the plan price, as our monthly cable cost guide shows
Live-TV streaming	YouTube TV $82.99 a month; DIRECTV Entertainment $89.99	The big-market stations in most ZIP codes	Smaller markets like Kirksville or St. Joseph may be incomplete
Free station apps	Free	Local news	News only
IPTVZ	From $29.99 for 3 months, $74.99 for 12	Stations from Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield, Columbia, Joplin and more	Needs a steady connection, about 15 Mbps per HD screen

Prices from spectrum.com, YouTube TV and DIRECTV, checked October 17, 2026. Over 12 months, IPTVZ comes to about $6.25 a month. For more options, see the cheapest live TV with local channels, or compare the two approaches in IPTV vs cable.

Missouri local channels on IPTVZ

IPTVZ carries stations from every major market serving Missouri. We matched each one in our panel catalogue of October 16, 2026 by call sign, so the table reflects the station's current network:

Market	Confirmed on IPTVZ
Kansas City	FOX 4, CBS 5, ABC 9, PBS 19, NBC 41
St. Louis	FOX 2, CBS 4, NBC 5
Springfield	NBC 3, CBS 10, ABC 33, FOX 49
Columbia-Jefferson City	NBC 8, CBS 13, ABC 17, FOX 22
Joplin-Pittsburg	CBS 7, ABC 12, FOX 14, NBC 16
Cape Girardeau and Hannibal	NBC 6, CBS 12, FOX 23 (Cape Girardeau); CBS 7, NBC 10 (Hannibal)

KDNL still appears as ABC 30 in our catalogue, yet ABC left it in September. Until we confirm a feed for the new ABC 32, St. Louis shows three networks here. Search the IPTVZ channel list for any station by name. Since IPTV runs over the internet, a Kansas City fan in St. Louis can still watch hometown news.

Missouri sports on TV in 2026-27

The end of FanDuel Sports Network sent the Cardinals, Royals and Blues to new TV homes:

• Cardinals: the club left FanDuel Sports Network Midwest for 2026, and MLB streamed its local games on Cardinals.TV for $99.99 a season.
• Royals: MLB took over production of their local games for 2026 under the Royals.TV name.
• Blues: 73 games run on Blue Note+, a network the team launched for 2026-27. A free Thursday package of ten games lands on ABC 32, the same new St. Louis channel.
• Chiefs: most Sunday afternoon games air on the local CBS station, such as CBS 5 in Kansas City.
• Mizzou: SEC games are spread across ABC, ESPN and SEC Network.

IPTVZ carries the Missouri network stations that air NFL games, plus ESPN and the national sports networks. Our guide to the cheapest way to watch the NFL prices a full season. New to streaming TV? The explainer on how IPTV works covers the basics.

Local channels in Missouri FAQ

How many TV markets serve Missouri?

Nine: Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield, Columbia-Jefferson City, Joplin-Pittsburg, St. Joseph, Ottumwa-Kirksville, Paducah-Cape Girardeau and Quincy-Hannibal.

What channel is ABC in St. Louis now?

ABC is on 32, a subchannel of KMOV, since September 1, 2026. Channel 30, KDNL, is now an independent station.

What channel is FOX in Springfield, Missouri?

FOX is on 49, KRBK, which brands itself Fox 49.

Why can't I get CBS 10 in Springfield with an indoor antenna?

KOLR broadcasts on VHF 10, which small indoor antennas handle poorly. An antenna rated for VHF-high, placed as high as possible, usually fixes it after a rescan.

Where can I watch the Blues in 2026-27?

On the team's Blue Note+ network, and free on ABC 32 for ten Thursday games.

Do I need cable for local channels in Missouri?

No. All the network stations broadcast free over the air, and they also come with streaming services and IPTV. The Cardinals, Royals and Blues are the part that needs a team stream or a specific provider.