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

New York TV markets and their channels

Ten Nielsen TV markets cover New York State, and each has its own ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX affiliates. A DMA (designated market area) is Nielsen's name for a group of counties that receives the same stations, so it follows signals rather than state lines. The New York City market, for example, includes much of northern New Jersey. Our guide to local channels by state explains how the system works nationwide. Pike County, Pennsylvania also watches New York City stations, as our Pennsylvania guide explains.

Numbers are the virtual channels your TV displays after a scan. Each one comes from the stations' own broadcast data on RabbitEars, cross-checked with Wikipedia's New York station list on October 29, 2026.

Market	Main cities	ABC	CBS	NBC	FOX
New York City	The five boroughs, Long Island, Westchester, northern New Jersey	7	2	4	5
Buffalo	Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Jamestown	7	4	2	29
Albany-Schenectady-Troy	Albany, Schenectady, Troy, Saratoga Springs	10	6	13	23
Rochester	Rochester and the western Finger Lakes	13	8	10	31
Syracuse	Syracuse, Auburn, Oswego, Ithaca	9	15	3	68
Utica	Utica, Rome, Herkimer	20	2.2	2	33
Binghamton	Binghamton, Vestal, Johnson City	34	12	20	40
Elmira-Corning	Elmira, Corning, Hornell	36	36.2	18	48
Watertown	Watertown, Fort Drum, Massena	50	7	45	28
Burlington-Plattsburgh	Plattsburgh, Lake Placid, Saranac Lake, Burlington (VT)	22	3	5	44

Syracuse is the one recent change. On December 1, 2025, CBS moved from WTVH on channel 5 to WKOF on channel 15 and kept the name CBS 5. Antenna viewers had to rescan to find it. A subchannel is an extra channel a station sends next to its main one, numbered like 2.2. Utica's CBS is a subchannel of NBC station WKTV, Elmira's CBS shares WENY with ABC, and Watertown's FOX 28 also appears on 7.2. Long Island has an extra CBS-owned station of its own, WLNY on 55.

Where New York City's TV signals come from

New York City's main stations broadcast from two Manhattan towers, less than three miles apart. We matched every station's transmitter coordinates in its FCC record, as listed by RabbitEars, to the two buildings:

Transmitter site	Stations
One World Trade Center (Lower Manhattan)	CBS 2, NBC 4, FOX 5, My 9, Thirteen (PBS), WLIW 21, ION 31, Telemundo 47, WRNN 48, WMBC 63
Empire State Building (Midtown)	ABC 7, PIX11 (The CW), Univision 41, UniMás 68
Long Island and New Jersey	WLNY 55 (Riverhead), UniMás 67 (Smithtown), NJ PBS 58 (New Brunswick)

Our finding: Ten of the fourteen main New York City stations we checked broadcast from One World Trade Center. ABC 7 and PIX11 stay on the Empire State Building. For most of the region that makes no difference, because both towers sit in the same direction. Close to Manhattan, though, the angle can split, and a directional antenna aimed at one tower may lose the other's channels.

PIX11 is a special case. Its own license is on VHF 11, but that signal now carries only ATSC 3.0, which is the next-generation broadcast standard sold as NextGen TV. Regular TVs receive PIX11 as a stream on ABC 7's signal, which is why PIX11 and ABC 7 tend to come and go together.

Why some New York channels won't come in

New York's hardest channels to receive are the ones on VHF. VHF is the older TV band, channels 2 to 13, and most flat indoor antennas pick it up badly. In the city, that is ABC 7 and PIX11. Upstate, it hits Rochester hardest, where both NBC and ABC use VHF.

Market	Station on VHF	Shows as	Broadcasts on
New York City	WABC (ABC, with PIX11), WNET (PBS), NJ PBS	7 and 11, 13, 58	VHF 7, 12, 8
Albany	WXXA (FOX)	23	VHF 8
Rochester	WHEC (NBC), WHAM (ABC, with the CW on 13.2)	10, 13	VHF 10, 9
Binghamton	WBNG (CBS), WICZ (FOX)	12, 40	VHF 8, 7
Watertown	WWNY (CBS, with FOX on 7.2)	7	VHF 8
Burlington-Plattsburgh	WVNY (ABC)	22	VHF 7

Only NJ PBS has a regular UHF copy, on channel 50 (WNJN). The extra versions with numbers like 32.1 that some New York City TVs find are ATSC 3.0 broadcasts, which need a NextGen TV tuner. So the fix is the antenna itself: one rated for VHF-high, mounted high, and aimed with the FCC reception map. In an apartment, a window that faces Manhattan usually beats any spot inside the room. Buffalo, Syracuse, Utica and Elmira have all their big networks on UHF, so a basic antenna is usually enough there.

Ways to watch local channels in New York

The three big TV providers in New York are Spectrum, Optimum and Verizon Fios. Each adds a broadcast TV fee on top of the package price. Here is how the main options compare:

Option	What it costs	New York locals	Watch out for
Antenna	One-time purchase	Every station in range	VHF stations, and tall buildings between you and the towers
Cable or fiber TV (Spectrum, Optimum, Verizon Fios)	Spectrum Stream TV Signature from $100 a month for the first year	All main locals	A regional sports surcharge for MSG and YES on top of the broadcast fee, plus equipment (our breakdown of a monthly cable bill shows how they add up)
Live-TV streaming	YouTube TV $82.99 a month; DIRECTV Entertainment $89.99	The big New York City and upstate stations in most ZIP codes	MSG Network is not on YouTube TV, so Knicks and Rangers fans need another service
Free station apps	Free	Local news streams	News only
IPTVZ	From $29.99 for 3 months, $74.99 for 12	Local stations from New York City, Buffalo, Albany, Rochester and more	Needs a steady connection, about 15 Mbps per HD screen

Prices from spectrum.com, YouTube TV and DIRECTV, checked October 17, 2026. At $74.99 for 12 months, IPTVZ costs about as much as one month of a streaming bundle. Deciding between the two kinds of service? Our IPTV vs cable comparison covers the trade-offs, and the guide to the cheapest live TV with local channels ranks every option.

New York local channels on IPTVZ

IPTVZ carries local stations from most New York markets, with the fullest coverage in New York City, Buffalo, Albany and Rochester. We matched each station in our panel catalogue of October 16, 2026 by call sign:

Market	Confirmed on IPTVZ
New York City	The big four (ABC 7, CBS 2, NBC 4, FOX 5), PIX11 and My 9, PBS on Thirteen and WLIW, WLNY on Long Island, and Spanish-language Univision, Telemundo and UniMás
Buffalo	NBC 2, CBS 4, ABC 7, PBS 17, CW 23, FOX 29, My 49
Albany	CBS 6, ABC 10, NBC 13, CW 15, FOX 23
Rochester	CBS 8, NBC 10, ABC 13, FOX 31
Syracuse	NBC 3, ABC 9, FOX 68
Binghamton	CBS 12, NBC 20, ABC 34, FOX 40
Burlington-Plattsburgh	CBS 3, NBC 5, ABC 22, CW 31, FOX 44
Utica and Elmira	NBC 2 and FOX 33 (Utica), NBC 18 (Elmira)

We have not confirmed Syracuse's new CBS 15 or the Watertown stations by call sign yet, so they are left out rather than guessed. Search the IPTVZ channel list for any station by name. Watching from outside the state works too: New York City news and sports are the same feed in Florida as in Queens.

Spanish-language TV in New York

New York City has a full set of Spanish-language networks over the air. Univision is on 41 and Telemundo on 47, with UniMás on 68 in the city and 67 on Long Island. They serve one of the largest Hispanic TV audiences in the country. Upstate, Spanish-language TV comes mostly through cable or streaming rather than local stations.

On IPTVZ you get the New York Univision, Telemundo and UniMás feeds, along with Galavisión and Spanish-language sports on TUDN, ESPN Deportes and FOX Deportes. If you are new to IPTV, our explainer covers how the service reaches your TV.

New York sports on local TV

Most New York teams are on regional sports networks rather than the local stations, so how you watch matters more here than in most states:

• Yankees and Nets: YES Network, which also sells a stream to fans inside the team's home area.
• Mets: SNY, with some games on PIX11. SNY sells its stream through the MLB app, but games shown on PIX11 or national networks are not part of it.
• Knicks, Rangers, Islanders and Devils: MSG Networks. MSG is carried by Fubo and DIRECTV but not by YouTube TV or Hulu + Live TV.
• Buffalo Sabres: MSG's Western New York feed, with coverage depending on where you live.
• Bills, Giants and Jets: Sunday afternoon games on the local CBS and FOX stations, Sunday night on NBC, Monday night on ESPN and ABC.

IPTVZ carries the New York network stations that air NFL games, along with ESPN and the national sports networks. Our guide to the cheapest way to watch the NFL compares the options for a full season.

Local channels in New York FAQ

How many TV markets are in New York State?

Ten. Nine are based in the state: New York City, Buffalo, Albany, Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, Binghamton, Elmira and Watertown. The North Country around Plattsburgh is part of the Burlington, Vermont market.

What channel is CBS in Syracuse now?

CBS is on channel 15 (WKOF) since December 1, 2025, still branded CBS 5. If it vanished from your antenna, run a new channel scan.

Why can't I get ABC 7 or PIX11 with an antenna in New York City?

Both ride the same VHF 7 signal from the Empire State Building, and small indoor antennas handle VHF poorly. Try a window facing Midtown, an antenna with VHF-high elements, and a rescan.

What channel is FOX in Albany?

FOX is channel 23, WXXA. It broadcasts on VHF 8, so it is often the first Albany station to drop on an indoor antenna.

Can I watch New York City channels upstate?

Over the air, no: Buffalo, Albany and the other upstate markets only receive their own stations. Online, yes. IPTVZ carries both New York City and upstate stations.

Is there a cheaper way than cable to get New York locals?

Yes. Over the air, the locals are free once the antenna is paid for. With cable channels added, a year of IPTVZ is $74.99, against $82.99 for a single month of YouTube TV, which still leaves out MSG.

Do I need cable for local channels in New York?

No. All the network stations broadcast free over the air, and you can also get them through streaming services or IPTV. Only the regional sports networks, like MSG and YES, need a paid service.