Local Channels in Ohio: Every TV Market, Station and Way to Watch
Ohio's local channels come from eight TV markets based in the state, plus three West Virginia markets that cover the Ohio River towns. The big three cities don't even agree on ABC: it is 5 in Cleveland, 6 in Columbus and 9 in Cincinnati. Below: the main channels in every market, the FOX stations that left their old numbers, the stations antennas miss, and the cost of each option.
Ohio also has a quirk the rest of the country mostly doesn't. In Columbus and Dayton, FOX is still called Fox 28 and Fox 45, but neither has been on that channel since 2021. And in smaller markets such as Lima and Youngstown, a single station often carries two networks.
Local TV in Ohio at a glance
- TV markets
- 8 Ohio markets plus Wheeling-Steubenville, Charleston-Huntington and Parkersburg along the Ohio River
- Biggest markets
- Cleveland-Akron-Canton, Columbus and Cincinnati
- FOX moved
- Fox 28 Columbus is on 6.3 and Fox 45 Dayton on 22.2, both since January 2021
- Hardest to receive
- VHF stations: FOX 8 Cleveland, CBS 12 Cincinnati, CBS 11 and ABC 13 Toledo, and every network in Wheeling-Steubenville
- Without cable
- An antenna, YouTube TV at $82.99 a month, or IPTVZ at $74.99 for a full year
Ohio TV markets and their channels
Each Ohio TV market has its own ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX stations, and Nielsen calls each market a DMA, short for designated market area. Southeastern Ohio is the exception: towns such as Steubenville, Marietta, Portsmouth and Ironton belong to markets centered across the river in West Virginia. Our guide to local channels by state explains how markets work nationwide. Youngstown's stations also cover Mercer County across the border, which our Pennsylvania guide explains.
We took the numbers below on October 29, 2026 from the broadcast records on RabbitEars. They show what each station sends to your TV, and we compared them with the list of Ohio TV stations.
| Market | Main Ohio cities | ABC | CBS | NBC | FOX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland-Akron-Canton | Cleveland, Akron, Canton, Sandusky | 5 | 19 | 3 | 8 |
| Columbus | Columbus, Newark, Marion, Chillicothe | 6 | 10 | 4 | 6.3 |
| Cincinnati | Cincinnati, Hamilton, Middletown, northern Kentucky | 9 | 12 | 5 | 19 |
| Dayton | Dayton, Springfield, Kettering | 22 | 7 | 2 | 22.2 |
| Toledo | Toledo, Bowling Green, Findlay | 13 | 11 | 24 | 36 |
| Youngstown | Youngstown, Warren | 33 | 27 | 21 | 27.2 |
| Lima | Lima, Wapakoneta | 35 | 35.2 | 8 | 8.2 |
| Wheeling-Steubenville | Steubenville, Bellaire, Wheeling (WV) | 7.3 | 7 | 9 | 9.2 |
| Charleston-Huntington | Portsmouth, Ironton, Gallipolis | 8 | 13 | 3 | 8.2 |
| Parkersburg | Marietta, Belpre | None | 26 | 15 | 22 |
A subchannel is a second stream from the same station, numbered like 8.2, and Ohio's smaller markets lean on them heavily. Lima's NBC and FOX share WLIO, and its ABC and CBS share low-power WOHL. In Youngstown, CBS 27 even shares a transmitter with ABC 33. Zanesville's own station, WHIZ, carries NBC on 18 and FOX on 18.2, and the market has no ABC or CBS station of its own.
Spanish-language TV is thinner here than in the Sun Belt. Cleveland has Univision 61, Columbus gets Univision and Telemundo on low-power stations, and Cincinnati has a Telemundo subchannel.
Why Fox 28 and Fox 45 are not on 28 and 45
In early 2021, Sinclair moved its FOX affiliations in three markets serving Ohio onto stations it owns directly. The old channel numbers went to other networks. The brand names stayed, which is why so many viewers still look for FOX in the wrong place:
| Market | Brand | Old channel | Channel now | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dayton | Fox 45 | 45 (WRGT) | 22.2 (WKEF) | January 1, 2021 |
| Columbus | Fox 28 | 28 (WTTE) | 6.3 (WSYX) | January 7, 2021 |
| Charleston-Huntington | Fox 11, now Fox Appalachia | 11 (WVAH) | 8.2 (WCHS) | February 1, 2021 |
In each case FOX now shares a signal with the market's ABC station. If FOX is missing after you set up an antenna, scan again and look on the ABC station. FOX is 6.3 in Columbus, 22.2 in Dayton and 8.2 along the river. The Columbus rescan notice from the time shows the same steps.
Why some Ohio channels won't come in
VHF, the band that covers channels 2 to 13, is behind most Ohio antenna problems. Compact indoor antennas pick it up poorly, so stations that broadcast there break up first:
| Market | Station on VHF | Shows as | Broadcasts on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland | WJW (FOX), WOIO (CBS) | 8, 19 | VHF 8, 10 |
| Cincinnati | WKRC (CBS, with the CW on 12.2) | 12 | VHF 12 |
| Toledo | WTOL (CBS), WTVG (ABC, with the CW on 13.2) | 11, 13 | VHF 11, 13 |
| Lima | WLIO (NBC, with FOX on 8.2) | 8 | VHF 8 |
| Wheeling-Steubenville | WTRF (CBS and ABC), WTOV (NBC and FOX) | 7, 9 | VHF 7, 9 |
| Charleston-Huntington | WOWK (CBS), WVPB (PBS) | 13, 33 | VHF 10, 9 |
| Zanesville | WOUC (PBS) | 44 | VHF 6 |
Our finding: Wheeling-Steubenville is the only market serving Ohio where every big network depends on VHF. All four ride on just two signals, WTRF on VHF 7 and WTOV on VHF 9, so one weak VHF antenna loses the whole lineup. Columbus, Dayton and Youngstown sit at the other end: none of their big four uses VHF, and a basic UHF antenna is usually enough.
Cleveland's CBS 19 has a backup: WOIO also broadcasts on UHF 18, and your TV merges both under 19. Elsewhere, the fix is an antenna with VHF-high elements, mounted high and aimed using the FCC reception map. In Toledo, for example, a small window antenna often finds NBC 24 and FOX 36 but loses CBS 11 and ABC 13.
Ways to watch local channels in Ohio
Spectrum is the largest cable company in Ohio, with WOW!, Buckeye Broadband and Breezeline serving parts of the state. All of them add a broadcast TV fee to the bill. The main ways to get your locals compare like this:
| Option | What it costs | Ohio locals | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antenna | One-time purchase | Every station in range | VHF stations, and the moved FOX subchannels |
| Cable (Spectrum, WOW!, Buckeye, Breezeline) | 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 Lima or Zanesville may be incomplete |
| Free station apps | Free | Local news | News only |
| IPTVZ | From $29.99 for 3 months, $74.99 for 12 | Stations from Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton, Toledo 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.
Ohio's locals without a cable box
Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton and Toledo stations, together with the cable channels. Try them first in a free IPTVZ trial with no card required, then choose a plan from $29.99 for 3 months.
Ohio local channels on IPTVZ
IPTVZ carries the main stations of Ohio's biggest markets. 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 |
|---|---|
| Cleveland | NBC 3, ABC 5, FOX 8, CBS 19, WUAB 43 |
| Columbus | NBC 4, ABC 6, CBS 10, CW 53 |
| Cincinnati | NBC 5, ABC 9, CBS 12, FOX 19 |
| Dayton | NBC 2, CBS 7, ABC 22 |
| Toledo | CBS 11, ABC 13, NBC 24, FOX 36 |
| Youngstown | NBC 21, CBS 27, ABC 33 |
| Lima and Zanesville | NBC 8 (Lima), NBC 18 (Zanesville) |
| Ohio River markets | NBC 9 Steubenville; NBC 3, ABC 8 and CBS 13 Charleston-Huntington; NBC 15 Parkersburg |
Our catalogue still files the Columbus, Dayton and Charleston-Huntington FOX feeds under the stations that lost FOX in 2021. We have left those three out until we confirm them. Search the IPTVZ channel list for any station by name. Since IPTV runs over the internet, an Ohioan who moves away can keep watching hometown news, and a Toledo fan can watch Cleveland stations.
Ohio sports on TV in 2026-27
The end of FanDuel Sports Network sent most Ohio teams to new TV homes for 2026-27:
- Cavaliers: in-market games stream on DAZN, which also carries them on DIRECTV.
- Blue Jackets: local games air on the new Blue Jackets Hockey Network, with Prime Video as the in-market stream.
- Guardians: MLB produced their 2026 games for CLEGuardians.TV ($99.99 for the season at launch), and WKYC 3 simulcast 10 of them for free, per MLB.com.
- Reds: MLB took over production and distribution of their local games from the 2026 season.
- Browns and Bengals: most Sunday afternoon games air on the local CBS or FOX station, so the FOX moves above matter on game day.
- Ohio State: the Big Ten's games are spread across FOX, CBS, NBC and Big Ten Network.
IPTVZ carries the Ohio network stations that air NFL and Big Ten 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 Ohio FAQ
- How many TV markets are there in Ohio?
- Eight are based in Ohio: Cleveland-Akron-Canton, Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton, Toledo, Youngstown, Lima and Zanesville. Parts of southeastern Ohio watch the Wheeling-Steubenville, Charleston-Huntington and Parkersburg markets, which are based in West Virginia.
- What channel is Fox 28 in Columbus on an antenna?
- Fox 28 is on channel 6.3, a subchannel of ABC 6 (WSYX), since January 2021. Channel 28 itself now carries a different network.
- What channel is Fox 45 in Dayton?
- Over the air, Fox 45 is on 22.2, part of ABC 22 (WKEF), since January 1, 2021.
- Why can't I get FOX 8 in Cleveland with an indoor antenna?
- WJW broadcasts on VHF 8, which small indoor antennas handle poorly. An antenna rated for VHF-high, placed as high as possible and aimed at the Parma towers south of Cleveland, usually solves it after a rescan.
- Which Ohio channels are on VHF?
- FOX 8 and CBS 19 in Cleveland, CBS 12 in Cincinnati, CBS 11 and ABC 13 in Toledo, and NBC 8 in Lima. In Wheeling-Steubenville, all four networks use VHF 7 and 9.
- Can I watch Cleveland stations in Columbus?
- Over the air, no: each market only receives its own stations. Online, yes. IPTVZ includes Cleveland, Columbus and other Ohio stations in one lineup.
- Do I need cable for local channels in Ohio?
- No. All the network stations broadcast free over the air, and they also come with streaming services and IPTV. The Cavaliers, Blue Jackets and Guardians are the part that now needs a team stream or a specific provider.
The short version
- Eight TV markets are based in Ohio, and three more along the river serve the southeast.
- Fox 28 Columbus is on 6.3 and Fox 45 Dayton on 22.2, both since 2021.
- In Wheeling-Steubenville every big network is on VHF 7 or 9.
- The Cavaliers, Blue Jackets, Guardians and Reds all changed TV homes after FanDuel Sports Network closed.
- IPTVZ carries the main stations of Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton and Toledo for $74.99 a year.
Before paying for anything, check your own market. The free IPTVZ trial lets you find Ohio stations by name, and IPTVZ plans start at $29.99 for 3 months.
Sources
- rabbitears.info: RabbitEars rabbitears.info
- en.wikipedia.org: List of Ohio TV stations en.wikipedia.org
- cwcolumbus.com: Columbus rescan notice cwcolumbus.com
- fcc.gov: FCC reception map fcc.gov
- mlb.com: MLB.com mlb.com
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