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

Virginia TV markets and their channels

Each Virginia TV market has its own ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX stations, and Nielsen calls each market a DMA, short for designated market area. Four markets are centered outside the state. Northern Virginia watches Washington, D.C., the southwest watches the Tri-Cities and Bluefield-Beckley, and the Eastern Shore watches Salisbury, Maryland. Our guide to local channels by state explains how markets work nationwide. Our Tennessee guide covers the Tri-Cities market in full, and the North Carolina guide covers Norfolk's reach into the Outer Banks.

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 Virginia TV stations.

Market	Main Virginia cities	ABC	CBS	NBC	FOX
Washington, D.C.	Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, Loudoun	7	9	4	5
Norfolk (Hampton Roads)	Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Newport News	13	3	10	43
Richmond-Petersburg	Richmond, Henrico, Chesterfield, Petersburg	8	6	12	35
Roanoke-Lynchburg	Roanoke, Lynchburg, Blacksburg, Danville	13	7	10	27
Charlottesville	Charlottesville, Crozet	16	19	29	27
Harrisonburg	Harrisonburg, Staunton	3	43.2	3.2	43
Tri-Cities	Bristol, Abingdon, Norton	11.2	11	5	5.3
Bluefield-Beckley	Tazewell, Richlands	4	59	6	59.2
Salisbury	Accomack and Northampton counties	47	16	31	21.2

Spanish-language TV is strongest in Northern Virginia, with Telemundo 44 and Univision 14. Richmond has Telemundo on 45.

FOX on 5.3 in Bristol, and other channel traps

On December 8, 2025, FOX moved from WEMT channel 39 to 5.3, a subchannel of NBC station WCYB, according to WEMT's history. That matters in Bristol, Abingdon and the rest of the Virginia side of the Tri-Cities. WEMT switched to Roar in January 2026.

Virginia's smaller markets have older traps too. A subchannel is a second stream from the same station, numbered like 43.2, and several markets rely on them:

Market	Network	Where it is	Comes from
Tri-Cities	FOX	5.3	WCYB, the NBC station, since December 8, 2025
Charlottesville	FOX ("Fox 27")	27	WCAV, the CBS 19 signal
Harrisonburg	NBC and CBS	3.2 and 43.2	WHSV (ABC 3) and WSVF (FOX 43)
Bluefield-Beckley	FOX ("Fox 59")	59.2	WVNS, the CBS 59 signal
Salisbury (Eastern Shore)	FOX ("Fox 21")	21.2	WBOC, the CBS 16 signal

In Harrisonburg, for example, two signals carry all four networks. A good antenna aimed at those two towers brings in ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX at once.

Why some Virginia channels won't come in

VHF, the band that covers channels 2 to 13, causes most antenna trouble in Virginia. Compact indoor antennas pick it up poorly, and the Blue Ridge makes it worse:

Market	Station on VHF	Shows as	Broadcasts on
Washington, D.C.	WJLA (ABC), WUSA (CBS)	7, 9	VHF 7, 9
Richmond	WWBT (NBC, with the CW on 65)	12	VHF 10
Roanoke-Lynchburg	WSET (ABC), WBRA (PBS)	13, 15	VHF 7, 13
Charlottesville	WVIR (NBC)	29	VHF 2, with a UHF 30 fill-in
Bluefield-Beckley	WVNS (CBS, with FOX on 59.2)	59	VHF 11
Tri-Cities	WJHL (CBS, with ABC on 11.2)	11	VHF 9

Our finding: Hampton Roads is the only large Virginia market with all four networks on UHF. Northern Virginia, by contrast, has ABC 7 and CBS 9 on VHF. The hardest single station is Charlottesville's NBC 29, which uses VHF 2, the lowest TV channel in use.

The fix is an antenna with VHF elements, mounted high and aimed using the FCC reception map. Near Charlottesville, try the UHF 30 fill-in before buying a large low-VHF antenna. In Northern Virginia, for example, a small window antenna often finds NBC 4 and FOX 5 but loses ABC 7 and CBS 9.

Ways to watch local channels in Virginia

Xfinity, Cox and Verizon Fios are the main TV providers in Virginia, with smaller cable systems in the mountains. 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	Virginia locals	Watch out for
Antenna	One-time purchase	Every station in range	VHF stations, mountains, and FOX on 5.3 near Bristol
Cable (Xfinity, Cox, Fios and others)	A typical bill is about $125 a month with fees	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 Harrisonburg or Charlottesville may be incomplete
Free station apps	Free	Local news	News only
IPTVZ	From $29.99 for 3 months, $74.99 for 12	Stations from Washington, Hampton Roads, Richmond, Roanoke and more	Needs a steady connection, about 15 Mbps per HD screen

Streaming prices from 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.

Virginia local channels on IPTVZ

IPTVZ carries the main stations of Virginia's largest 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
Washington, D.C.	FOX 5, ABC 7, CBS 9
Norfolk (Hampton Roads)	CBS 3, NBC 10, ABC 13, FOX 43
Richmond-Petersburg	CBS 6, ABC 8, NBC 12, FOX 35
Roanoke-Lynchburg	CBS 7, NBC 10, ABC 13, FOX 27
Charlottesville and Harrisonburg	CBS 19, NBC 29 (Charlottesville); ABC 3 (Harrisonburg)
Southwest and Eastern Shore	NBC 5, CBS 11 (Tri-Cities); NBC 6 (Bluefield); ABC 47 (Salisbury)

Our catalogue still files WEMT as FOX 39, but that station now airs Roar, so we left it out. Search the IPTVZ channel list for any station by name. Since IPTV runs over the internet, a Hampton Roads family can still follow Richmond news.

Virginia sports on TV in 2026-27

Virginia follows the Washington teams, and one of them changed its TV home for 2026:

• Nationals: the team left MASN after 21 years. MLB now produces its local games for Nationals.TV, at $99.99 a year or $19.99 a month.
• Capitals and Wizards: local games stay on Monumental Sports Network.
• Orioles: MASN is now an Orioles-only channel.
• Hornets: in the Roanoke-Lynchburg market, games air free on WDBJ 7 and WZBJ 24, per the Hornets' viewing guide.
• Commanders, Hokies and Cavaliers: most Commanders games air on the local FOX station, and ACC games are spread across ABC, ESPN and ACC Network.

IPTVZ carries the Virginia 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 Virginia FAQ

How many TV markets serve Virginia?

Nine: Washington, D.C., Norfolk, Richmond-Petersburg, Roanoke-Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, the Tri-Cities, Bluefield-Beckley and Salisbury.

What channel is FOX in Bristol and Abingdon now?

FOX is on 5.3, a subchannel of WCYB, since December 8, 2025. Channel 39, WEMT, now carries Roar.

What channel is FOX in Charlottesville?

"Fox 27" rides on the signal of CBS 19 (WCAV), so a TV that receives CBS 19 usually finds FOX too.

Why can't I get NBC 29 in Charlottesville?

WVIR broadcasts on VHF 2, the lowest TV channel, which needs a large antenna. It also has a UHF 30 fill-in signal, so rescan before buying new gear.

Where can I watch the Nationals?

On Nationals.TV, which MLB runs, at $99.99 a year or $19.99 a month. The team left MASN after the 2025 season.

Do I need cable for local channels in Virginia?

No. All the network stations broadcast free over the air, and they also come with streaming services and IPTV. The Capitals, Wizards and Orioles are the part that needs a specific provider.