You want your business published on WATE, on wate.com, the Knoxville news site East Tennessee has trusted for generations. This page gives you the complete answer: whether it is possible, what you actually get, how publishing works step by step, what decides the price, and the one email that starts it. No question should be left in your mind by the end, only a decision.
The short answer: yes, a Knoxville business can get featured on WATE
Yes. A Knoxville business can be featured on WATE through a paid article placement on wate.com. This is not pitching a story to the 6 News newsroom and hoping a producer picks it up, and it is not buying a television spot. It is a separate, legitimate route: a sponsored article about your business that runs on wate.com, reviewed by the outlet before it goes live, and permanent once published.
We arrange placements on WATE for businesses like yours, which means the route is already open. You do not need a PR firm, a media contact, or a lucky break. You need a business worth writing about and one email to us. The rest of this page explains exactly what happens after that email, because a decision like this should rest on the full picture, not a sales pitch.
Ready to get your business on WATE?
Send us your business name, your website, and what the article should be about. You get a fit confirmation and your individual quote back by email.
uzairasad@pressfeature.orgOne email starts it. No form, no obligation.
What you actually get: your business on the station East Tennessee grew up with
Picture the finished thing, because that is what you are buying. A live article page on wate.com carries your business name in the headline and your story in the text: what you do, why you are good at it, and where East Tennessee customers can find you. It sits on the same site, under the same 6 News On Your Side name, that your customers open every morning.
Then the link starts working for you: you send it to the customer deciding between you and a competitor, and you add WATE to the "As Featured On" row on your own homepage, where every visitor understands in one second that Knoxville's own news station published a story about your business. This is, after all, the station woven into East Tennessee memory itself, the station where a young Dolly Parton once made her television debut. No national outlet can hand you that kind of hometown recognition.
Why WATE carries weight in Knoxville
WATE was East Tennessee's first television station, signing on 1 October 1953 as WROL-TV. It is Knoxville's ABC station, branded 6 News On Your Side, a consumer trust position the station has built its name on. It broadcasts 42.5 hours of locally produced newscasts each week, the heaviest local news commitment in the market, from studios in the historic Greystone mansion on North Broadway.
In our outlet directory, WATE carries a Domain Authority of 69 and roughly 1.3 million monthly organic visits. But the real reason a WATE article works is simpler: it is the local name with local trust. A national mention says you exist. A WATE article says you belong to Knoxville.
What a sponsored article on wate.com actually looks like
Let us be precise about the product, because precision is where vague offers fall apart. The article is a full page on wate.com itself. Check the domain whenever anyone offers you a WATE placement: a page on any other site is not this product.
The article is labelled as paid content. That labelling is not a weakness; it is what makes the placement legitimate and durable. The outlet reviews the article before it is published, so what goes live has passed WATE's own check. Once live, the placement is permanent. It does not disappear when a campaign ends, because no campaign window is attached to it.
The article links to your website, and those links carry sponsored attributes, as paid content rules require. Anyone who promises you a plain editorial dofollow link from a paid WATE placement is describing something that does not exist. What you get is a permanent, credible page about your business on the station site your market trusts, sitting alongside the local content culture Knoxville viewers know from Good Morning Tennessee and the weekly Tennessee This Week programme.
Pitching the news is not buying the article
Most businesses you see described as "featured on WATE" got there the slow way: they pitched, they waited, or they got lucky when a story broke their way. Earned coverage is free, but it is rare, it is controlled entirely by journalists, and it almost never arrives when a business actually needs it.
The paid article is a different thing entirely: a defined product with a defined outcome. Your story, your link, published on wate.com after the outlet's review, permanent once live. Nobody on this page is pretending the two routes are the same. If you want to compare the routes across outlets before deciding, our guide to which news outlets accept sponsored content explains both honestly. We sell the second route, the one you can actually book.
Who a WATE article is right for, and who should skip it
This placement fits Knoxville and East Tennessee businesses whose customers live in the market: home services, professional practices, regional retailers, healthcare and education providers, and any company that sells on trust in this community. It is especially strong when your customer looks you up before signing, because the WATE name is the one they already trust.
It does not fit a business with no East Tennessee customers and no use for a Knoxville credibility badge. If a WATE article would never be seen by anyone who matters to you, spend the money on the outlet your customers actually read. We would rather tell you that now than sell you the wrong placement, because the right reader saying no builds more trust than the wrong reader saying yes.
How publishing on WATE works, step by step
Step 1: Email us. Write to uzairasad@pressfeature.org with your business name, your website, and what the article should be about. That email is the whole application. There is no form, no account to create, no retainer to sign.
Step 2: Fit confirmation and your quote. We confirm that your business and your topic fit the outlet, and you receive your individual quote for this outlet. What decides that quote is covered in the final section.
Step 3: The article. You can supply the article yourself, or we arrange the writing for you. Either way, the draft goes to the outlet for review before anything is published.
Step 4: Review and go live. The outlet reviews the article. Once it is approved, it is published on wate.com, fast once the review is complete, with the exact timeline confirmed in your quote.
Step 5: Your live link. You receive the live link to your article. It is yours to send to customers, add to your site, and use in every proposal from that day on.
Your protection is stated plainly, because it is part of the arrangement before you pay anything: payment is in full in advance, and if the article does not go live, you receive a full refund, in writing. There is no version of this where you pay and end up with nothing.
What decides the price, the honest limits, and how to start
There is no public price for a WATE article, and this page is not hiding one to force you into a call. The price is set per placement because the deciding factors differ for every business: the scope of the article, whether you supply it or we arrange the writing, the placement specifics, and timing. So every placement is quoted individually, by email, with no obligation to proceed. Our guide to how much a sponsored article costs explains the factor model in full.
The limits, stated plainly. The article is paid content and is labelled as such; it is not editorial coverage and it is not the 6 News newsroom endorsing your business. No one can guarantee you search rankings, a traffic figure, or sales from a placement like this. What the article does, permanently, is put a credible, findable page about your business on the news site Knoxville trusts.
If WATE is the outlet your customers trust, the next step is a single email. Write to uzairasad@pressfeature.org with your business name, your website, and the story the article should tell. You will get a fit confirmation and your individual quote back. If you want a national scale station instead, the PIX11 guide explains that route.
Get your business on WATE
One email with your business name, your website, and the story you want told. Your fit confirmation and individual quote come back by email.
uzairasad@pressfeature.orgFull refund in writing if your article does not go live.
Frequently asked questions
Can I pay to be featured on WATE?
Yes. A paid, labelled article placement on wate.com is the route, and we arrange it. It is separate from earning news coverage: you are booking a reviewed, permanent article, not pitching the newsroom.
How much does a sponsored article on WATE cost?
There is no public price, because each placement is quoted individually. The factors are the article's scope, whether you supply it or we arrange the writing, the placement specifics and timing. One email to uzairasad@pressfeature.org returns your exact quote, with no obligation.
How do I get my business featured on WATE 6 On Your Side?
Email us with your business and the story you want told. We confirm fit, quote individually, place the article after the outlet's review, and send you the live link.
Does WATE accept guest posts?
There is no open guest post programme to submit to. The working route is a paid placement arranged through us.
Can a Knoxville business publish an article on wate.com?
Yes, through the paid placement route. The article is labelled, reviewed by the outlet before publishing, and permanent once live.
Is a paid article on WATE marked as sponsored content?
Yes, clearly labelled paid content. That transparency is what keeps the placement legitimate and durable.
Does a WATE article link back to my website?
Yes, the article links to your site. Links carry sponsored attributes under paid content rules, so it is not a plain editorial dofollow link. Its value is the readers it sends you and the credibility of where it sits.
How long does it take to get published on WATE?
Fast once the article is approved; the exact timeline is confirmed in your quote before you pay. And if the article does not go live, you receive a full refund, in writing.
Disclosure: PressFeature sells article placements on WATE, and this page is our own marketing content, published to explain the placement honestly. Figures cited are from our public outlet directory. Published October 2026. Last reviewed: October 2026.