NBC 5 Chicago Live News WMAQ live stream

NBC 5 Chicago Live News online television

NBC 5 Chicago (WMAQ-TV) is the NBC owned-and-operated television station serving Chicago, Illinois, United States, and the third-largest television market in the country. The station first aired on October 8, 1948, as WNBQ, NBC's third owned-and-operated television station, and in August 1964, its call letters changed to WMAQ-TV, which stands for "We Must Ask Questions" . It is owned by NBCUniversal as part of the NBCUniversal Local Owned Stations, with studios located in the iconic NBC Tower at 455 N. Cityfront Plaza Drive in downtown Chicago . As a dedicated source for online television, the station was the very first full-time color television station in the country and today provides 41 hours of local news and programming every week .

The programming schedule allows viewers to watch live channel coverage of weekday newscasts at 4:00 AM-7:00 AM, 11:00 AM-11:45 AM (Monday-Thursday), 11:00 AM-11:30 AM (Friday), 4:00 PM-5:30 PM, 6:00 PM-6:30 PM, and 10:00 PM-10:30 PM . Weekend newscasts include 5:00 AM-7:00 AM, 9:00 AM-10:00 AM (Saturday), 8:00 AM-9:00 AM (Sunday), 10:00 AM-11:00 AM (Sunday), and 5:00 PM-5:30 PM and 10:00 PM-10:30 PM on both Saturday and Sunday . The station's lifestyle program Chicago Today airs 11:45 AM-noon Monday-Thursday and 11:30 AM-noon Friday . The station also produces Open House Chicago, a luxury real estate series hosted and executive produced by Cortney Hall (co-star of Chicago Today), which airs Sunday mornings at 8:30 AM and has received an Emmy nomination for its first season .

The NBC 5 news team features primary anchors Allison Rosati and Stefan Holt, along with chief meteorologist Brant Miller . The station hired Lou Canellis, a six-time Emmy Award-winning journalist, as main sports anchor in January 2026. Canellis anchors sports segments Monday-Thursday at 5:00 PM, 6:00 PM, and 10:00 PM, along with Sundays at 5:00 PM and 10:00 PM, and also hosts the weekly sports highlights program Sports Sunday at 10:30 PM . He joins the station's primary news team alongside established journalists including Chuck Goudie, the station's chief investigative reporter. In February 2026, Canellis and Allison Rosati co-anchored Olympic Zone, a half-hour primetime Olympics highlights program airing Monday-Saturday at 6:30 PM during the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Winter Games .

The station's exclusive news franchises include NBC 5 Investigates (award-winning investigative journalism) and NBC 5 Responds (consumer protection reports that solve viewer problems and fight to get money back) . The NBC 5 Storm Team, with the power of Live Doppler 5 (a weather radar owned by the station), provides "Chicago's Most Accurate Forecast," a distinction certified by independent television weather forecast verification company Weatherate . In January 2026, the station completed a $70 million reimagining of its local TV newsroom at NBC Tower, consolidating operations from five floors into one 70,000-square-foot space that includes five on-air studios, administrative offices, and break rooms . The space was formerly the home of "The Jerry Springer Show" .

For audiences seeking a reliable live stream, NBC 5 Chicago is widely available as a free-to-air service via digital terrestrial television. The station also provides a free 24/7 streaming channel called NBC 5 Chicago News 24/7 featuring the latest local newscasts, breaking news as it happens, constant news updates, weather forecasts, and live special events, available on Peacock, Roku, Samsung TV, Amazon Fire TV, Xumo Play, Pluto TV, and other supported platforms . The channel is accessible as tv online via NBCChicago.com and the NBC Chicago mobile application for iOS and Android devices . For full NBC network programming, including prime time series and specials, viewers can watch via over-the-air antenna or a Peacock Premium Plus subscription .

NBC 5 Chicago Live News WMAQ Watch Live Channel