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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Knoxville News from WBIR vs 10TV WBNS Columbus

Knoxville News from WBIR 4.8★ · Free to download 65
Winner Tie
10TV WBNS Columbus 4.7★ · Free to download 63

Knoxville News from WBIR and 10TV WBNS Columbus are very similar in their offerings and user complaints, making it difficult to declare a clear winner, but Knoxville News has a slight edge due to slightly fewer critical reviews regarding app functionality.

Full reviews: Knoxville News from WBIR · 10TV WBNS Columbus

Both Knoxville News from WBIR and 10TV WBNS Columbus are free news apps that struggle with intrusive ads, frequent glitches, and poor weather functionality, particularly after recent updates. While both apps have a loyal user base for their news content, their technical performance and user experience are often criticized.

Head to head

Features (News & Weather Content) tieR3R7R8R10
Knoxville News from WBIR Users appreciate Knoxville News for its local news coverage, timely updates, and specific reporters like Todd Howell R20. However, a significant number of users are frustrated by the removal of a dedicated weather app, finding the integrated weather difficult to access, slow, and less user-friendly R3R7R8R10. Some also complain about an overemphasis on University of Tennessee Knoxville sports or a lack of truly local news, with too many advertisements for local businesses or stories from other stations .
10TV WBNS Columbus 10TV WBNS Columbus also receives praise for its local news coverage, timely updates, and specific reporters . Similar to App A, many users are highly critical of the weather radar and forecast features, describing them as 'garbage,' 'sucks,' or 'useless' after updates, with issues like repeating weather, lack of daily forecasts, and poor design R61. Some users also feel there's too much weather reporting compared to news .
Ease of Use & Reliability tieR1R3R6R7
Knoxville News from WBIR Many users report that Knoxville News is glitchy, freezes frequently, and is not user-friendly, especially after recent updates R1R3R6. The radar specifically causes crashes R1. Users find it takes too many steps to access weather information R7. There are also complaints about pop-ups and difficulty navigating away from ads R3R24. Some users desire screen sharing to TV .
10TV WBNS Columbus 10TV WBNS Columbus also suffers from significant usability and reliability issues. Users report the app crashing, especially when trying to open the interactive radar . It frequently locks up, requiring users to delete and reinstall it . The user interface is criticized for getting worse with updates, being too bright, having auto-play videos, and icons that won't disappear . Some users experience issues with articles not loading after a few clicks . Accessibility for screen readers is also a concern .
Ads & Monetization tieR9R21R24R31
Knoxville News from WBIR Knoxville News is heavily criticized for being 'saturated with ads' and having 'too many ads' that are often mistaken for articles or scams R9R21R24. Users are particularly frustrated by being forced to watch ads before accessing live broadcasts or severe weather videos, calling it 'unreliable' and a 'scam' R31R37R40.
10TV WBNS Columbus 10TV WBNS Columbus also faces strong negative feedback regarding ads. Users complain about 'too many trackers and ads' R84. A major point of contention is the requirement to watch 30-45 second ads before viewing critical severe weather warnings or live events, which users deem 'stupid and downright dangerous' R97. Some also mention an 'extended ad for itself' when loading the app .
Bias & Editorial Content edge: Knoxville News from WBIRR4R13R20R29
Knoxville News from WBIR Knoxville News receives mixed feedback on its political bias. Some users praise it for being 'fair, honest and classy' and 'unbiased' R20R29. However, others accuse it of being 'left leaning' or giving 'more coverage to Republicans,' questioning its impartiality R4R13.
10TV WBNS Columbus 10TV WBNS Columbus is frequently accused of having a 'strong liberal bias' or 'too one sided political views' . Users state that its reporting is often 'liberal bias journalism at best' and that they 'don't watch 10TV at all anymore' due to this perceived bias .
Notifications tieR6R27R33R39
Knoxville News from WBIR Users appreciate timely news alerts R6. However, many are frustrated by notification settings not working correctly, receiving unwanted news updates even after disabling categories, and only wanting specific alerts like school closings or severe weather R27R33R39.
10TV WBNS Columbus 10TV WBNS Columbus users generally like timely updates for weather and traffic . However, there are complaints that the app 'does not honor Interest notifications,' with users still receiving multiple weather updates daily even after opting out .
Pick Knoxville News from WBIR if

You prioritize news content from Knoxville, appreciate specific reporters, and are willing to tolerate glitches and ads . You might also prefer it if you are concerned about political bias, as its reviews on this topic are more mixed than 10TV's R20R29.

Pick 10TV WBNS Columbus if

You are in the Columbus area and value local news updates, despite the app's technical shortcomings and ad frequency .

Evidence note: Both apps are free to download, and their negative reviews largely stem from recent updates that negatively impacted user experience, particularly concerning weather features and ad integration. The lifetime ratings are high, but recent reviews are much more critical, indicating a decline in user satisfaction.

Frequently asked

Are these apps free to use?
Yes, both Knoxville News from WBIR and 10TV WBNS Columbus are free to download and use, though users frequently complain about the high volume of ads and commercials within the apps R9R37R84R97.
Do these apps have good weather features?
No, both apps receive significant criticism for their weather features, especially after recent updates, with users reporting radar crashes, difficulty accessing forecasts, and a general decline in usability compared to previous versions or dedicated weather apps R1R7R25R61.
Are there many ads in these news apps?
Yes, both apps are heavily criticized for being saturated with ads, with users reporting pop-ups, ads mistaken for articles, and frustratingly, forced commercials before viewing live news or severe weather alerts R9R31R37R40.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R3] Knoxville News from WBIR 3/5 · US Glitchy: Glitches and freezes a lot. Not very user friendly. I just want to get on and check the weather. Also, the pop ups at the beginning are annoying. I liked the old weather app better..
  2. [R7] Knoxville News from WBIR 1/5 · US Miss the old weather app.: The old app was used friendly and useful! This new app takes forever to see the weather as you have to jump through hoops to get there. The radar itself is fine, though I feel it is no where near as good as the old one. Seems that they’re so desperate to share news of little importance as opposed to true weather. Make a separate app for weather like before please.
  3. [R8] Knoxville News from WBIR 4/5 · US Needs a seperate news and weather app just like Facebook.: Overall good app though. Just a thought though. Would be nice to have 2 separate apps one for the news and one for the weather
  4. [R10] Knoxville News from WBIR 2/5 · US Bring back the weather app!: There's a reason I stopped watching TV news. It's just as bad in the app. Only got it for the weather information. I don't want their horrible sensationalist news, I just want weather.
  5. [R1] Knoxville News from WBIR 1/5 · US Newest update sucks: Radar crashes the app every time it’s completely unusable
  6. [R6] Knoxville News from WBIR 3/5 · US Pretty OK APP: I enjoy getting local news alerts but don’t enjoy the app freezing up all the time. Not sure why this happens regularly
  7. [R9] Knoxville News from WBIR 3/5 · US Saturated with Ads: For a news app, it’s covered in ads. I look to my local news station for credible information and coverage. But I can’t access a news story or click on an app alert without being required to watch a series of ads first. This is especially frustrating when trying to watch a live broadcast. Additionally if you scroll through the top stories, towards the bottom you start to see ad
  8. [R21] Knoxville News from WBIR 3/5 · US Tooooo many ads: I would love an option to stop all the ads. They are easily mistaken for articles and there are so many scams out here!
  9. [R24] Knoxville News from WBIR 3/5 · US a.j. Sez: Great way to receive news updates. Dropped 2 stars because too many ads + hard to navigate away from.
  10. [R31] Knoxville News from WBIR 2/5 · US App is fine, ads are not: I don’t particularly appreciate having to watch an ad before I can watch the severe weather live video…might want to reconsider this.
  11. [R4] Knoxville News from WBIR 1/5 · US Content: I am a loyal follower of WBIR. I enjoy the reporters and the news team. However, I have noticed that WBIR have given more coverage to Republicans in the upcoming elections. I don’t know if this is due to lack of participation from the Democratics or is this bias. It has really bothered me. I know this is a Republican state. I am a Republican, but not MAGA. I would like to know why the dis
  12. [R13] Knoxville News from WBIR 1/5 · US The app is awkward to use and not up to date.: WBIR news has gotten so bad and left leaning . Everyone I worked with always watched WBIR and now no one I know watches.
  13. [R20] Knoxville News from WBIR 5/5 · US Honest and classy: Thank you WBIR for keeping the news fair, honest and classy. BIGGEST thanks to Todd Howell. What a guy! I truly appreciate his Facebook scripture posts!
  14. [R29] Knoxville News from WBIR 4/5 · US Unbiased: Now is the time for local to news to be the ones to tow the journalism line… WBIR needs to make some bold moves to bring us UNBIASED news.
  15. [R27] Knoxville News from WBIR 3/5 · US No more alerts!: I love being able to watch live news, but I only want weather alerts. Even after disabling all alerts except severe weather, I keep getting different news updates.
  16. [R33] Knoxville News from WBIR 3/5 · US Overall good app: Overall this is a good app. The only thing, which is a big deal to me, is the push notifications. I don’t have any topics favorited, but still get multiple notifications throughout the day. The only notification I want is school closings.
  17. [R39] Knoxville News from WBIR 3/5 · US Fix Notifications: Please please PLEASE. Fix your notifications settings. To be fair, I’m not sure if it’s the app or the operator who is tagging stories. I was tired of receiving depressing stories sent to me all the time, so I specifically went into the app to turn things off. Unfortunately I still get updates I don’t want. I don’t want to turn off all notifications, I like having important loc
  18. [R37] Knoxville News from WBIR 1/5 · US Extremely disappointed: You want to watch ads or commercials this app is for you. If you’re looking for news, you need to find another alternative because this channel does not believe in just giving you the news you have to watch the ads and who has time for that I am no longer watching channel 10 news or the app, completely disappointed, unreliable, and misleading
  19. [R84] 10TV WBNS Columbus 3/5 · US Too many trackers and ads.: Annoying and slow start page and too many trackers and ads.
  20. [R97] 10TV WBNS Columbus 1/5 · US Horrible!: Ads have taken over the world. This you have to watch 30 to 45 second ad. (which sounds OK right?) wrong! I got a notification from them during severe weather that a tornado warning was issued for my area and the tornado touchdown about 800 feet from my house. When I clicked on the tornado warning it took me to the app where I had to watch a 45 second ad before I could see them reportin
  21. [R25] Knoxville News from WBIR 1/5 · US Garbage for weather: Literally a tornado watch issued for Knoxville right now and no dedicated weather map with watch and warning boxes. Don’t depend on this app for weather if you care about your family. Where’s the old Wbir weather app? It was great. At least channel 6 and 8 still have weather apps.
  22. [R61] 10TV WBNS Columbus 1/5 · US Kevin: Weather radar is garbage in this version. It repeats the same weather over and over again. The same exact storm front continues to pass over.
  23. [R40] Knoxville News from WBIR 1/5 · US It’s a scam: This is nothing more than a scam to get you to watch commercials when there is a live event. You will get a notification of live breaking news. When you click on the notification, it opens the app goes to the breaking event, then starts running a never ending cycle of commercials. If you exit out of the commercials and try to restart the live event, it starts the commercials over agai

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store