Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Knoxville News from WBIR vs FOX LOCAL

Knoxville News from WBIR 4.8★ · Free to download 65
Winner FOX LOCAL
FOX LOCAL 4.7★ · Free to download 70

FOX LOCAL has a slight edge due to its more consistent performance and broader local coverage, despite both apps struggling with stability and ad intrusion.

Full reviews: Knoxville News from WBIR · FOX LOCAL

Both Knoxville News from WBIR and FOX LOCAL offer free local news and weather, but both are plagued by technical issues like freezing and crashing, and excessive ads. FOX LOCAL generally provides a more stable experience and wider local reach, while WBIR users are particularly frustrated by the removal of a dedicated weather app.

Head to head

Features (News & Weather Content) tieR2R4R5R7
Knoxville News from WBIR Knoxville News from WBIR is appreciated for its local news and weather coverage, with many users specifically praising the news team and meteorologists R2R5. However, a significant number of users express strong dissatisfaction with the app's integrated weather functionality, wishing for the return of a separate, more user-friendly weather app R7R12. Some also note a perceived bias in news coverage or an overemphasis on sports R4.
FOX LOCAL FOX LOCAL is valued for its ability to provide local news and weather on demand, especially for users away from home . The weather features are generally seen as good, though some users report issues with the radar not resizing or traffic information not following their location . Some users also criticize the content for being poorly written, repetitive, or having a political bias .
Ease of Use tieR3R7R12R19
Knoxville News from WBIR Many users find the Knoxville News from WBIR app not user-friendly, particularly after recent updates R3R7R12R19. Navigation is described as awkward and slow, with users having to 'jump through hoops' to access desired information, especially weather R7R12. There are also complaints about persistent, unwanted notifications .
FOX LOCAL FOX LOCAL users report significant issues with the app freezing, crashing, and not opening R61. Notifications are frequently delayed, inconsistent, or lead to blank screens R75. Some users also dislike the new streaming format and the lack of pause/rewind features for live streams .
Reliability tieR1R3R6R45
Knoxville News from WBIR Knoxville News from WBIR frequently experiences glitches, freezing, and crashes, particularly with the radar feature R1R3R6. Some users report the app being slow to load or failing to communicate with the server R45.
FOX LOCAL FOX LOCAL users consistently report issues with the app freezing, crashing, and not loading properly R61. Specific features like the 10-second rewind and pause/play buttons are noted as not working . Streaming to larger TVs also has latency issues .
Price/Value edge: FOX LOCALR3R9R21R24
Knoxville News from WBIR Knoxville News from WBIR is free to download, but users are highly critical of the overwhelming number of ads, which are described as annoying pop-ups, pre-roll videos for live broadcasts, and ads disguised as articles R3R9R21R24. This significantly detracts from the user experience and perceived value.
FOX LOCAL FOX LOCAL is also free to download. While some users acknowledge it's a free app, they still find the ads to be an 'eyesore' R75 and complain about 'seemingly endless ads' . However, the complaints about ads are less frequent and less severe than for WBIR.
Pick Knoxville News from WBIR if

Pick Knoxville News from WBIR if you are a loyal follower of WBIR's specific news team and meteorologists and prioritize their content, despite the app's usability issues and ads .

Pick FOX LOCAL if

Pick FOX LOCAL if you want a free local news app that offers broader local coverage and generally fewer complaints about ad intrusion, and are willing to tolerate occasional freezing and notification issues R75.

Evidence note: Both apps have a high number of negative recent reviews, often citing similar issues. The evidence for both apps regarding reliability and ease of use is strong and consistent across many reviews.

Frequently asked

Are there many ads in these news apps?
Yes, both apps are heavily criticized for excessive ads. Knoxville News from WBIR users report numerous pop-ups, pre-roll video ads before live content, and ads disguised as articles, making the app frustrating to use R9R37R40. FOX LOCAL also has ads that users find to be an 'eyesore' and 'endless', though the complaints are slightly less pervasive than for WBIR R75.
Do these apps have issues with freezing or crashing?
Yes, both apps frequently experience freezing and crashing. Knoxville News from WBIR users report the app freezing a lot and the radar feature crashing the app R1R3R6. FOX LOCAL users also commonly describe the app locking up, freezing while scrolling, and randomly shutting down R61.
Is the weather feature good in these apps?
The weather feature in Knoxville News from WBIR is a major point of contention, with many users lamenting the removal of a previous dedicated weather app and finding the current integrated weather difficult to access and less user-friendly R7R12R25R51. FOX LOCAL's weather side generally works well and follows the user's location, but some report issues with the radar not resizing properly .

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. [R2] Knoxville News from WBIR 5/5 · US Channel 10: Channel 10 is, . Cool
  2. [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
  3. [R5] Knoxville News from WBIR 5/5 · US News: Good
  4. [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.
  5. [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..
  6. [R12] Knoxville News from WBIR 3/5 · US Where’s the old weather app?: I very disappointed in this app. I used the weather app all the time. This new app is problematic. The previous weather app was simple and very useful. The new one takes to long to get anywhere or get the info you want. Please give us the previous weather app that was only weather back. When I need the weather I don’t have time to go through all the other pages.
  7. [R19] Knoxville News from WBIR 1/5 · US Miss weather app: Used to have a nice weather app that no longer exists. This one is not very user friendly and not nearly as good as the previous weather app. Big step backwards.
  8. [R1] Knoxville News from WBIR 1/5 · US Newest update sucks: Radar crashes the app every time it’s completely unusable
  9. [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
  10. [R45] Knoxville News from WBIR 1/5 · US Getting worse: This app has become useless because it will not communicate to the server. Takes a very long time to load and often not at all. The independent weather app was fantastic! Why is it gone? Where did all the white men go?
  11. [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
  12. [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!
  13. [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.
  14. [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
  15. [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
  16. [R75] FOX LOCAL 3/5 · US Notifications not loading: Whenever I receive a notification and click on it, the app opens and the screen is blank. I’ve updated the app and my phone, so I’m almost certain this is a glitch. Also, I understand the app is free but all the ads are an eyesore.
  17. [R61] FOX LOCAL 1/5 · US Locks up: No issues until this week. Loved the app. Now doesn’t work. Freezes while scrolling through the articles.
  18. [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.
  19. [R51] Knoxville News from WBIR 1/5 · US Terrible weather app: WBIR use to have the best local weather app around. I got a new iPhone and had to re download apps and saw it was no longer an option. This new all in one app is terrible for weather.

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