KOTA-TV

What KOTA-TV does

KOTA-TV is a local broadcast television station headquartered at 2001 Skyline Drive in Rapid City, South Dakota, serving the KOTA Territory in the Black Hills region. Founded in 1955 and operated as part of Gray Local Media (a subsidiary of publicly traded Gray Television, NYSE: GTN) since 2002, the station delivers local news, weather, sports, and community content across television, digital, and mobile platforms. Its core product is KOTA Territory News, supplemented by the KOTA Weather App (with First Alert Weather Day severe weather alerting), a digital livestream service, the KOTA Territory Mornings lifestyle program, and NextGen TV (ATSC 3.0) broadcast technology. The station also airs syndicated programming through its METV network affiliation and produces local sports coverage including Black Hills Play by Play and RC Marshals arena football.

Name

KOTA-TV

Legal name

KOTA-TV

Website

https://kotatv.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

KOTA-TV is a local broadcast television station in Rapid City, South Dakota, serving the Black Hills region with local news, weather, sports, and community content across TV, digital, and mobile platforms as part of Gray Local Media.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Broadcast Television

NAICS

Television Broadcasting Stations (516120)

SIC

Television Broadcasting Stations (4833)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPABACAJ

Local News & Weather Stations

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Broadcasting (TV & Radio)/Local Broadcast Stations & Affiliates (TV & Radio)

Keywords

• Local television broadcasting
• News broadcasting services
• Weather alert systems
• Local sports coverage
• Regional advertising sales

Headquarters

HQ city

Rapid City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Television Advertising: Local and regional advertising aired during news programming, sports coverage, and other broadcast content. Includes traditional commercial spots and branded content opportunities.
2. Digital Advertising: Online advertising through the KOTA-TV website and digital platforms, including display ads, video ads, and sponsored content.
3. Sponsorships: Program sponsorships and segment sponsorships for news shows, weather segments, sports coverage, and community features.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

KOTA-TV is a local broadcast television station operating in Rapid City, South Dakota, delivering local news, weather, sports, and community programming to the KOTA Territory (Black Hills region). The station distributes content through over-the-air broadcast, cable/satellite carriage, digital livestream, and a dedicated mobile weather app, supported by NextGen TV (ATSC 3.0) technology. Revenue is generated through local and regional television advertising, digital advertising, and program/segment sponsorships sold to regional businesses.

Product overview

KOTA-TV is a local broadcast television station serving Rapid City and the Black Hills region of South Dakota as part of Gray Local Media. The station operates a multi-platform news operation centered on KOTA Territory News, supplemented by a dedicated weather application with severe weather alerting (First Alert Weather Day), live streaming capabilities, the morning program KOTA Territory Mornings, and NextGen TV broadcast technology. The station covers local news, sports, weather, politics, education, health, and community events across KOTA Territory.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• KOTA Territory Mornings: Morning news and lifestyle programming including Mixology at Home, Mr. Food, and local features.
• KOTA Cares

Products and services

• KOTA Territory News Primary local news service for Rapid City and the Black Hills region, delivering local, state, national, and regional news coverage across TV broadcast and digital platforms. Targets residents of the KOTA Territory.
• KOTA Weather App Mobile weather application providing forecasts, severe weather alerts (First Alert Weather Day), radar imagery, weather cams, and closing notifications for the KOTA Territory region. Targets KOTA Territory residents.
• Livestream Live video streaming service for KOTA-TV broadcasts and coverage, including the 10 PM KOTA Territory News. Targets viewers seeking online access to KOTA-TV news and live event coverage.
• KOTA Territory Mornings Morning news and lifestyle program featuring segments on food, music, local events, and community content including Mixology at Home, Mr. Food, and Where In the Hills is Mimi. Targets KOTA Territory morning viewers.
• NextGen TV Advanced television broadcasting technology (ATSC 3.0) offering enhanced picture quality, interactive features, and improved over-the-air reception for KOTA-TV viewers.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Gray Local MediacoreTechnology or IntegrationParent company providing shared technology infrastructure, content resources, national news access, digital platforms, and operational support for Gray TV local stations including KOTA-TV.
• METVcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNetwork affiliation providing syndicated programming and expanded content library alongside KOTA-TV's local news operations.
• Gray Digital MarketingcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerDigital advertising and marketing services partner for KOTA-TV's digital advertising operations in the Rapid City market.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• KEVN-TV: Fox-affiliated local broadcast television station operating in the same Rapid City / Black Hills DMA. Direct in-market competitor for local news viewers and regional advertising dollars.
• KDLT (NBC): NBC-affiliated local broadcast television station in Sioux Falls, SD. Competes with KELO-TV in the Sioux Falls DMA and represents a comparable small/mid-market TV operation in the broader South Dakota ad market.
• WBKO: Gray Television-owned local broadcast TV station serving Bowling Green, KY — a similarly sized DMA to Rapid City. Closely comparable operating model, including local news, weather, and multi-platform distribution within the Gray Local Media portfolio.
• KELO-TV: CBS-affiliated broadcast television station in Sioux Falls, SD, also owned by Gray Television. Operates a similar multi-platform local news and weather playbook in a neighboring South Dakota market, providing the cleanest operational and structural comparison.

Broad incumbents

• Tegna: Large-scale U.S. local broadcast television group. Competes for advertisers and audience share in mid-sized markets comparable to KOTA-TV's Black Hills footprint, and signals broader trends in broadcast station M&A and digital strategy.
• Sinclair Broadcast Group: Major U.S. local broadcast TV station group with national scale and centralized news production. Operates competing stations in similar-sized markets and shapes the broader broadcast advertising marketplace.
• Nexstar Media Group: Largest U.S. owner of local broadcast television stations and operator of multiple competing affiliates in markets adjacent to or overlapping with Gray's footprint. Sets industry-wide pricing on retransmission consent and corporate ad sales.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kotatweets
• Facebookfacebook.com/kota-territory-news-105244278570
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kota-tv

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about KOTA-TV