First Alert 7

What First Alert 7 does

First Alert 7, operating under the legal name KOSA-TV and branded as CBS7, is a local broadcast television station serving the Permian Basin and West Texas region, with its headquarters at 4101 East 42nd Street in Odessa, Texas. The station is owned and operated by Gray Television, a publicly traded broadcast company listed on the NYSE under ticker GTN, and functions as the exclusive local CBS affiliate for the Midland-Odessa market. Its core product is local news programming distributed across over-the-air broadcast, cable and satellite carriage (DISH, DirecTV), and digital streaming platforms, supplemented by the 'First Alert Weather' forecasting service, high school sports coverage (Friday Night Blitz, Pigskin Preview), and community news programming.

The station's underlying technology consists of standard broadcast television infrastructure, a live streaming platform accessible via its website, and NextGen TV (ATSC 3.0) capabilities. It employs approximately 35 staff members including on-air journalists, producers, and weather personnel. Content verticals include local crime reporting, weather alerts, special investigations, and niche programming such as 'Aging Untold' and 'Watching Your Wallet.' The station maintains a Facebook presence and integrates with Gray Digital Media West Texas for digital marketing services.

Revenue is generated primarily through three streams: traditional television advertising (local ad placements, sponsored segments), cable and satellite carriage/retransmission fees, and digital advertising through Gray Digital Media West Texas. The station serves a geographic B2C audience of West Texas residents in Midland, Odessa, and surrounding Permian Basin communities seeking local news, weather, sports, and community information. Customer concentration data is not disclosed, and station-level financial figures are not publicly reported separately from Gray Television's consolidated financials.

Name

First Alert 7

Legal name

KOSA-TV (Gray Television)

Website

https://firstalert7.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

First Alert 7 (CBS7/KOSA-TV) is a local CBS-affiliate broadcast television station serving the Permian Basin and West Texas, owned by Gray Television. It delivers local news, weather, sports, and community programming via over-the-air broadcast, cable/satellite carriage, and digital streaming.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Television Broadcasting

NAICS

Television Broadcasting Stations (516120), Radio and Television Broadcasting Stations (5161)

SIC

Television Broadcasting Stations (4833)

akta.pro primary industry

Network-Affiliated Local TV Stations (ABC/CBS/NBC/FOX/CW/Telemundo/Univision, etc.) (MPABACAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Local News & Weather Stations (MPABACAJ)

Keywords

• Local broadcast news
• Television advertising
• Weather forecasting
• Live streaming news
• Local sports coverage

Headquarters

HQ city

Odessa

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Television Advertising: Traditional broadcast advertising including TV commercials, sponsored segments, and local ad placements during news broadcasts
2. Digital Marketing Services: Digital advertising and marketing services through Gray Digital Media West Texas (gdmwesttexas.com)
3. Cable/Satellite Carriage Fees: Fees received from cable and satellite providers for channel carriage

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

First Alert 7 (CBS7 / KOSA-TV) is a local CBS-affiliated broadcast television station headquartered at the Music City Mall in Odessa, Texas, serving the Permian Basin and West Texas region (including Midland and Odessa). It produces and distributes local news, weather, sports, and community programming via over-the-air broadcast, cable/satellite carriage, and digital livestreaming. The station operates under the Gray Television (Gray Media Group) portfolio of local broadcast properties.

Product overview

First Alert 7 (CBS7/KOSA-TV) is a local broadcast television station serving the Permian Basin and West Texas region. The station provides a unified news operation offering broadcast television, live streaming, weather forecasting, sports coverage, and community news. The core offering is local news programming distributed across traditional broadcast and digital streaming platforms, with weather services as a key feature (First Alert Weather) and live event streaming for sports and special reports.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• First Alert 7 / CBS7 Local News
• First Alert Weather
• CBS7 Live Streaming
• Local Sports Programming
• Television Advertising Airtime

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Gray TelevisioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGray Television is the parent company and broadcast network operator. First Alert 7 operates as KOSA-TV, a Gray Television station. Gray provides operational support, content syndication, and technology infrastructure including digital marketing services through Gray Digital Media.
• CBS (Television Network)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCBS7 is the local CBS affiliate station serving the Permian Basin. The affiliation provides access to CBS national programming, CBS News content, and branded association with the CBS television network.

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Gray Television: Parent company and operator of 90+ U.S. local TV stations; comparable as the corporate operator of similar local broadcast affiliates across other markets, sharing revenue model, technology stack, and programming supply.
• Hearst Television: Operates a national group of local TV stations, comparable in network-affiliate structure, local news production, and advertising-based revenue model.
• TEGNA: Owns and operates a portfolio of network-affiliated local TV stations, directly comparable in business model (ad-supported broadcast + digital) and station-level news operations.
• Cox Media Group: Operates local TV and radio stations with a similar mix of broadcast advertising, local news, and digital extensions to its linear properties.
• Nexstar Media Group: Major U.S. local TV broadcaster with a large portfolio of network affiliates, comparable in advertising-driven revenue model and station-level local news production.
• Sinclair Broadcast Group: Largest U.S. local TV station operator with comparable broadcast/ad-supported revenue model, regional sports/news coverage, and centralized content/distribution infrastructure.
• Scripps (E.W. Scripps Company): Diversified local broadcast operator with comparable local-news and ad-supported television business across mid-sized U.S. markets.

Direct peers

• KWES-TV: NBC affiliate serving the same Midland-Odessa / Permian Basin market as First Alert 7. Directly competes for the same local news audience, advertisers, and high school sports coverage in West Texas.
• KMID-TV: ABC affiliate operating in the same Midland-Odessa DMA, competing head-to-head with First Alert 7 for local viewers, ad spend, and community event coverage.

Emerging players

• Weigel Broadcasting: Independent broadcast group operating local stations with strong regional programming focus; comparable as a non-public-affiliate-group operator competing in similar mid-sized U.S. markets.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CBS7News
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/firstalert7

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 First Alert 7