KCAL News

What KCAL News does

KCAL News is a local broadcast television station (KCAL-TV, channel 9) operating in the Los Angeles designated market area, owned by CBS Broadcasting Inc., a subsidiary of Paramount Global. Founded in 1966, the station delivers local news, weather, sports, and investigative reporting to Los Angeles County, Orange County, and the Inland Empire. The station operates approximately 220 employees and functions as one of the Los Angeles bureaus of CBS News.

The station's core product is its broadcast television signal, supplemented by a live streaming product (CBS News Los Angeles Live Stream), the NEXT Weather forecasting service, The Sports Central Podcast, and the CBS News California Investigates unit. Technology infrastructure combines traditional broadcast television with digital streaming delivery across the CBS News website, mobile app, and social media platforms (Twitter/X, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok). Distribution extends through over-the-air broadcast, cable and satellite carriage (Spectrum, DirecTV), and Paramount+ streaming.

KCAL News generates revenue primarily through television advertising, including local and national ad placements during news broadcasts and programming, with secondary revenue from retransmission fees and Paramount+ subscription contribution. The business model is advertiser-supported with a free-to-viewer product; pricing is quote-based and negotiated per campaign. The station serves Southern California general news consumers as its primary segment, with vertical coverage of major LA professional sports franchises and local civic affairs.

Name

KCAL News

Legal name

CBS Broadcasting Inc.

Website

https://kcalnews.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1966

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

KCAL News is a Los Angeles local broadcast television station (KCAL-TV, channel 9) owned by CBS Broadcasting Inc. under Paramount Global, delivering local news, weather, sports, and investigative reporting to the Los Angeles, Orange County, and Inland Empire markets via broadcast, streaming, and digital channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Broadcast Television News

NAICS

Television Broadcasting Stations (516120)

SIC

Television Broadcasting Stations (4833)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Local news broadcasting
• Weather forecasting
• Sports coverage
• Investigative journalism
• Broadcast television

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

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: KCAL News generates revenue through television advertising, including local and national ad placements during news broadcasts and programming. As part of CBS News/Paramount, the station monetizes through traditional broadcast advertising and sponsored content.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

KCAL News is a local broadcast television station (KCAL-TV channel 9) operating as the Los Angeles bureau of CBS News. The station produces and delivers breaking local news, weather forecasting, sports coverage, and investigative reporting for the Los Angeles metropolitan area, including Orange County and Inland Empire. Content is distributed via over-the-air broadcast, cable/satellite, the CBS News app and website, Paramount+ streaming, and social media platforms.

Product overview

KCAL News is a local broadcast television station (KCAL-TV, channel 9) operating under CBS News and Stations, a division of Paramount Global. The station delivers local Los Angeles news, weather, and sports content through multiple channels: its primary broadcast TV station, a live streaming service, the NEXT Weather forecasting system, and The Sports Central Podcast. The station operates as a single unified local news product with various content verticals (news, weather, sports, investigative) rather than a modular platform architecture. CBS News Los Angeles and KCAL News refer to the same entity—the Los Angeles bureau of CBS News.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• KCAL News TV Station (KCAL-TV) Local television news station providing breaking news, weather, sports, and investigative reporting for the Los Angeles metropolitan area, including Orange County and Inland Empire coverage.
• CBS News Los Angeles Live Stream

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ParamountcoreOthersKCAL News operates as part of CBS News and Paramount Global. CBS Broadcasting Inc. (a Paramount company) owns and operates the station, providing news content, broadcast infrastructure, and corporate resources. The station benefits from CBS News' national and international news gathering capabilities while maintaining local coverage focus.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Broad incumbents

• Nexstar Media Group: Nexstar is the largest owner of local TV stations in the US, including KTLA in Los Angeles. It operates broadly across the local broadcast industry with a portfolio comparable in scale to CBS's O&O group.
• Tegna: Tegna is a large local TV station group operating stations across multiple US markets, with a comparable advertising-supported local news model to KCAL's operations.
• Sinclair Broadcast Group: Sinclair is a major US local TV station operator with a broad portfolio across multiple markets, competing with CBS-owned stations for advertiser demand and syndication content.

Direct peers

• KTLA: KTLA is the CW-affiliated local TV station in Los Angeles, owned by Nexstar Media Group. It is KCAL's most direct competitor, serving the same LA DMA with local news, weather, and sports content.
• KVEA (Telemundo 52 Los Angeles): KVEA is the Telemundo-owned Spanish-language local TV station in Los Angeles, competing with KCAL for Spanish-speaking viewers and bilingual advertisers in the LA DMA.
• KABC-TV (ABC7 Los Angeles): KABC-TV is the ABC-owned local TV station in Los Angeles, providing local news, weather, and investigative coverage in direct competition with KCAL across the same DMA.
• KTTV / KCOP (Fox 11 Los Angeles): KTTV (Fox 11) is the Fox-owned local TV station in Los Angeles, providing local news coverage that competes directly with KCAL for viewers and advertisers in the LA market.
• KNBC (NBC4 Los Angeles): KNBC is the NBC-owned local TV station in Los Angeles, operating as a direct competitor to KCAL with comparable news, weather, and sports coverage of the LA metropolitan area.
• KCBS-TV (CBS2 Los Angeles): KCBS-TV is the sister CBS-owned local station in Los Angeles, operating under the same CBS News and Stations division as KCAL and sharing resources, branding, and distribution infrastructure.
• Spectrum News 1 Southern California: Spectrum News 1 SoCal is a regional cable news channel covering Southern California, competing with KCAL for local news audiences and hyper-local advertising budgets in overlapping coverage areas.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kcalnews
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@kcalnews
• Facebookfacebook.com/KCALNews
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kcalnews
• Instagraminstagram.com/KCALNews

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 KCAL News