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Supply Chains

As broadcasters advocate for the removal of ownership caps, claiming these restrictions hinder their competitive edge, new insights from Guideline reveal a troubling trend in local TV advertising. Recent data indicates that local TV now represents only 6% of total media spending through June of 2025, a significant drop from the 13% share it held in 2017.

In stark contrast, digital video has surged, increasing its market share from 15% in 2017 to an impressive 50% in the first half of 2025. Meanwhile, network TV has also seen a decline, with its share falling from 72% in 2017 to 44% in 2025, according to the same Guideline data.

These shifts highlight ongoing structural changes in the media buying landscape, as broadcasters grapple with intensified competition from digital and social media platforms. In response, the industry is pushing to eliminate ownership caps and consolidate operations. However, some analysts caution that such consolidation may not provide an immediate solution to the sector’s advertising revenue challenges.

Furthermore, Guideline’s dataset, which reflects the buying trends of the largest advertisers in the US, shows that local TV spending remains heavily concentrated among a few product categories. Specifically:

• Automotive, Entertainment Media, Financial Services, and Technology account for 69% of local TV spending.

However, this reliance on a limited number of categories has negatively impacted broadcasters, with all four experiencing double-digit year-over-year declines:

• Automotive: down 15.7%
• Entertainment Media: down 20.4%
• Financial Services: down 19.3%
• Technology: down 20.7%

In comparison, these categories are performing quite differently across the broader Guideline pool. For instance:

• Automotive: down just -0.8% year-over-year
• Entertainment Media: down only -2.9%
• Financial Services: up +14.1%
• Technology: up +9.7%

This disparity underscores that local TV is lagging behind these categories’ overall media activity.

Additional findings reveal that certain subcategories are experiencing faster growth in local TV compared to digital video. For example:

• Beer Ale: up 124% in local TV versus +6% in digital video
• Motion Pictures: up 72% in local TV compared to +42% in digital video

When examining the five largest station groups in local TV, Guideline data indicates that prime time median average CPM indices reveal notable pricing differences. Gray and Sinclair consistently index above market norms, while Tegna and Scripps remain discounted. These indices reflect how each station group compares to its local peers.

In the competitive landscape among women aged 25-54, stations from Nexstar, Sinclair, and Gray consistently trade above the market median, indicating strong pricing power. Conversely, Tegna and Scripps fall below 100, suggesting they regularly underperform relative to the market median.

For more detailed insights, additional information is available here.

Disclaimer: This article has been auto-generated from a syndicated RSS feed and has not been edited by Vitrina staff. It is provided solely for informational purposes on a non-commercial basis.