Pew Research Center does a deep dive on the State of the News Media with a specific focus on local news.
Local TV station revenue normally follows a cyclical pattern based on the political cycle.
Station Revenue by year (TV only):
1) 2010 — $19.4b
2) 2011 — $17.9b
3) 2012 — $20.3b
4) 2013 — $18.4b
5) 2014 — $20.0b
6) 2015 — $18.5b
7) 2016 — $20.6b
8) 2017 — $19.8b*
9) 2018 — $21.1b*
Digital revenue broke $1b for the first time in 2016.
Air time dedicated to news continues to grow (hours per day):
1) 2003–3.7
2) 2008–4.6
3) 2013–5.3
4) 2016–5.7 (↑ 54% since 2003)
More on this topic. Local Advertising Revenues Will See Double-Digit Increases, Surpass $174 Billion by 2021
Top platforms for $174b local spend (% of total):
1) Direct Mail: $37.1b (25%)
2) Local TV: $20.9b (14%)
3) Online / Interactive: $18.6b (11%)
4) Newspapers: $16b (11%)
5) Mobile: $16b (11%)
6) Local Radio: $15.6b (10%)
