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State of the Screens

“Television Is What Gets Senators Elected”: Private-Equity Mogul Leon Black Is Building a Local TV…

By April 25, 2019No Comments

Speaking of acquisitions: Apollo Global Management has started buying up local TV stations ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

7th largest station group: Apollo Global Management owns stations in 29 markets reaching 11% of the U.S. population.

Why this is happening: The political ad market is growing at 2.5X the rate of advertising overall and local TV stations still hold the lions share.

Flashback: Sinclair: Political To Come ‘Hand Over Fist’ In 2020

Political ad spend by year according to Kantar CMAG:
1) 2014 — $3.0B
2) 2016 — $4.4B
3) 2018 — $5.3B

The compound annual growth rate between 2014–18:
1)
Political advertising — 15.50%
2)
All advertising — 6.25%

YoY stock growth for local station groups according to TVNewsCheck:
1)
Scripps — ↑ 75%
2)
Gray — ↑ 68%
3)
Nexstar — ↑ 63%
4)
Tegna — ↑ 24%
5)
Sinclair — ↑ 23%
6)
Tribune — ↑ 14%

More #1: Broadcasters Continue To Dominates Local News, Analog Too

More #2: Will TV Station Groups, Networks Compete For National Ad Dollars?

More #3: Why Are TV Stations Up For Sale?

Michael Beach

Michael Beach is the Chief Executive Officer of Cross Screen Media, a media analytics and software company that enables marketers to plan, activate, and measure CTV and linear TV at the local level. Michael is also the founder and editor of State of the Screens, a weekly newsletter focused on video advertising that is a must-read for thought leaders in the advertising industry. He has appeared in such publications as PBS Frontline, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Axios, CNBC and Bloomberg, and on NPR’s Planet Money podcast.