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Local TV stations are certainly in a period of change and challenge, but with some strategic thinking and planning, they can stay competitive in the local video marketplace, said Rick Ducey, managing director, BIA Advisory Services, at TVNewsCheck’s Local Television Strategies at the NAB Show New York on Wednesday.
This year saw the dual boon of political advertising and the Olympics, but things will fall back to earth in 2025, when core advertising revenue is predicted to be basically flat. And as advertising moves more and more to digital platforms, broadcasters need to be moving in that direction as well.
TV stations face competition in the local video space from powerful digital companies, with Facebook and Google taking half of all of the local advertising dollars in any given market, according to Ducey. Retail marketing networks — think Walmart or Kroger — are coming on strong with powerful first-party data platforms. Walmart this year bought smart TV company Vizio for $2.3 billion in order to merge its data with Vizio’s viewership data to create highly targeted consumer profiles for itself and third-party brand advertisers.
“All local advertising is a $174 billion business. Retail media and commerce is a $130 billion industry. Why didn’t we get some of that growth?” Ducey asked.
Retransmission consent fees are expected to decline over the next several years as people cut the cord and move away from traditional pay TV services. Those viewers frequently move to virtual MVPDs (multichannel video programming distributors) such as YouTubeTV or Hulu+LiveTV, and thus