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Economist Dr. Mark Fratrik has been studying the local media industry since the 1980s and has followed it through numerous disruptions. As BIA Advisory Services’ SVP and chief economist, his studies have been widely followed and used for key decision making among local broadcasters.
As he prepares to retire at the end of June, Fratrik shares his thoughts on some of the more tectonic forces shaping the industry in an increasingly fragmented landscape. At the top of the list is streaming, which he says offers both a viable business model and a disruptive threat to local broadcasters.
Fratrik weighs in on retrans, digital revenue’s potential and his bullish hopes for datacasting applications of ATSC 3.0 in this Talking TV conversation.
Episode transcript below, edited for clarity.
Michael Depp: Dr. Mark Fratrik is the SVP and chief economist for BIA Advisory Services and a longtime source for TVNewsCheck. He’s retiring this month after a long career as a leading industry analyst, stepping back into the role of strategic advisor, I’m Michael Depp, editor of TVNewsCheck, and this is Talking TV, the podcast that brings you smart conversations about the business of broadcasting. This week, that conversation is with Mark Fratrik, a kind of exit interview, if you will. We’ll talk about a local media industry that is radically transformed during the decades he has studied it and what he sees as its road ahead. We’ll be right back with that conversation.
Welcome, Mark Fratrik, to Talking TV.
Hey,