WEST ORANGE, N.J. — Just how frustrating is it for account executives working at local broadcast television stations across the U.S. in today’s times? According to newly released data from Guideline, total media spending for local TV is down by more than 50% from just eight years ago.
Local TV accounts for only 6% of total media spending through June 2025, down from 13% in 2017, according to Guideline.
Guideline’s dataset, which is indicative of the buying trends of the largest advertisers in the U.S., also found that local TV spend at the product category level remains highly concentrated.
This sees the Automotive, Entertainment & Media, Financial Services and Technology categories accounting for 69% of the channel. And, it could explain the total dollar dip for local broadcast TV, as the Automotive category has remained diminished in the five years since the pandemic wreaked havoc on car and truck purchases among U.S. consumers. Indeed, in the first half of 2025 the four categories posted double-digit year-over-year declines.
How frustrating is it for AEs in local broadcast TV?
- Automotive is down 15.7%
- Entertainment & Media is down 20.4%
- Financial Services is down 19.3%
- Tech is down 20.7%
By comparison, across the broader Guideline pool, these categories are performing very differently. In fact, Automotive is down just -0.8% year-over-year, while Entertainment & Media is off by just -2.9%. Furthermore, Financial Services is up 14.1% and Tech is up by 9.7%.
“This underscores that local TV is underperforming these categories’ overall media activity,” Guideline concludes.
SPIRITS AND FLICKS: SHOWING THEIR KICKS
Certain subcategories are growing faster in local TV than Digital Video.
This includes Beer & Ale and Motion Pictures.
In fact, Guideline sees Beer & Ale up by 124% in local TV, compared to 6% for Digital Video.
Motion Pictures are up 72% in local TV. This compares to 42% in digital video.
When looking at the five largest station groups by footprint in local TV to understand how consolidation could reshape pricing power at the local level, Guideline data show that prime time median average CPM indices reveal systematic pricing differences.
Gray Media and Sinclair-owned and/or run stations consistently index above market norms, while stations owned and/or operated by TEGNA and The E.W. Scripps Co. remain discounted.
These indices represent the station groups’ stations’ indexing relative to their local peers, Guideline says.
TO REVIEW THE REPORT IN FULL, PLEASE CLICK HERE:
