Borrell Associates’ 23rd Annual Benchmarking Webinar sent a clear message to traditional media: evolve quickly or lose ground. While digital advertising continues to dominate local ad spending, the report reveals a critical opportunity for legacy media to regain relevance.
Hosted by Borrell Associates CEO Gordon Borrell and EVP of Local Market Intelligence Corey Elliott, the webinar unpacked findings based on more than one million proprietary data points, over 1,000 advertiser survey responses, and confidential digital revenue reports from thousands of U.S. and Canadian media companies.
Digital advertising now captures the largest portion of local ad spend. Paid search, social media, and video, especially OTT (over-the-top), make up 78% of the digital ad total. The growth rate for digital is steady at about 4% annually, but Borrell noted, “If you’re not growing at that rate, you’re losing share.”
For local TV, that warning comes with added urgency. OTT and short-form video are rapidly displacing traditional broadcast schedules as advertisers prioritize targeted, on-demand formats. If stations fail to match the pace of change, they risk being overtaken by streaming-first platforms.
The webinar identified three major disruptions affecting all media sectors: a post-pandemic surge in new business formation, the explosive rise of short-form video ads, and heavy R&D spending from tech platforms that local media companies are largely ignoring.
Artificial intelligence is another disruptive force. According to Borrell, AI is starting to pull attention and dollars away from traditional paid search. If antitrust actions succeed in forcing divestitures at companies like Alphabet, the shift toward video and OTT could accelerate even more. “We didn’t adjust the forecast yet, but we probably should,” he said, predicting streaming video could be the leading ad format within five years.
Despite the pressure, local TV still holds leverage. Advertisers surveyed reported increased confidence in traditional formats, particularly among businesses launched after 2020. These newer businesses are nearly twice as likely to consider buying ads in TV, radio, or newspapers as they seek to stand out from purely digital competitors.
High-performing “market dominators” – local companies pulling in up to 60% of available digital ad spend – have shown the way. They offer multiple digital products, use data-first targeting, and emphasize marketing education over traditional sales.
Borrell and Elliott urged all local media to reinvest in innovation. They recommend dedicating at least 5% of top-line revenue toward R&D, not just staffing. Data literacy, they argued, is as important as ad inventory.
“The biggest vulnerability of tech platforms is that they can’t offer local expertise,” Borrell said. “You can’t Google your way to a custom marketing strategy for a heating and cooling business in Paducah, Kentucky.”
