According to Guideline, a research firm that analyzes advertising market data, Local TV advertising has lost more than half of the media spending market share since 2017, falling from 13% in 2017 to 6% as of June 2025. Digital video’s market share increased from 15% to 50% in the same period. Media agencies attribute the shift to younger audience viewing habits (streaming and various digital video platforms).
But Local TV ad revenue is declining at a much slower rate than declining Local TV audiences. According to eMarketer, TV ad spending in 2017 was $70.2 billion, most of which went to broadcast and traditional pay TV. eMarketer reports that spending on traditional TV declined to $59.7 billion in 2024, a decrease of more than 10% but where Cable TV bore the brunt of the decline.
High ROI, Local Impact: The Vertical Markets Where Broadcast Still Wins
Four ad categories — Automotive, Entertainment & Media, Financial Services and Technology — generate 69% of Local TV spend… but several other ad categories still perform best on Local TV:
Automotive (dealers & OEM regional campaigns) — proven to drive showroom visits and share gains when paired with streaming/CTV.
Home services & local contractors — strong local ROI for service calls & booked jobs.
Healthcare (local clinics, elective procedures) — trust + local targeting helps conversions.
Retail promotions & events (store openings, clearance) — drives immediate foot traffic when aired during local-news/daypart buys.
Real estate and local financial services — local targeting + brand context matters for high-consideration purchases.
Political/election advertising — large, efficient spend during cycles.
Real Reach, Real Results: Local TV’s Enduring Strengths
Local TV metrics still draw viewers and results:
Reach and attention in older news viewers (live local news and scheduled programming viewers). Local TV provides high reach and attention that many digital channels struggle to replicate.
Strong for location-driven, store-visit & direct response campaigns. In ad categories that depend on local foot traffic, appointment bookings, or dealership visits— including auto dealers, home services (emergency services, HVAC, plumbing, roofing), healthcare (local clinics, elective procedures), legal services, real estate brokers, quick-response retail promos – Local TV can deliver larger returns by combining local awareness with proven call-to-action timing (news, sports).
A trusted, brand-safe environment. For advertisers whose messaging depends on trust (financial services, healthcare, local government messaging), Local TV’s environment still enhances persuasion and ad recall compared to many programmatic placements.
Incremental reach when paired with local CTV / streaming. Buying local linear + local CTV (or local streaming) yields incremental reach — i.e., households CTV reaches that linear misses — and measurable lift in reach and frequency.
Extremely effective in political and election cycles. Political advertisers continue to pour campaign dollars into local broadcast because of proven reach and efficiency (targeting) in battleground audiences.
Local Linear + Local CTV + Strong Measurement
Local TV’s slice of total media spend has shrunk, but it remains highly effective for specific goals and ad verticals. Additionally, Local TV traditional and digital platforms are increasingly interconnected, as many ad agency local investment buyers are using a converged approach: local linear + local CTV + strong measurement to prove incremental reach.