Buying spree brings more local TV stations to fewer big companies
As of 2016, Sinclair, Nexstar, Gray, Tegna and Tribune owned an estimated 37% of all full-power local TV stations in the country.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
As of 2016, Sinclair, Nexstar, Gray, Tegna and Tribune owned an estimated 37% of all full-power local TV stations in the country.
The rush to acquire local TV stations by media companies’ continued in 2014 and resulted in strong financial pay offs for them.
Media companies have dramatically expanding their local television holdings in recent years. Five companies own one-third of the about 1,400 local TV stations in the country.
Bucking a long-range trend of declining viewership, the audience for local TV news grew in all three major time slots in 2013.
The rush to acquire local television stations produced revenue growth for some media companies in the year’s third quarter, while others suffered losses tied to a plunge in political ad dollars.
The latest data on local television economics offers mixed messages: increasing revenue from news programming but cuts in newsroom budgets.
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