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.
Local television in the U.S. saw massive change in 2013, change that remained under the radar of most Americans. Big owners of local TV stations got substantially bigger, thanks to a wave of station purchases. While the TV business profited, the impact on consumers is less clear and seems to vary from one market to the next.
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.
While the economics of local television are stronger than those of the newspaper industry, a new Pew Research Center report analyzes why some trends in local television news may be worrisome.
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