Media Ownership

Hundreds of local and regional radio and television stations comprise the U.S. public media system.

In the U.S., roughly nine-in-ten adults (93%) get at least some news online (either via mobile or desktop), and the online space has become a host for the digital homes of both legacy news outlets and new, “born on the web” news outlets.

The audio news sector in the U.S. is split by modes of delivery: traditional terrestrial (AM/FM) radio and digital formats such as online radio and podcasting.

Newspapers are a critical part of the American news landscape, but they have been hit hard as more and more Americans consume news digitally.

Local television news programming has shed audience over the past decade, but it still garners more viewers on average than cable and network news programs.

In seven Western European countries surveyed, the top main source for news is a public news organization – such as the BBC in the UK, Sveriges Television/Radio (SVT/Radio) in Sweden or ARD in Germany – rather than a private one.

News media made by and for the two largest racial/ethnic minority groups in the United States – blacks and Hispanics – have been a consistent part of the American news landscape.

Network TV news – appointment viewing for more than 20 million Americans – has experienced relative stability in the size of its audience over the past decade.

Cable TV is home to a set of news channels that have become a destination for political news.

As of 2016, Sinclair, Nexstar, Gray, Tegna and Tribune owned an estimated 37% of all full-power local TV stations in the country.