NEW YORK—While local media outlets have been approaching this year with some trepidation after the massive political spending that boosted results in 2024, the Local Media Consortium (LMC) has released new data indicating that digital ad revenue is likely to be a bright spot in 2025. Its survey data shows that 83% of local media executives from broadcast, newspapers and other local outlets believe digital ad revenue will increase or hold steady in 2025.
That prediction was one of the findings of the Local Media Industry Insights Survey 2024, which asked industry professionals about the year-over-year state of the local media and its outlook for 2025.
“Based on insights from our annual survey, the Local Media Consortium is forecasting an increase in 2025 digital revenue, led by an uptick in consumer and advertising revenue associated with the continued maturation of video-focused efforts, subscriptions and newsletter engagement strategies,” Local Media Consortium CEO Fran Wills said. “This annual survey helps us better understand the opportunities and challenges facing local media so we can prioritize new digital partnerships and initiatives such as NewsPassID, which delivers improved programmatic performance for both advertisers and local media.”
The LMC said it delivers more than $50 million in annual economic value through digital partnerships and strategic initiatives on behalf of more than 150 local media companies in top markets across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, and includes more than 5,000 newspapers, online-only news outlets, radio and TV groups including Nexstar Media Group, Sinclair, Tegna and others. The aggregated LMC audience footprint spans 200 million unique monthly visitors, and its member companies serve more than nine billion pageviews to consumers.
In terms of 2024, key highlights from the survey included:
- Roughly half (45%) of survey respondents reported overall digital revenue was up in 2024, with 30% saying it was flat and 16% reporting a decrease in digital revenue which includes all revenue derived from digital channels including advertising, consumer, affiliate, ecommerce and other online sources.
- For 2024 digital advertising revenue, defined as all ad-based revenue, including display banner ads, video, audio and newsletter ads, 41% of respondents reported an increase and 25% said it was flat year-over-year.
- Similarly, 46% of respondents reported consumer revenue up versus last year, while 29% said it was flat and only 7% saw a decrease. Digital consumer revenue consists of website and newsletter subscriptions, donations, etc.
- Top digital successes for local media in 2024 were video/OTT/CTV, digital subscriptions and newsletters, with a 279% YOY increase in respondents reporting it as their leading success. The LMC survey also found that in 2024 news content generated the most traffic and the highest revenue, followed by sports and arts/entertainment content. Health and wellness punched above its weight in revenue generation as compared with traffic.
Highlights of the results for 2025 include:
- In 2025, the industry appears bullish on digital transformation, with 83% of local media professionals projecting digital revenue to increase (68%) or stay flat (15%). Only 1% expect a decrease in digital revenue in 2025.
- The survey found the highest-priority focus for local media outlets in 2025 is audience growth and engagement, with 83% of respondents reporting it as their top priority. Other intended areas of focus include advertising monetization (78%), consumer registration/subscriptions (26%), video monetization (25%), data and audience insights (18%) and content innovation (18%).
- For the second year in a row, the survey found artificial intelligence is the leading trend to watch, with 66% of respondents citing plans to use AI for operations and 47% planning to use it for content such as headline writing or summaries. Other trends on the local media radar include community engagement (61%), video creation, monetization and distribution (39%), cross-platform strategies (37%) and podcasts (23%).
