TV news profitability fell below 50% for the first time since 2010, according to the latest RTDNA/Newhouse School Survey. Smaller markets saw the biggest drop, while larger markets held steady or improved slightly.
Website profitability also declined, with only 42.9% of stations reporting a profit and nearly half unsure of their status — making the data less reliable but still concerning.
News budgets took a major hit, with 38.3% of stations reporting cuts and just 19.9% reporting increases. We had to go back to 2010 — in the wake of the housing implosion — to find budget numbers this depressing. The percentage of budgets that declined is nearly four times higher than last year. No group escaped the carnage.
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toddjhandy
The scariest part of this summary is in this sentence- "Website profitability also declined, with only 42.9% of stations reporting a profit and nearly half unsure of their status — making the data less reliable but still concerning."
"Nearly half unsure of their status." Nearly half of the stations cannot tell if their websites are profitable or not? Forget for a minute if we're trying to get to gross/operating/net margin, the basic accounting is [revenues - expenses = margin]. If they can't tell their margin (to know if they're profitable or not), are they not tracking revenue, expense, or both?
Am I missing something here?
Friday, August 1, 2025 Report this
RalfWalters
Maybe if smaller market TV broadcasters relied less on network feed and police and fire blotter sensationalism their viewership may increase. Imagine covering a city, county and school board meeting that didnt involve a *** crime or shooting/stabbing?
Friday, August 1, 2025 Report this