NEW YORK—The Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement and TVB have released their “Guidelines for Local TV/Video Currency Measurement”, an industry resource designed to clarify what buyers, sellers and measurement providers should expect from currency-measurement solutions intended for the local TV and local video marketplace.

“Local TV and local video remain important parts of the advertising marketplace,” CIMM Managing Director Jon Watts said. “As such, the industry will benefit from having a clear, practical framework for evaluating whether measurement solutions are truly ready for local use. These guidelines are intended to help create that shared reference point.”

Developed through industry collaboration and informed by buyer and seller input, the guidelines are intended to provide a practical framework for evaluating whether local measurement solutions are fit for market use, CIMM and TVB said. The goal is to support a more consistent, informed and transparent approach to local currency measurement as the marketplace continues to evolve.

“Local market transactions have specific requirements, and those requirements are not always addressed by broader measurement discussions,” said Hadassa Gerber, executive vice president and chief research officer, TVB. “This work is meant to give the market a more useful standard for assessing whether local TV and local video currency solutions are inclusive, usable, and transparent.”

In addition to the guidelines, CIMM and TVB released a companion Buyer’s Guide, designed to help buyers, sellers and other industry stakeholders translate the framework into a practical provider review process. The Buyer’s Guide includes due diligence questions and review areas that can support more consistent evaluation of local currency services.

The guidelines are built around three core principles:

• Inclusive Measurement should reflect the diversity of local audiences, the full range of ways viewers access local TV and video content, and the realities of markets of different sizes across the U.S.
• Transactable Measurement should be stable, reliable and suitable for use in forecasting, audience guarantees, post analysis, and the operational requirements of buying and selling local media.
• Transparent Measurement, meaning providers should clearly disclose methodology, communicate changes in advance, support auditability and provide the market with enough information to evaluate how a service works and how results should be interpreted.

To download “Guidelines for Local TV/Video Currency Measurement” and the Buyer’s Guide, visit the CIMM and TVB websites.

WASHINGTON—A new NAB blog post highlights a recent TVB survey that documented a widespread preference by sports enthusiasts for games on free broadcast TV versus streaming.

The study found that for sports enthusiasts, linear television is the preferred way to view sports, including football, basketball, baseball, hockey, golf, soccer, auto racing and tennis. About 90% of sports enthusiasts told researchers that it is important for local sports to be shown on local broadcast TV and three out of four sports enthusiasts reported that they watch sports on local broadcast TV at least twice a week.

“Recently released data from the 2026 TVB Sports Survey confirms that fans want [sports]...to remain free and accessible on local television,” the NAB blog noted. “More sports enthusiasts chose broadcast television as their way to view sports, including football, basketball, baseball, hockey, golf, soccer, auto racing or tennis.

The findings come at a time when the Federal Communications Commission has opened an inquiry into broadcast sports rights that seeks, in part, to address the impact of the shift of sports rights from free broadcasting outlets to streaming. A number of studies have found that the shift is making it harder for fans to follow their favorite teams and that it has increased the cost of viewing sports programming.

“With games increasingly scattered across subscription platforms, fans are being asked to navigate a fragmented and costly viewing experience. Viewers are looking for simple and reliable access to their favorite sports, including hometown games and marquee nationwide events,” the NAB said. “As policymakers and leagues consider the future of sports distribution, this data offers a clear directive: ensure that live sports remain widely available on local broadcast television. Because when the biggest moments happen, Americans should not have to search for them. They should be able to turn on their local station and be part of something bigger.”

More information about the survey is available here; viewers can learn more about this issue at nab.org/GameOn.

A new report from the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) casts doubt among those who think linear TV’s days are numbered.

According to the association’s 2026 Media Comparisons Study, TV, viewed on a television screen, has the highest reach and time spent of all media platforms studied, for all age groups and categories measured and in addition, the majority of those viewers are reached through broadcast TV.

The report, conducted by GfK/NIQ and commissioned by TVB, examined media use among adults 18+ on over 20 traditional and digital media platforms including free, paid ad-supported, and advertising-free streaming platforms, as well as user-generated and short-form content like YouTube. It measured linear broadcast viewing of programs on TV, mobile devices, websites/apps, and digital devices to get a complete picture of broadcast’s assets, TVB said.

In addition to analyzing reach and time spent, the study also looked at what news sources are considered most trustworthy, the level of community involvement, and motivation to do further research online.

The report also had more good news for local TV, as the majority of respondents (79%) cited local stations as their most trusted news source, with 47% of respondents citing local broadcast television assets as “most involved in their community.” Ranked at the bottom of the list were social media and news aggregator websites.

In terms of broadcast, the study reported that more time is spent with broadcast TV across all devices than with cable and streaming programs and that respondents spend far more time on broadcast TV than on user generated and short-form content like YouTube.

Other key findings of the study include:

• TV ads motivate viewers to do further research online.
• 85% of broadcast viewing is on the larger TV screen, while 51% of viewing time on platforms like YouTube is on smaller digital devices.
• Total broadcast assets can reach nine out of ten adults 18+ and in key categories.
• Broadcast websites, and broadcast TV on a digital device, added more reach to broadcast TV than cable and AVOD.
• When looking at long-form ad-supported programming, linear TV represents 68% of viewing time, while streaming represents 32%.
• Broadcast reaches 94% of ad-supported streamers who stream on their TV sets.
• Advertisers cannot reach ad-free streamers, but broadcast assets can reach 92% of them.

The survey covered a base sample of 4,000 and was conducted in November and December 2025.

NEW YORK—While recent media coverage has promoted Amazon Prime Video’s January 10 NFL playoff matchup between the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears as the most-watched NFL game ever on a streaming platform, a new study by the TVB of Nielsen data shows that broadcast television continues to deliver significantly larger NFL audiences for postseason and regular season games.

According to Nielsen, the national Live+1 audience for the Amazon telecast among people 2+ posted a 9.82 rating, delivering 31.6 million impressions. However, this figure includes local broadcast station viewership in the home team Designated Market Areas (DMAs), specifically Green Bay and Chicago.

While Green Bay’s local broadcast data has not yet been reported, Nielsen has released Chicago DMA results. In Chicago alone, the game delivered an 18.4 Live+Same Day rating, totaling approximately 1.73 million impressions. When the Chicago broadcast audience is removed from the national total, Amazon’s streaming-only audience is estimated at approximately 29.87 million impressions.

The highest NFL game for that weekend using the same metrics (Live +1 for people 2+) was on broadcast television (Fox) with a 12.73 rating and 40.97 million impressions.

During the regular season, broadcast NFL games consistently generate large viewership. The Thanksgiving Day NFL game on CBS achieved a 17.81 rating and 57.33 million impressions while the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia Eagles rematch on September 14, which aired on Fox, earned a 10.5 rating, delivering 33.81 million impressions.

NEW YORK—The Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) and TVB have released a study examining how local viewing is measured across television, mobile devices, browsers, streaming platforms and out-of-home environments.

The study, authored by Patti Cohen, also identifies critical data gaps in today’s syndicated local measurement systems and assesses how these limitations affect the accuracy and completeness of local video audience insights.

“As local video consumption continues to expand across new platforms, the industry needs to build on recent progress and take steps to plug current gaps, evolving measurement approaches to account for all viewing,” Jon Watts, managing director at CIMM, said. “TV isn’t declining, it’s just becoming more diverse, spreading across different platforms and devices. Measurement needs to follow. This important study helps to diagnose the current situation, so that we can understand where we are and work to establish the foundation for a more future-ready local measurement ecosystem.”

The study stressed that local television channels and content—from news and syndicated programming to sports—continue to play a vital role in consumers' media consumption. However, the ecosystem has become increasingly fragmented and complex, spanning broadcast, CTV apps, mobile streams, FAST channels, digital-only programming and social video, the study found. Much of this viewing is hard to measure and is not currently fully captured in syndicated measurement solutions. CIMM and TVB estimate that 20% to 30% of local viewing is not credited in syndicated measurement systems.

In the report, CIMM and TVB outline three areas of priority where industry collaboration can help improve the quality of measurement:

• Upfront collaboration: Early alignment between buyers and sellers on what is counted and how it is reported in a simple, consistent way across markets and screens to help reduce friction later in planning, posting, and reconciliation.
• Enablement: Broader adoption of tagging, mapping and integration requirements to ensure local digital and streaming audiences are fully captured.
• Shared standards: Consistent stream tagging, source identifiers and metadata mapping across platforms to account for gaps in device coverage, inconsistent inclusion logic and differences in methodologies.

“This study represents the first comprehensive effort to map how local audiences are measured across environments,” said Hadassa Gerber, executive vice president and chief research officer at TVB. “By having broadcasters, measurement vendors, and technology platforms come together around clear definitions and shared data practices, we can ensure that every local viewer across every screen is counted.”

The full report is available here.

NEW YORK—Consumers of local broadcast news continue to deem it as a valuable source of information—whether it’s political races, local sports teams or weather—regardless of accessing it on their TVs or digitally, according to a new study conducted by GfK/NIQ for TVB.

More than 3,100 respondents took part in the 2025 Local Broadcast News Survey, which examined how news consumers receive local news content, the value they place on local news and the influence of local news on their purchasing decisions.

The findings show that Americans value access to local news, whether on traditional television or digital platforms, and that this access strongly influences how they research products, make buying decisions and choose service providers.

The survey found:

• Local news is predominantly consumed on TVs, but 40% or respondents consume it on mobile devices or PCs, and 27% report consuming news on both.
• 95% of respondents said it is important to be able to receive local news on their local TV station.
• 72% of cable, satellite or streaming subscribers would likely seek out another provider if their current provider stopped carrying their local TV news stations.
• 95% of respondents said their local broadcast news station is important for providing information during severe weather and emergencies.
• 94% said the same of their local broadcast stations’ websites and apps.
• 93% of respondents said their local broadcast news station is important during elections.
• 92% of respondents who follow sports news value local broadcasters for the sports news they provide.

At a time when the trustworthiness of alternative news sources is a growing concern, local broadcast news receives high marks. Eighty-eight percent of respondents ranked local TV news as their No. 1 for trust, while 84% did so for local broadcast TV stations’ dedicated streaming video news apps and 82% for local TV stations' text/video on a website/app.

While respondents said local broadcast TV station news is among the least prevalent sources of fake news, 44% pointed to social media and 25% to cable news as the places where fake news is most prevalent, the research found.

The researchers also sought to find out how respondents consume local TV news. Seventy-eight percent of respondents said they watch live local TV news on a television set, and 60% do so on a mobile device. Fifty-six percent watch daily or a few times per week on local TV websites or streaming services; 51% watch via a local station’s dedicated streaming news app; and 53% watch via streaming service. Two-thirds reported being loyal to the same station for their local news.

The researchers also wanted to determine how TV ads on local news motivated consumers to do more research. They found the ads motivated 76% of legal service recipients to do more research, 74% of car buyers to do so and 69% of remodelers to do more research online.

The research also revealed four out of 10 respomdnts turn on the TV (41%) or click on stories to get more details (37%) after seeing local stations’ news content on social media.

It also found local broadcast TV news assets are important in influencing consumers to consider (58%) and actually purchase a product (53%).

More information is available on the TVB website.

NEW YORK—Television advertising remains an effective means to market and influence younger baby boomer and Generation X consumers approaching retirement age, according to the findings of a study from the Television Advertising Bureau (TVB).

“The 2025 Active Adult/Retirement Community Purchase Funnel Study,” conducted by Dynata, looked at boomers and Gen Xers who have purchased a home in a retirement community and those who plan to do so.

Eight in 10 active adult/retirement community consumers are reached by television ads, the study found, and 94% of those reached by the ads took some kind of action after seeing it, TVB said.

The study also found:

• TV’s reach among the older consumers studied was twice that of any other platform.
• TV was the most important influencer at all stages of the purchase funnel.
• Among those who cited TV as the most important for awareness, seven out of 10 respondents chose broadcast TV vs. cable.
• 94% of adults age 50 and older took some kind of action after seeing or hearing an active adult/retirement community ad on TV.
• Of the older adults who search online, 92% said that linear TV ads influence their online search selections.
• Local TV website/apps are the most preferred and the most visited, and over 90% of adults 50 years old and older view the ads when visiting a TV station’s website/apps.

More information is available on the TVB website.

NEW YORK—Don’t put that nail in the coffin of broadcast television quite yet. Contrary to a chorus of voices from the connected television and digital sectors, broadcast TV—specifically the local broadcast news—leads other media and platforms in driving the conversations of Americans about the topics of the day.

The finding, one of several underscoring the continued strength of broadcast TV among Americans, comes from a national study of more than 4,000 people conducted by GfK/NIQ for the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB), the trade association representing U.S. local commercial TV stations.

TVB commissioned the study to learn more about media’s role in influencing conversations. Respondents across demographic groups, political party affiliations, races and ethnicities were also asked about the influence of various media outlets and their platform preferences.

Questions covered include:

• Which medium is the strongest conversation driver—TV, streaming, radio, social media, podcasts or newspapers?
• What are people’s attitudes toward news sources regarding trust, believability, shareability and fake news?
• How do media platforms influence political word-of-mouth?
• How influential are media platforms on word of mouth among those who are in the market for products and services like auto, healthcare, home improvement, legal services, physical fitness, restaurants, retail and travel?
• On which platforms do people prefer to view their sports—linear or streaming?

Researchers found 80% of respondents have daily conversations about topics covered by local broadcast TV station newscasts. TV remains the dominant driver of these conversations, whether they are about the news of the day, local and regional news, weather, sports, traffic or politics when compared to ad-supported streaming platforms, social media, print, radio, podcasts or direct mail.

The study also revealed that among all digital choices, conversations about news of the day are most affected by local TV stations’ websites and apps.

Broadcast TV was also identified as the primary news source among survey takers. Respondents found local broadcast news assets to be the most shareworthy, trustworthy and believable among key age demographics, high-net-worth homes and consumer categories, the survey found.

Social media, though, was regarded as the least trustworthy and believable, as well as the most strongly associated with fake news, per the survey.

Other findings:

• Across key product categories, TV was selected most by respondents as the media that sparks or is referenced in their daily news conversations.
• Across the spectrum of professional and college sports, respondents overwhelmingly chose linear TV over streaming sources as their viewing source.
• Regardless of political affiliation, respondents chose TV as the biggest impact on their daily conversations about news.

Respondents also reported feeling a strong sense of closeness and familiarity with local TV news. This emotional connection to their local stations further reinforces TV’s importance and effectiveness in influencing both personal dialogue and consumer behavior, TVB said.

More information is available on the TVB website.

NEW YORK—Steve Lanzano will retire as president and CEO of the Television Bureau of Advertising at year-end, the group said.

Lanzano has led TVB, the trade organization for local commercial broadcast TV stations, since January of 2010.

"Steve has been an invaluable advocate for local broadcast television and advancing its role in the ever-evolving media landscape,” Antonio Roman, chair of TVB’s board and executive vice president of local media sales at TelevisaUnivision, said. “Throughout his tenure at TVB, he has championed the importance and effectiveness of local broadcast TV and has helped implement key industry initiatives focused on critical technology advancements and measurement improvements to support business development. His unwavering commitment has helped shape the future of the industry, ensuring that local broadcast remains a vital and effective medium well into the future.”

The TVB executive board is working with an executive search firm on a nationwide search for Lanzano’s successor.

A 30-year media industry veteran, Lanzano held senior roles at top agencies, including CEO of MEC (now Wavemaker) North America and chief operating officer of Havas Media.

Under Lanzano’s leadership, TVB expanded its membership ranks to more than 800 local TV stations, the group said. His initiatives included the creation of national and local business development teams, expanded research offerings and enhanced advocacy efforts. His contributions also fueled the growth of TVB’s annual Forward Conference, which increased in attendance tenfold during Lanzano’s tenure, the group said.

An advocate for public safety, Lanzano has been instrumental in TVB’s longstanding partnerships with the Ad Council and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Project Roadblock: Local TV Puts the Brakes on Buzzed Driving. The campaign has grown to involve 210 DMAs and almost 1,000 local stations.

"Steve is an icon in the industry and has been a transformational leader,“ Brad Seitter, TVB’s executive vice president, local and national business development, said. “TVB, and the broadcast industry, has grown and advanced due to his strategic vision and his dedication to advancing the value of local TV. He has set a high standard for all of us. We will miss his leadership, and we are grateful to continue his incredible work."

Reflecting on his retirement, Lanzano said: “It has been an incredible honor to lead TVB and work alongside so many talented individuals who share my passion for the local broadcast television industry. I am deeply proud of the work we’ve done in proving the power of local and championing the positive impact local TV has on communities across the country. I look forward to seeing the continued success of TVB and our industry as a whole.”

NEW YORK—In a bid to help local broadcasters find new ways of monetizing their content, the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) and TVB have released a study that highlights innovations within the local television and video marketplace and offers broadcasters strategic recommendations and opportunities to help them foster a culture of creativity and growth.

“The local broadcasting industry is at an inflection point thanks to rapid changes in viewing behavior, shifts in underlying technologies and content distribution strategies, and the proliferation of new measurement, data, and identity solutions,” CIMM Managing Director Jon Watts said. “As the local TV and video marketplace progresses, it’s imperative that we understand what propels advancements, the emerging innovations, and the roles that industry stakeholders play in this transformation. Our study highlights several creative and measurement innovators in the local video advertising space who are pushing the boundaries of traditional strategies to meet the growing demand for more precise targeting, addressability, measurement and accountability, and deeper audience engagement.”

CIMM and TVB said the “Local TV and Video Innovation Showcase” is a comprehensive analysis of case studies from 16 marketplace innovators, including: AdImpact, Ampersand, Comcast Effectv, Comscore, Consumer Orbit, Dentsu, Gray Media, HyphaMetrics, Madhive, Magid’s AD.VANTAGE AI, Nexstar Media Group, New York Interconnect, Run3TV, Spectrum Reach, Tunnl and Who’s Watching TV.

The study also highlights six areas where innovation is paving the way for better technology, enhanced audience connection and improved advertising effectiveness for local TV and video businesses, Those areas include:

• Measurement: The use of cross-platform campaign measurement tools and advanced capabilities like Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) help local advertisers garner a comprehensive view of media consumption across all platforms – providing actionable audience behavior insights and precise, person-level data across markets to better understand and optimize reach.
• Attribution: Multiscreen attribution capabilities allow advertisers to link their local TV campaigns to offline customer actions, providing a clear picture of the return on ad spend.
• Cross-Platform Digital Campaigns: With real-time cross-platform campaign metrics, local advertisers can leverage a unified view of performance across both linear and digital platforms—enabling greater optimization and effectiveness across multiple channels.
• Data Integration and Audience Insights: By shifting focus from traditional demographics to the integration of diverse data sources—for example, the combination of TV viewing data with website retail activity—local advertisers can target consumers with actionable audience insights and enhanced precision.
• Content Delivery and Engagement: A data-driven approach to TV across linear, addressable, and streaming powers highly effective targeting across advertising campaigns—empowering advertisers to deliver precise, hyperlocal campaigns that drive incremental audience engagement and sales.
• Operational Efficiency: Best practices like streamlining data reporting for swift analysis and providing local ad sales teams with instant, high-quality marketing content improve workflow efficiency, strategic decision-making, and overall business productivity.

“Local TV and video remain a foundational element of the viewer experience, which is why innovation is imperative in maintaining its relevance in a constantly evolving market,” TVB Executive Vice President and Chief Research Officer Hadassa Gerber said. “What we’ve found is that the industry continues to meet new challenges with resilience, redefining what’s possible in local broadcasting and cementing it as an invaluable component of the TV and video landscape at large. It’s an exciting time for the market, and TVB is proud to be a part of this collective effort to adapt and thrive.”

The Local TV and Video Innovation Showcase, co-authored by industry experts Patti Cohen and Matt Ross, is the result of ongoing industry analysis driven by CIMM’s Local TV Measurement Working Group of local TV experts that defined the purpose and scope of the study.

The full study can be found here.

NEW YORK—A major new study from TVB shows that most Netflix, Disney+ and Max subscribers don’t see advertising, while broadcast TV reaches 91% of streamers—including those who subscribe to ad-free platforms.

In more specifically highlighting the enduring importance of broadcast to advertisers, the survey found that 61% of Netflix subscribers, and more than half of Disney+ and Max subs, do not see advertising.

TVB, the trade association of America’s local broadcast television industry, commissioned the research company GfK to conduct its 2024 SVOD study, a 4,000-respondent survey.

The study was designed to explore ad-supported versus ad-free streaming subscriber trends, the viewership of ads on SVOD platforms and whether these streaming subscribers are also watching linear TV.

Key findings from this study showcase the value linear TV continues to deliver for advertisers seeking to reach consumers, the TVB reported. Those key findings include:

• TV is the device most used to stream and view content, even for Apple TV+.
• 86% of the survey’s respondents have at least one SVOD service.
• 61% of Netflix subscribers, and more than half of Disney+ (53%) and Max (57%) subs, do not see advertising.
• 74% of YouTube viewers who see advertising either skip the commercial when available or, if not available, click away from content.
• 58% of respondents subscribe to Amazon Prime Video, but only 4% subscribe exclusively to the Prime Video service, and not Amazon Prime.
• 50% of those on Amazon Prime Video’s ad-tier stated that they have Amazon Prime Video mainly because they subscribe to Amazon Prime.
• Broadcast assets reach 91% of SVOD viewers. This also applies to those who subscribe without advertising.
• Local TV news is the most trusted news source and local TV news websites/apps are the most trusted digital source.

During a recent interview I had with Hadassa Gerber, the chief research officer at TVB underscored the importance of communicating to companies and their ad agencies the synergy between linear broadcast television and their websites.

“The reason that we make it such a point about television motivating people to go online is [because] so many advertisers are just looking at the last click,” says Gerber. “Well, how did they get there in the first place?”

TVB’s 2024 Media Comparisons Study makes a strong case that in many instances it’s television. Of the 4,000 respondents to its survey, 60% said TV ads motivate them to begin doing research on a product that’s caught their eye. For autos, that figure climbs to 72%.

Granted, TVB is a trade association representing local TV broadcasters. But the group hired German research firm GfK to conduct the research, and it would be in neither the interest of GfK nor TVB to risk losing credibility by fiddling with the results.

The takeaway for broadcasters is linear TV and websites work well together in serving the public and advertisers alike. Just as important is the effect the combination has on reach. Combining the reach of broadcast websites and broadcast television extends total reach by 4%. 

To put that into perspective, consider cable TV and broadcast. “If you take broadcast as a base, and you add on cable, that doesn’t even add a whole reach point. It’s 0.8%,” she says.

While this may seem obvious, Gerber says she has a slide in her presentation for members that explicitly lays out this fact to drive home how important the two together are to advertisers.

Perhaps it’s a good time to begin reiterating to advertisers that the consumer journey that ultimately ends up in a web click often begins by raising awareness via linear TV. One other thought: as NextGen TV, an IP-based television/data delivery mechanism matures, broadcasters would be well-served to begin planning how to leverage it to amplify their web presence.

With so much buzz over streaming TV, social media and digital, it might be easy to lose sight of the true value of linear television broadcasting.

Despite the unquestionable growth of these platforms, television remains a vital source of news, entertainment and ad content.

The findings of a new TVB survey reveal broadcast television offers the broadest reach of any media platform and that people spend more time watching linear TV than other alternatives. Local TV news also is regarded as the most trusted source of news when compared to other platforms—even among streamers.

A total of 4,000 people responded to the survey, which was conducted by GfK for TVB. The goal was to find out how Americans of different age groups use different media, focusing on more than 20 traditional and digital platforms.

I spoke with Hadassa Gerber, chief research officer at TVB, about the survey and what the findings mean to broadcasters.

A summary of the 2024 Media Comparisons Study is available on the TVB website. 

(An edited transcript.)

TVTech: Your study finds that when it comes to reach and the time people spend with linear television stands head and shoulders above other media platforms, such as digital and social and streaming. At least based on personal viewing, watching broadcast TV and viewing streaming content aren’t mutually exclusive. What did your survey find?

Hadassa Gerber: They're not mutually exclusive, and we're not saying that people are not viewing streaming.

There are two different types of [ad-supported] streaming. There’s paid streaming with ads, and free streaming with ads, the AVOD [Ad-Supported Video on Demand] and FAST [Free Ad-Supported Television] platforms of the world. Then you have the other tier that doesn’t have ads. 

We show each one of those. We're not saying that those numbers or percentages [with regards to reach and time spent with other platforms] are 10%. They're not. They're in the 40% area. However, we show that these people do not view streaming in isolation. They're not just viewing streaming; they're also viewing broadcast television.

TVTech: You found for 18- to 34-year-olds, 25- to 50-year-olds and those over 35 as well as Hispanics and African Americans that TV has the greatest reach of all media platforms. Do you expect these numbers to change as the generation that's younger than 18 years old matures? Others have pointed out their propensity to consume media on smartphones and other digital platforms.

HG: First, let me just state that we said the reach was highest for 18- to 34-year-olds and 25 to 50. We didn’t say there were no differences in their usage even within 18- to 34-year-olds.

With 18- to 34-year-olds, did we see that there was a greater usage of digital? Absolutely, more so than 25 to 50. Certainly, more so than 35-plus. So, that was there, even for 18- to 34-year-olds. However—and this is something that the industry doesn't recognize—the highest reach and time spent was with television, specifically broadcast television.

So, were there differences in the age groups? Absolutely. Is the reach of television among the 18- to 34-year-old respondents lower than that of their older counterparts? Yes, but it's still higher than anything else that's out there.

TVTech: As people mature, do they gravitate back towards linear TV?

HG: We don't trend and follow people as they grow up. But we do look at the individual segments, and absolutely there's a greater usage of broadcast television as you age up. In fact, you see greater usage of even radio as you age up, which is ironic because once upon a time if you wanted to reach young adults you would use radio. Now, you use digital, and radio is older skewing, but it still doesn't come anywhere near television.

TVTech: The survey revealed local TV news wins when it comes to trustworthiness of alternatives and that it is the go-to source for local traffic, weather and sports when compared to other platforms like digital and social media. Do you have any thoughts about how broadcasters can better leverage this trustworthiness? Maybe pursuing hyperlocal news and advertising with NextGen TV or their own web presence?

HG: To your point, you said there's a lot of use of social media. Yes, people use a lot of social media, but we have seen this consistently on every survey that we have done: the lowest level of trust for news is in social media. So, people use it, but they don't necessarily trust it.

We're not saying they don't use social media. They do. But it's a race to the bottom actually in this survey between podcasts and social media for the least trusted. Social media just seeks it out as being less trusted.

Consistently, local broadcast TV news is the most trusted platform, and we found that even among those who stream that was also the finding. 

For local broadcast TV, it [trust in local TV news] remained the same whether they were a paid streamer [ a subscriber to] the Netflixes of the world that are taking ads or they were a free streamer with ads. It was the exact same percentage. Looking at each of those as their own universe, it was the same percentage that said they trusted local news, and it was No. 1.

TVTech: There have been decades of commercial zapping, but still you found that six out of 10 respondents said TV ads motivate them to research products further and in some categories that percentage was even higher. Among car shoppers, for instance, 72% said they start their shopping journey with TV.

Are you seeing local broadcasters doing anything to leverage the possible synergy between what their linear TV ad would be and some sort of digital presence whether it's on their website or something else like a knowledge base about cars or something like that?

HG: You hit on a good point and that's the fact that broadcast television assets are not only broadcast linear television. Broadcasters are also out there selling digital. In fact, one of the things that we found is if you take broadcast as a base, and you add on cable, that doesn't even add on a whole reach point. It rounds up to an added 0.8% reach point.

But if you take broadcast TV and broadcast websites, and add broadcast websites onto broadcast TV, your reach goes up 4%.

So, the two do work together and very well. It is not an either-or. It's an add on that works. The reason that we make it such a big point about television, motivating people to go online, is so many advertisers are just looking at the last click. Then they make their analysis based on the last click. Well, how did they get there in the first place? What drove the traffic there? Everyone has to recognize that there are other things that get them to go there and that they work together. You really need broadcast television to be able to do that.

TVTech: What other takeaways from the finding should broadcasters keep in mind?

HG: The main thing is when a new platform comes out—when digital and streaming come out—it has all of the buzz with the write ups. So, it's sometimes easy to forget the power and vitality of broadcast television.

Yes. All of these things are coming into play. But broadcast television—linear television—is really quite strong and has the reach. You have to remember that all these other options are so fragmented that it will be very difficult to get the audience reach you want if you don't use broadcast television.

TVB has released a new study of media habits that shows broadcast and cable outlets still dominate consumer viewing, with the widest reach of any media studied (81%) and large amounts of viewing each day (5 hours and 27 minutes.)

The study also found that local TV news remains the most popular and most trusted source of news. 

The TVB research indicated that local TV is the primary source for local traffic, weather, and sports, with 29% of respondents citing local broadcast TV news as their primary source. The next highest news sources were all other internet news websites and apps and social media at 11% each. 

Local TV is also the most trusted: people trust local broadcast TV news more than all other media platforms (74%); social media is the least trusted (40%). 

The viewing time of 5 hours and 37 minutes for broadcast and cable notably outpaced all other media, with 3:46 (hours:minutes) spent each day with broadcast content and 1:51 for cable TV. 

Adults 18-34, 25-54 and 35+, as well as Hispanics and African Americans, spent the most time with TV than any other media platform measured, the TVB said. 

The TVB data breaks down streaming into various categories. Free streaming programs with ads accounted for 1:09 and paid streaming programs with ads accounted for 1:01 of viewing each day. However, if viewing of all the various streaming categories were added together from the TVB chart, they total 5:53, more than TV and cable combined. 

The report stressed, however, that "broadcast and streaming is not an either/or decision, it's an and."

The study found that 88% of the time spent viewing TV & movie programming was done on the TV set, while only 12% of viewing was done on a mobile device. In terms of linear TV among adults 18+, about 71% of time spent is on programs/movies that have ads. Broadcast programs also dominate programming rankings, accounting for 10 of the top 10, 43 out of the top 50 episodes). The streaming episodes that made the cut are on services where most subscribers opt not to have ads. 

Broadcast  reaches 94% of those that view paid ad-supported streaming programs and 95% of those that view free ad-supported streaming programs on a TV, the study found. 

Finally, TV is multiplatform: broadcast TV platforms, including websites/apps, reach 90% of viewers who use non-ad supported streaming services, the TVB said. 

The study also marshaled data showing the effectiveness of ads. About 60% of respondents said that television ads are motivation to do further research online. Those numbers increase dramatically for car buyers (72%), home remodelers (71%), and legal service recipients (68%). 

66% of car buyers and 63% of online grocery shoppers said that they read or watched local broadcast TV station content on a social media site. 

More information is available here. 

NEW YORK—Winners of the 2023 TVB Next and TVB DEI Leadership Awards were announced at TVB’s live Executive Summit as part of this year’s hybrid Forward Conference. 

This year, Cox Media Group, Havas Media, Horizon Media and Tegna received awards.

Every year, the trade association representing America’s local broadcast television industry, honors individuals and organizations who are shaping the future of local media.

“It is TVB’s honor to recognize these forward-thinking and dedicated leaders in our industry,” said Steve Lanzano, president and CEO of TVB, “The efforts, innovation and accomplishments of this year’s award recipients highlight the ongoing exciting future opportunities our industry possesses.”

Since its inception in 2016, TVB’s Next Award Program, gives the next generation of media leaders access to today’s thought leaders, insights into industry innovation and a leg up on career advancement at the annual TVB Forward Conference. The Award is underwritten by WideOrbit.

The 2023 TVB Next Award honorees for media buying and selling were presented by Toni Coonce, chief revenue officer, WideOrbit, WideOrbit. Coonce presented awards to both Nicole Besen, buyer, local investment, Havas Media, and Jennifer Kempton, account executive, KUSA, Denver, Tegna, as this year’s recipients of the TVB NEXT awards in Media Buying and Media Sales, respectively.

When asked about her views on the media buyer’s role over the next five to ten years, Nicole Besen said, “In the future, I see the role of media buyers expanding. I believe buyers will be responsible for multiple forms of local media, activating holistically across platforms, rather than focusing on just one piece of the puzzle.”

“Local TV has the influence to grow local businesses by reaching a loyal audience and turning them into lifelong customers,” said Jennifer Kempton, describing her views on the power of local broadcast TV and localism. “Combining the power of broadcast TV with the sight, sound, and visual elements of a local commercial creates the most effective marketing tool for businesses.”

“As a leader in broadcast advertising technology, WideOrbit is proud to be the underwriting sponsor of the TVB Next Awards Program,” said Coonce. “We believe it is crucial for the future of our industry to support and encourage emerging talent, and the NEXT Awards recognize and honor the industry’s next generation of media buyers and sellers. Nicole and Jennifer are deserving recipients, and on behalf of all the TVB Forward Conference attendees, I congratulate them on this recognition.”

TVB DEI Leadership Awards are a new award that recognizes the efforts of TVB broadcast members and media agency partners who have committed time, resources and vision toward advancing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion among their organizations. 

The new awards follow TVB’s formation last year of a task force made up of 14 broadcast member groups to help hiring managers diversify their sales teams, increase retention, and promote inclusion and belonging.

The recipient of the inaugural Media Agency DEI Leadership Award is Horizon Media for their commitment to promote and represent multicultural communities, providing thought leadership to the industry, and actively creating campaigns in the DEI space. Horizon Media’s Project Embrace program helps clients reach multicultural audiences and ensures that minority-owned media compete for ad buys. Most recently, Horizon has partnered with Burst to deliver local DEI stories on local broadcast TV. Nancy Larkin EVP, Managing Partner, LocalONE Investment and DEI Impact Team Leader, Horizon Media, accepted the award on behalf of the company.

The Broadcaster DEI Leadership Award was given to an active member of the TVB DEI task force, Cox Media Group (CMG). GMG was recognized as the first Broadcaster DEI Leadership honoree at the TVB Executive Summit for their promotion of diversity, equity and inclusion through hiring and recruiting practices, a mentorship program, scholarship fund, and community-based campaigns. Aisha F. Thomkins, director, diversity, equity & inclusion, for CMG accepted the award on behalf of the company.

In addition, the Ad Council Catalyst Award was presented by DJ Perera, Chief Media Officer for the Ad Council, to Allen Media Group.

NEW YORK—The local broadcast TV trade association TVB has issued comments regarding Nielsen’s July 2023 The Gauge report that criticizes the relevance of the report and blasts the study for failing to “provide the key data needed by advertisers.” 

Nielsen's July 2023 report of The Gauge found that new viewing records were set in July with streaming accounting for a record high 38.7% of total TV usage that month while linear TV viewership fell below 50% for the first time. 

During July the share of broadcast and cable viewing also set new lows, with broadcast falling to a record low share of 20.0% and cable falling to 29.6% of total TV usage, respectively. They combined for a linear television record low of 49.6%. Nielsen also reported that from July 2022 to July 2023, time spent streaming via television increased more than 25%. 

“The Gauge Report provides a monthly view of the content and programming that audiences are watching on a television screen, including broadcast, cable and streaming platforms,” said Steve Lanzano, TVB president and CEO. “However, The Gauge doesn’t provide the key data needed by advertisers. Specifically, The Gauge’s streaming numbers include ALL SVOD subscribers – those who do and don’t receive ads – and for most SVOD platforms subscribers viewing ads are a far smaller segment of the overall total viewing.”

“For example, The Gauge’s July 2023 report shows Netflix representing 8% of total U.S. viewing," he continued. "However, last month it was reported that Netflix stated that 1.5 million of its U.S. subscribers can view commercials, which approximates just 2-3% of its U.S. subscribers. So, while streaming TV viewing is prevalent, an overwhelming majority of streaming viewers don’t see commercials. Advertisers need these facts when considering streaming media investments.”

The criticism builds on previous TVB reports that showing local newscasts have exponentially larger audiences than popular streaming services like Netflix.  

Others have also pointed out a number of potential methodological problems with The Gauge that have produced some overhyped reporting of viewing trends. 

One issue is the distinction between streaming and linear TV at a time when there is more viewing of live streaming channels. 

Another is how viewing on mobile devices, which are not covered by Nielsen’s The Gauge, may impact total audience numbers for local news, sports and other broadcast content.  

NEW YORK—While some viewing is undoubtedly shifting from traditional TV to streaming, a new study from TVB shows that local broadcast TV news continues to punch above its weight, delivering audiences that are 8 to 12 times larger than the programs viewed on six major SVOD services. 

“In response to industry reports about growing streaming viewership, TVB did an analysis comparing local broadcast TV news audiences in five geographically diverse LPM markets and streaming service viewing in those same markets,” explained Hadassa Gerber, chief research officer, TVB. “The analysis included 4,942 programs on six SVOD services (Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Apple TV+, Disney+ and HBO Max) and up to 79 local news programs in each of the five markets.”

“In each market, local broadcast TV news had 8-12 times more adult 18+ viewers than the streaming platforms combined!” she continued. “Due to measurement reporting limitations, the streaming audiences included both ad-supported and ad-free subscribers. Ad-supported platforms are what marketers need to reach consumers, so it is important to note that if the ad-supported streaming audiences could be culled from the total streaming audience numbers, local broadcast TV news audiences would surpass subscription streaming by even greater than 8-12 times margins.”

The conclusion is based on an analysis comparing one-day viewing of local broadcast news to streaming services, which included Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Apple TV+, Disney+ and HBO Max, the TVB said. 

Because of the different methodologies that Nielsen uses to accumulate SVOD audiences and linear audiences, the only way to have an apples-to-apples comparison is to look at one day of SVOD audiences versus the same one day of linear broadcast TV audiences. The TVB randomly selected the date of February 15th, 2023, and five geographically diverse LPM markets available in Nielsen’s national system. The data for impressions are for adults 18+.

The TVB also said that it included 4,942 programs on those 6 SVOD services and compared it to the news programs in each market which had only 58-79 programs (depending on the market). 

Even so, local news in each of the five markets had 8-12 times the daily impressions than the streaming platforms combined. That includes those viewing with and without ads, an important point given the fact that Netflix subscribers predominantly choose to subscribe to the ad free service and Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+ are entirely ad free.

Key takeaways from each market:

• New York: 59 local broadcast news programs totaled 6,610,000 A18+, while 4,942 programs on the streaming services reached just 718,000.
• Los Angeles: 79 local broadcast news programs totaled 4,979,000 A18+, while 4,942 programs on the streaming services reached just 663,000.
• Chicago: 64 local broadcast news programs totaled 3,860,000 A18+, while 4,942 programs on the streaming services reached just 329,000.
• Dallas: 60 local broadcast news programs totaled 3,023,000 A18+, while 4,942 programs on the streaming services reached just 310,000.
• Atlanta: 58 local broadcast news programs totaled 2,168,000 A18+, while 4,942 programs on the streaming services reached just 229,000.

NEW YORK—In the wake of a record-breaking year for midterm political advertising, new research from TVB suggests that the massive spending not only was a financial bonanza for stations in battleground states. It also found that candidates that devoted more resources to local broadcast TV advertising received the biggest bang for their buck and that TV ads in those battleground states helped motivate voter turnout. 

The new 2022 Voter Funnel survey from TVB examined the media’s influence on voters following the midterm election in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. 

The researchers report that TV was cited as the most important influence at each stage of voters’ decision process: (Awareness / Interest / Get More Information / Consider Voting / Vote). In fact, TV’s influence was more than all other media combined, at every stage.

In addition, 41% of voters selected broadcast TV as motivating them to get out and vote. Cable TV was next at a distant 27%, followed by social media at 24%.

Of those that cited TV as the “most important” influence, 7 out of 10 picked broadcast TV over cable.

TV ads had a ripple effect on 80% of respondents who took some kind of action after seeing/hearing a political ad on television. Additionally, of those that perform online searches, 83% said TV ads influenced their political searches.

The survey also found that local Broadcast TV news was the most trusted news source while news on local TV station websites and/or apps was the most trusted digital source. Voters found fake news to be most prevalent on social media and cable.

On average, in the 10 states, 53% of respondents voted prior to Election Day by mail, drop box or in person (before 11/8/22), an important finding for political campaign managers to factor into their advertising timing/schedule decisions.

Methodology: Conducted by Dynata, interviews were collected via opt-in survey to 10,000 adults (1,000 per state). Respondents were registered voters who saw/heard ads for candidates running for office on any of over 20 media platforms (traditional, digital, etc) in the past two months. They did not have to see a TV ad to be included in this study.

NEW YORK—In the run-up to the midterm elections, a new TVB study on media usage by voters in battleground states found that TV has the largest reach (76%), with broadcast leading the way at 74%. 

TV’s status as having the largest reach was true for all breakouts, including by individual state, party affiliation and demographics (A18-34, A35+, men, women, African Americans and Hispanics), the TVB reported. 

The study also found that at 74%, TV is key for motivating viewers to get out and vote, with radio coming in a very distant second (23%) followed by social media, an ad in the mail and local newspapers, all with 21%. 

The purpose of the TVB’s 2022 political media usage studies was to gain an understanding of media usage across traditional and digital platforms within states expected to be politically competitive in 2022.

TVB commissioned Dynata to conduct the study. The base sample included over 13,000 registered voters ages 18+ in eight states: Arizona (1,000), Florida (2,000), Georgia (2,000), Michigan (2,000), Nevada (1,000), North Carolina (2,000), Pennsylvania (2,000) and Wisconsin (1,000). 

To qualify, each respondent had to be a registered voter and had been exposed to any of over 20 media platforms (traditional or digital) in the prior 24-hour period. An equal number of respondents reported each day to ensure equal weighting, and demographic profiles were captured each day (age, sex, ethnicity and political identification).

The study also found that the primary source of news is broadcast television, but the #2 and #3 choices varied by demographic.

Local TV news (79%) is the most trusted among media platforms. Local TV news websites/apps (67%) are the most trusted among digital platforms. Social media, at 42%, is the least trusted.

Social media and cable news were the top picks for “fake news,” across all breakouts, including by individual state, party affiliation and demographics (A18-34, A35+, A50+, men, women, African Americans and Hispanics).

More information on the study can be found here. 

TVB also released their 2022 American Conversation Study which offered a number of key insights into voters’ perceptions ahead of the midterms. Highlights included:

• 49% of respondents are talking about politics daily. That has grown +44% since 2015 (34%).
• 62% of respondents said they are very likely to vote in the upcoming November 2022 mid-term elections.
• About half of survey respondents said the economy was the #1 issue that would get them to vote in the mid-term elections.
• Media affects conversations; TV is the key to sparking and supporting American conversations about news of the day, local/regional news, and politics. 
• Television affects 56% of political conversations, which is significantly more than online content, social media, print, and radio.
• Local broadcast TV news is the primary source of news. Respondents found it to be the most shareworthy, believable, and trustworthy news source.
• Respondents found social media to be the least believable and least trustworthy news source and also perceive “fake news” to be most prevalent on it.

 More information on this TVB study can be found here.   

NEW YORK—In the run-up to the 2022 elections where Kantar is estimating that political advertising could hit $7.8 billion, the TVB trade association representing America’s local broadcast television industry has issued new research highlighting the effectiveness of TV ads. 

The TVB survey of 1,000 registered voters in Virginia found that television was the most important influence throughout the voter decision process (awareness/interest/get more information/consider voting/vote) during the 2021 Virginia gubernatorial race. 

This was also true for all political affiliations, adults  aged 18-34, adults older than 35 and African-Americans, the TVB reported. 

The findings also highlighted that television is still key for influencing voters, with local broadcast TV maintaining the highest level (77%) of trust among voters. Social media, at 37%, ranked last. Virginia voters also found “fake news” most prevalent on social media (52%) and cable (43%).

Of those who cited television as the most important in the awareness stage, 68% picked broadcast television.

In addition about four in five Virginia respondents (79%) took action (voting, researching the candidate, discussing the ad with others, etc.) after seeing or hearing a TV ad, including word of mouth and going online. 

For local news and information, websites of choice were local TV stations’ sites, the survey found. Respondents preferred them twice as much as the next highest local medium, newspaper websites.

A majority (56%) of voters also selected TV as motivating them to get out and vote. Social media was next at 20%, followed by mail at 17%.

“Exposure to advertising on a media platform does not necessarily guarantee that voters will find that platform’s message important for influencing their voting decision process - with the exception of television,” TVB's chief research officer Hadassa Gerber explained. “Of over 20 platforms included in the study, voters overwhelmingly cited TV as the most important influence; there was no close second.”

More results from the survey are available here and in the graphics below. 

NEW YORK—The coronavirus (COVID-19) has dramatically altered people’s daily lives as well as their viewing habits, as indicated by a new report from TVB, particularly among millennials (ages 18-34).

TVB’s “Broadcast TV Viewership During Coronavirus” looks at TV viewership for seven broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, CW, Telemundo and Univision) in 25 LPM markets for the first two weeks of March in 2020—when the coronavirus hit the U.S. in earnest—and compared it to the same time period in 2019. Overall, TVB found that TV viewership has increased in 2020 over the same period in 2019, even as live sports are not available.

Millennials, who are often cited as the age group most often leaving traditional broadcast for streaming options, were big drivers on this surge. Local news programming is among the biggest draws for millennials. Among those aged 18-34, local news airing Monday to Friday at anytime during the first week of March 2020 saw a 52% increase in live viewing compared to 2019, and then the second week was up 83%. The Live+1 viewing numbers were nearly identical—52% for week one, 84% for week two.

The evening news is the most popular time to watch the news for millennials. More than half of the views for all local news came from evening news programs in week one and week two, for live and live+1. The second week of March in 2020 saw a 106% increase in viewership of millennials for evening news in both live and live+1 measurements.

Local broadcast TV news has also garnered the trust of millennial viewers, with 71% saying they trust what they hear on those TV broadcasts; network broadcast news comes in at 61%, cable news channels at 53%. Local TV news also is the most trusted digital source for millennials with 61%, just ahead of national/local newspapers’ digital presence (60%).

More information on the study can be found on TVB’s website.

NEW YORK—Consumers spend more time watching TV than they do interacting with any other ad-supported media platform. That is one of the key takeaways from the 2020 Media Comparisons Study done by GfK in collaboration with TVB, the local broadcast TV trade association.

The 2020 Media Consumption Study looked at how individuals consume ad-supported media, as well as the platforms’ reach, time spent and role in motivating consumers to learn more about a product or service. The study also looked at where people get their daily news.

Local broadcast TV, both traditional and digital, was the top medium for consumers. Adults 18 and older spent five hours and 17 minutes with TV daily; social media was the next closest with an hour and six minutes, while radio came in at an hour and one minute. It also had the highest reach of those 18 and older, available to 80%, 78% of which is from broadcast; social media, radio and cable were in the mid 50s.

Local broadcast TV was also cited as the most trusted news source, having 75% of respondents 18 and older agreeing. The big four broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox) were also highlighted as the four top choices of TV networks, with a cable channel rounding out the top five.

As far as advertising, TV led the way in that as well. It was noted as an influencer in purchase decisions 63% more than social media, three times more than direct mail and search, and seven times more so than radio. Among adults, 54% said TV ads motivated them to do more research, with those numbers increasing in certain categories (i.e. car buyers).

“Competition for consumers’ attention grows by the day, and yet television continues to stand tall as the medium with which people choose to spend most of their available time,” said Steve Lanzano, president and CEO of TVB.

The full 2020 Media Consumption Study is available online. 

NEW YORK—When Hurricane Dorian approached the Southeastern U.S. in early September, residents from the communities in its path overwhelmingly turned to their local TV stations to find out the latest news about the storm. This was a key finding of the “Hurricane Dorian Media Usage Study” conducted by Dynata and commissioned by the TVB trade association.

Speaking with 861 people in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia from Sept. 3-5, 84% of the respondents said they used TV station news to get the latest information on the hurricane and spent an average of three hours and 24 minutes watching local broadcast TV, more than twice the amount of time for network TV and social media. Local TV was also the top choice for 75% of respondents when it came to preparing for the severe weather.

And finally, 94% agreed that local news TV was the most trusted source of information regarding Dorian, with TV stations news websites and apps being the second most at 88%; social media was least trusted at 57%.

“Local communities continue to rely on their local broadcast TV stations to deliver up-to-the-minute and potentially life-saving coverage in times of emergency,” said Steve Lanzano, TVB president and CEO. “Data from the ‘Hurricane Dorian Media Usage Study’ revealed that local communities overwhelmingly chose TV station news over all other resources to deliver the most accurate weather coverage and critical safety information they need.”

The full report on Hurricane Dorian coverage can be found here.

NEW YORK—When it comes to the top type of media that influences consumers at purchase time, traditional television remains king, according to the 2019 Purchase Funnel study conducted by GfK.

The study found that 96% of in-market consumers first find out about a product from media, with 85% saying that media directly influences their purchases. TV was the most important driver of this awareness for 56% of consumers; all other media combined trailed at 40%.

The influence of TV is also able to bridge the age gap, with 85% of adults and 91% of millennials saying TV advertising influenced their online searches. TV ads also spur action, as 78% of opinion leaders said they responded with some kind of action after seeing TV ads.

In addition, the report found that both adults and millennials believe local broadcast TV news and local newspapers are the most trusted sources of news, while social media is the least.

“The most important insight for marketers from the GfK study is that exposure to an advertising platform does not guarantee its importance to consumers—with the exception of television,” said Hadassa Gerber, TVB chief research officer. “With more options for advertisers to deliver their messages than ever before, television continues to have the greatest impact on driving awareness and motivating consumers to take action.”

The full report is available on tvb.com.

Over the holidays, Netflix released “Bird Box,” a thriller starring Sandra Bullock that follows the star and two children as they seek refuge from entities, which, if viewed, cause those who look upon them to commit suicide.

While the film doesn’t reveal exactly what the entities are, nor what they look like, a character in the film named Charlie (Lil Rey Howery) says they take on the form of “your worst fears, your deepest sadness or your greatest loss.”

Hence the need for blindfolds—especially if you’re seeking safety by trekking through the woods and down a river with full exposure to the entities. As Malorie Hayes (Bullock) tells the children: “Under no circumstance are you allowed to take off your blindfold.”

One person who apparently did remove his blindfold was CBS Entertainment President Kelly Kahl. Questioning the veracity of Netflix’ claim that more than 45 million accounts watched the film in its first week, Kahl tweeted the number was “independently verified by… uh, Netflix.”

When I read about Kahl’s reaction (“Bird Box breaks Netflix record for viewing figures, but critics aren’t so convinced” in The Independent), I couldn’t help but think of a presentation Abby Auerbach, executive vice president and chief communications officer, of the Television Bureau of Advertising, made in May 2018 at the annual meeting of the Advanced Television Systems Committee in Washington, D.C.

While Auerbach was at the ATSC meeting to discuss the value of advertising on television—especially with the new capabilities ATSC 3.0 brings when it comes to personalized content recommendations, VOD and audience measurement, her presentation offered a bit of context for where television stands against digital alternatives as a marketing vehicle.

Three points come to mind from the presentation. First, TV reaches more adults in a single day than Netflix and YouTube reach in a month, she said. That is more than 180 million adults 18 years of age and older in one day of TV viewing versus 114.5 million per month for YouTube and nearly 85 million a month for Netflix.

Second, TV needs one day to reach just over 81.5 million unduplicated viewers on six networks with 546 programs and a viewing time of 60 seconds, which Nielsen requires to be considered a viewer, versus 31 days for social media with more than 10 billion videos on 90 platforms and a viewing duration of just 3 seconds, which ComScore requires to be counted as a bona fide viewer.

Third, all that glitters is not gold, especially when it comes to digital. Auerbach quoted Marc Pritchard, Chief Brand Officer at Procter & Gamble, during her presentation, as saying: “As we all chased the Holy Grail of digital, self-included, we were relinquishing too much control—blinded by shiny objects, overwhelmed by big data, and ceding power to algorithms.”

To be sure, there is a bit of apples and oranges in my comparison of Netflix to ad-supported digital alternatives to TV. After all, Netflix is a purely SVOD. Still, Auerbach’s presentation underscored the fact that when it comes to reach and effectiveness broadcast television remains the king.

Throw into the mix the backlash Facebook has experienced from marketers who have felt deceived by its video ad metrics and the enhancements 3.0 offers TV viewers, stations and marketers alike, and the position of television looks to remain strong for the foreseeable future.

The challenge for broadcasters won’t be as much technological as it will be personal, helping marketers like Pritchard to take off their blindfolds, face their greatest fear, and recognize the “shiny object” may be the rapacious entity that gobbles up their ad spend without satisfying their expectations.

NEW YORK—Leo MacCourtney, president of Katz Television Group, has been elected to serve a two-year term (2019-2020) as chairman of the Television Bureau of Advertising.

MacCourtney has been a board member of TVB since 2005 and most recently served as its treasurer, TVB said. He takes over from Perry Sook, founder, chairman and president of Nexstar Media Group, who completed his two-year term at the end of last year.

“I am grateful to follow Perry Sook’s leadership in the role of TVB Chairman as we continue our work on initiatives to support the future growth and innovation of the local broadcast TV industry and our over 800 member stations,” said MacCourtney.

“As the broadcast TV industry continues to evolve across all screens and devices, so has TVB’s mission to increase collaboration between media agencies, advertising sales resps and broadcasters to support our shared goals for sustainable local TV growth,” he said.

MacCourtney has more than 37 years of professional experience in the broadcasting industry. From 1998 to 2007, he served as president of Blair Television. MacCourtney joined Katz Television, a television representation company, in 2007 as VP of Business Development. He became president of the Eagle Television Sales division in 2008. He was named Katz Television Group in March 2012.

Besides TVB Board membership, MacCourtney is a board member of the International Radio & Television Society Foundation, the Broadcasters Foundation of America, the Emma Brown Foundation and the Washington Media Scholars Foundation.

“As a TVB Board member and a leading executive at the nation’s top TV rep company, he has been a strong advocate for the power of local broadcast TV’s premium, cross-platform local advertising opportunities,” said Steve Lanzano, TVB president and CEO.

“importantly, Leo’s experience collaborating with both broadcast leaders and media agency executives will serve TVB well as we continue our work to advance local TV, which enhancing our members’ local revenue opportunities and advertiser relationships.”

Politicians running in the 2018 elections spent a record amount of money on advertising for mid-term campaigns, with more than $4 billion between local broadcast, cable and online. The vast bulk of the dollars went to local television, at just over $3 billion, according to the Television Bureau of Advertising. Cable brought in $1.1 billion and $900 million went to online advertising. Although local television reaped the biggest windfall, the numbers represent a 29 percent increase for local TV, 75 percent for cable and a whopping 260 percent increase for online, when compared to the 2014 mid-terms, according to Axios.

The biggest spenders in the campaign, according to Axios were Political Action Committees (PACs), including Priorities USA and House Majority PAC on the left, Congressional Leadership Fund and Senate Leadership Fund on the right, as well as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee.

The figures for digital online political advertising were debateable, with advertising research firm Borrell touting $1.8 billion and Kantar Media/CMAG estimating $900 million. In 2014, an estimated $250 million was spend in online campaign ads.

Nevertheless, with 3 out of every 4 dollars spent on local TV ads, TVB touted the figures as proof that political campaigns continue to view local television as the primary venue for political advertising.

“Campaigns, PACs and other entities spent over $3 billion dollars on local broadcast television advertising in the 2018 midterm cycle,” commented TVB President & CEO, Steve Lanzano. “There is no doubt that local broadcast TV delivers for political campaigns. Candidates continue to derive tangible, winning results from local broadcast television. Tuesday’s dominant reliance on TV, over all other media platforms, demonstrates that voters rely on local broadcast TV to inform their voting decisions.”

“2018 was uncertain in every way; the volatility this cycle was unprecedented,” said Kyle Roberts, President and CEO of Advertising Analytics. “It’s why we saw candidates and campaigns go back to what is tried and true: if you use TV, it reaches voters and they listen. TV works.”

Click on the Image to Enlarge

NEW YORK—When people in the Boston area wanted to do about the impending “bomb cyclone” that made its way through the region last week they did so by tuning into their local broadcast news channels for storm coverage, according to a survey by TVB. The “Bomb Cyclone Media Usage in Boston” survey, which was conducted by Research Now, echoed other surveys issued about media usage during Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

NEWBURY, ENGLAND—Television Broadcast Ltd. (TVB), Hong Kong’s largest broadcaster, is rolling out its first UHD outside broadcast vehicle and has turned to Snell Advanced Media to supply some of the infrastructure. Stocked in the UHD OB truck is SAM's’Kahuna multi-format live production switcher and IQ Modular infrastructure.

With these SAM systems, TVB can support complex productions, including HD and UHD. The Kahuna switcher can handle any combination of SD, HD, 1080p, 4K, IP and HDR via the FormatFusion3 and FormatFusion4 technology, which eliminates need for external conversion.

The TVB truck went live in April 2017 and in addition to the SAM gear includes UHD 4K HDR cameras from Ikegami and lenses from Fujinon.

The truck replaced the broadcaster’s previous SD truck and will be used to support a mix of HD and UHD broadcasts, including the coverage of international events.

NEW YORK – TVB, a not-for-profit trade association of America’s local broadcast television industry, announced today that Perry A. Sook, founder, chairman president and CEO of Nexstar Broadcasting Group, was elected to serve as TVB chairman for a two-year term (2017-18). A member of TVB’s board of directors since 2000, Sook assumes the chairman’s position previously held by Michael J. Fiorile, vice chairman and CEO of Dispatch Broadcast Group, who completed his two-year term at 2016 year-end.

“I’m honored to follow Michael Fiorile’s tremendous leadership by assuming the role of TVB chairman as we continue to extend our work on important initiatives that will benefit the local broadcast television industry and our over 800 member stations, ” Sook said. “As the most trusted medium among viewers with the greatest influence on consumer purchasing and voting decisions, local broadcast television continues to be the leading marketing platform for brand managers, advertisers and political campaigns to reach target audiences. A critical part of our mission at TVB is enhancing our members’ local sales efforts with tools, data and services that best leverage the unrivaled reach, influence and engagement our professionally-produced local news and content delivers across all screens and devices.

“My career has been devoted to advocating for the local broadcast television industry and the essential services we provide to local communities across the United States and my chairmanship comes at a time of great opportunity for our industry. As a TVB board member for the past 16 years, my colleagues across station groups have established a unified voice for the value of our local programming and content, while helping member stations grow their businesses and more effectively compete in the ever-changing media landscape.

“As chairman I look forward to further strengthening the influence and advocacy of TVB; to working with the board of directors and CEO Steve Lanzano to expand TVB’s initiatives to drive local sales in key verticals for member stations; to collaborating with our industry partners to set accurate measurement and currency standards; to reinforcing the power of our platform in reaching voters and influencing election outcomes; and to expanding the thought leadership at our annual Forward Conference.”

Perry Sook has over 36 years of professional experience in the broadcasting industry, covering all facets of the business. He founded Nexstar in 1996 with one local television station in Scranton, PA and began building the foundation of what is today one of the world’s leading local diversified media companies. Upon closing of its acquisition of Media General, Nexstar will be the second largest local broadcast television operator in the United States with 171 stations reaching 100 markets, or approximately 39 percent of all television households.

As one of the nation’s leading providers of local news, entertainment, sports, lifestyle and network programming, Nexstar will produce and distribute over 185,000 hours of local content per year on a pro-forma basis. In addition, Nexstar’s digital properties will continue to provide innovative digital marketing solutions and services to local and national media companies, advertisers, agencies and brands.

In addition to serving on the board of TVB, Mr. Sook is a board member of the National Association of Broadcasters, the NBC Affiliate board, and chairman of The Ohio University Foundation board. Mr. Sook was named 2009 Broadcaster of the Year by Broadcasting and Cable and was among the honorees inducted into the 2014 B&C Hall of Fame. He was inducted to The Library of American Broadcasting Foundation’s 2016 Giants of Broadcasting and Electronic Arts and received The Media Institute’s 2016 American Horizon Award, recognizing his leadership, promoting the vitality and independence of American media.

Steve Lanzano, TVB president and CEO, added, “Perry is a local broadcast television industry pioneer and innovator. Throughout his time as a TVB board member and his years of executive leadership, Perry has been a strong advocate on key industry issues including the establishment of the retransmission revenue stream which benefits affiliates and networks, the ongoing pursuit of fair compensation from pay TV operators, the establishment of a successful framework to support diversity in local broadcast station ownership and the advancement of digital innovation and cross-platform marketing solutions.

“From the beginning, Perry and Nexstar have cultivated an organization-wide commitment to localism and serving the needs of local viewers, businesses, advertisers and community organizations. His leadership and expertise have helped grow our medium into the powerful platform for advertisers it is today. We look forward to the benefits of Perry’s further involvement in TVB through his service as chairman for the next two years. I want to thank and acknowledge Michael Fiorile for his outstanding leadership and guidance over the last two years and we look forward to benefiting from his ongoing participation with TVB and its executive committee.”

NEW YORK—A couple of major snow storms hit both the East Coast and the Midwest in recent weeks. To get necessary emergency weather information, the Television Bureau of Advertising revealed as part of an analysis, people often turn to their local TV stations’ digital platforms, creating large traffic spikes for the stations’ online and mobile sites.

During Winter Storm Jonas, station websites for East Coast broadcasters like WGAL, covering Harrisonburg, Lancaster, Lebanon and York, Pa., generated 10 million page views and 1.7 million sessions, according to the analysis, more than five times its normal traffic. The report also indicates that WBAL in Baltimore doubled its app users, tripled its total online sessions, and had quadrupled its page views.

In the Midwest, during a winter storm that took place on Feb. 2, markets also saw mass jumps in traffic. The website of KQDS in Duluth, Minn., had a 400 percent increase in page views from the previous day. KAAL in Rochester, Minn., saw its site and app traffic more than double compared to the previous day, and increase six times from the daily average in January. Stations in Minneapolis and Sioux Falls, S.D., tripled in page views and number of visits.

These results appear to back-up the study “American Conversation” by Keller Fray, which claims people seeking local and regional news visit local TV station websites more frequently than social media platforms, national TV websites and all other Internet sites.

“Data confirms that when vital information is most in demand, local residents not only predominantly rely on local broadcast TV for local and regional news updates, they are also utilizing local TV station websites as a primary source for timely updates and information, especially during weather emergencies” said Steve Lanzano, president and CEO of TVB.

NEW YORK—A collaboration between the Television Bureau of Advertising and a Pearl TV-led working group is providing open access to version 1.0 of the “Broadcast Linear Television Programmatic Guidelines and Best Practices.” These guidelines were designed for the implementation of programmatic buying and selling of broadcast linear TV advertising.

“These guidelines will be maintained as an open and collaborative effort between broadcasters, advertising agencies, rep firms, aggregators and platform providers,” said Steve Lanzano, TVB president and CEO. “This document is expected to continue to evolve through successive updates, and is open to input from all companies and individuals who wish to contribute.”

The Pearl-led task force is made up of Cox Media Group, E.W. Scripps, Graham Media, Hearst Television, Media General, Meredith Local Media, Raycom Media, Schurz Communications and Tegna. Broadcast industry representatives from Cox Reps, Fox Television Stations, Katz Television and Tribune Media collaborated with TVB in establishing the programmatic guidelines.

To download the full version of the “Broadcast Linear Television Programmatic Guidelines and Best Practices,” click here.

NEW YORK—TVB, the trade association of America’s local broadcast television industry, has appointed Brian Wexler to the position of vice president, local division.

With 24 years in the broadcast industry, Wexler has previously served as a local, regional and national sales manager for local stations owned by broadcast networks and their affiliates, including TEGNA, CBS Television, and FOX Television. Most recently we held the position of director of national multimedia accounts with WTSP-TV.Among Wexler’s new responsibilities will be working to create category-specific presentations to build local broadcast television’s relationship with advertisers and agencies. He will also work with station account executives to promote eBusiness process efficiencies and provide training through webinars, webcasts and in-person meetings.

Wexler will assume his new position immediately and report to Brad Seitter, executive vice president, business development.