NAPERVILLE, Ill.—Media industry employers are continuing their multiyear trend of increasing salaries for all worker segments but raises lag those in general industry, said the Content and Connectivity Human Resources Association (C2HR).
Data from the trade group representing cable-industry human resources professionals shows that 2025 merit increases, which are part of company salary adjustment budgets, averaged 3.1% for broadband connectivity employers (slightly less than last year’s 3.3%). Among programmers, 2025 merit increases for employees also averaged 3.3%, slightly higher than last year’s 3.2%.
“Year after year, our members prove that steady wage growth is part of this industry’s DNA,” C2HR executive director Parthavi Das said. “These increases demonstrate commitment to the skilled employees who power this industry and keep it moving forward.”
The research projects that salary increases in 2026 will remain consistent — 3.1% for connectivity companies and 3.2% for content creators. These increases slightly lag general industry salary raises of 3.7% in 2025 and 3.6% in 2026 (projected), as reported by World at Work.
“We were pleased to discover that even in these more challenging times, we saw consistent, rather than lower budgets year over year,” said Hali Croner, president and CEO of The Croner Co., which collected the data for C2HR. “This consistency demonstrates participants’ commitment to growing the compensation of their staffs.”
Besides merit increases, the research also reveals changes to company salary structures. Adjustments to salary structures are not based on performance but apply across the defined salary ranges for each position, C2HR said.
In 2025, adjustments were mixed for content executives. Some companies reported 3.0% structure increases, and others none. On average, content developers adjusted salary structures for exempt employees (generally mid-level managers and other salaried employees) by 3.3%; and nonexempt (hourly) employees by 3.2%.
Among connectivity providers, in 2025 respondents raised exempt employee salary structures by 2.3% and hourly employees by 2.3%. None reported salary structure adjustments for executives, it said.
How do media industry merit budgets compare with other industries? “These budgets are consistent with other industry findings,” Croner said. “As with all averages, the flat results include reduced budgets, increased budgets and flat budgets. We saw this mix across all of the industries we study.”
More information is available on the the C2HR website.
