Local media organizations project digital growth in 2025 despite challenges

Digital revenue increased for 45% of local media organizations in 2024, and the industry expects continued growth in 2025, according to a new survey from the Local Media Consortium.

The organization’s “Local Media Industry Insights Survey” found that 83% of media professionals expect digital revenue to either increase or remain stable in 2025, with 68% forecasting growth and 15% projecting flat revenue.

“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,” said Fran Wills, CEO of the Local Media Consortium.

“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.”

Video, over-the-top content, and connected TV emerged as top digital success areas in 2024, alongside digital subscriptions and newsletters. News content generated the highest traffic and revenue, followed by sports and arts/entertainment content.

The survey identified advertising declines as the primary challenge in 2024, with 53% of respondents citing it as their main concern. Staffing and training challenges increased 136% compared to the previous year.

Despite record political advertising spending of $11 billion during the 2024 election cycle, local media organizations captured a limited share. Only 4.6% of survey respondents reported a 50% increase in political ad spending compared to 2023, while 20% saw no increase.

The industry’s outlook for 2025 emphasizes audience growth, with 83% of respondents identifying it as their top priority. Other focus areas include advertising monetization at 78% and consumer subscriptions at 26%.

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Artificial intelligence adoption continues to expand, with 66% of organizations planning to use AI for operations and 47% intending to implement it for content creation tasks such as headline writing and summaries.

The Local Media Consortium conducted the survey from Sept. 27 to Oct. 11, 2024, gathering responses from media professionals across newspapers, broadcast and online news outlets in North America and Puerto Rico.