Local stations face a different streaming challenge, and a different set of infrastructure choices

Local broadcasters have moved beyond the question of whether to stream. The operational reality they now face is how to do it with smaller teams, tighter budgets and content libraries that look nothing like those of national operators.

For many, this means an embrace of streaming only newscasts, live rolling coverage or even lifestyle programming. 

The infrastructure decisions, however, differ at the local level from those driving driving national and global streaming expansion. Where larger operators build around massive content catalogs and international distribution, local broadcasters work with programming that has geographic relevance but limited replay value – live news, regional sports and community events that demand timely delivery more than deep libraries.

Rick Young, SVP and head of global products at LTN, said the transition toward IP-based video transport has had the most significant effect on local stations’ ability to support streaming.

“Traditional satellite and fiber systems were designed for fixed delivery paths, while modern content strategies require live events to reach multiple platforms simultaneously,” Young said in the Industry Insights roundtable on streaming, FAST and CTV strategy.

“Purpose-built IP distribution can match satellite reliability while providing far greater flexibility and cost predictability, allowing broadcasters to spin up multiple channel variants or live event feeds for digital distribution without additional CapEx investment.”

That flexibility matters at the local level because stations often cannot justify the capital outlays that national operators absorb as part of the cost of doing business. IP-based transport, for example, allows a single live event to appear across broadcast, a station app and a FAST channel without requiring separate production workflows for each destination.

Live content as the local differentiator

The content that has translated most naturally to streaming from local stations is programming built around community interest and real-time relevance.

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“Live local programming has proven particularly well suited to streaming platforms and FAST channels, especially when it involves strong community interest,” Young said. “Regional sports provide a clear example, as fans tend to follow their teams across broadcast television, streaming platforms, and station-operated apps.”

Local news has followed a similar path.

Audiences seek out weather, breaking news and community coverage regardless of platform, and stations that have made that content available on streaming have found it draws viewers who may not watch a traditional linear newscast.

Nexstar, Tegna and other station groups have leaned into this with “plus” offerings and dedicated streaming areas of newsrooms.

Young noted that stations gaining traction treat each live event as a flexible asset that can be adapted for different platforms without rebuilding production workflows. That operational approach, producing once and distributing across multiple endpoints, has become standard practice for stations that have moved into streaming.

Measuring success at modest scale

One challenge local stations face is defining what success looks like when streaming audiences remain small relative to broadcast.

Traditional ratings metrics do not always capture the value of a local streaming effort in its early stages, where hundreds of viewers may tune into a YouTube or Facebook live stream.

Young said early success is often reflected in operational improvements rather than audience scale alone. Stations have also found new, younger demographics through streaming – viewers who have moved away from scheduled linear newscasts but still want local coverage.

“Even modest streaming viewership can generate meaningful interest from advertisers seeking targeted or cross-platform campaigns into these new demos,” Young said.

That advertiser interest points to a practical business case for local streaming that does not depend on reaching massive audiences. Smaller, well-defined local audiences can carry value for advertisers that national reach numbers do not capture.

Discovery remains a structural problem

Local content faces a visibility challenge on connected TV platforms that national programming does not. Viewers on CTV often encounter content through the home screen. App interface design, recommendations and digital program guides have replaced channel surfing behavior that has historically benefited local stations.

Hadar Tel Mizrahi, senior product manager for targeted ads and recommendations at Viaccess-Orca, said local stations can address this through personalized recommendations and contextual content placement rather than relying on active search.

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“Using viewing behavior and identified audience segments, platforms can expose local content even when users are not actively searching for it,” Tel Mizrahi said.

This is possible on apps owned by station groups, such as on a smart TV or a phone, but it won’t impact stations in larger streaming environments or buried in a sea of content on YouTube.

Young noted the answer is distribution, providing more outlets for being found, across multiple streaming ecosystems where audiences already spend time, including FAST channels, station apps and third-party platforms. 

The approach spreads content across several discovery surfaces rather than depending on any single one.

The road from extension to core platform

For most local stations, streaming currently functions as an extension of linear operations rather than as a standalone business, with content largely programmed like a linear channel. 

Tel Mizrahi said that as viewing continues to shift toward streaming and audiences show greater tolerance for ad-supported models, FAST is expected to evolve into a core distribution channel for local broadcasters.

That evolution depends on continued infrastructure investment and on whether local stations can sustain the operational demands of multi-platform distribution with the resources available to them. The technology to support local streaming exists and has become more accessible, but the gap between what is technically possible and what local operations can realistically maintain remains a defining constraint.