TV Broadcasting

The 712 television broadcasters in the US operate studios and facilities for the programming and transmission of TV programs to the public. Firms may also produce or transmit programming to affiliated television stations, which broadcast programs to the public. They generate revenue primarily through advertising sales, which include on-air and digital media.

Cyclical and Seasonal Sales

Advertising sales, which are the main source of revenue for television broadcasters, are seasonal and cyclical and driven by political campaigns and major events, such as the Super Bowl.

Competition from Alternative Media

Television broadcasters compete for advertising revenue with a variety of alternative media, including newspapers, magazines, outdoor ads, direct mail, multichannel video programming distributors (MVPD), over-the-top video distributors (OTTD), and online media (Google, Facebook).

Sep 8, 2026 - Federal Limit On Broadcast TV Ownership Eliminated

• The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has eliminated a cap on the share of US television households a single company can reach. The FCC repealed a 22-year-old rule holding that a company cannot own stations that reach more than a combined 39% of the US television audience. The ownership limit will be replaced by a case-by-case approach. Opponents of the rule change have argued that removing the cap would accelerate media consolidation, trigger rounds of layoffs, shrink the pool of independent station owners, and limit viewpoint diversity on the airwaves.
• Non-sports broadcast primetime viewership decreased more than 75% over the past 20 years, according to financial analysts at LightShed Partners. NFL regular season viewership is up over 30% over the same period. The NFL is currently in the process of renegotiating higher rights fees, according to LightShed Partners. Those higher licensing fees could mean that "broadcast networks may be forced to cut back on general entertainment programming that does not cover its production costs, reduce the cost of programming or shift even more of that content to streaming platforms," according to Lightshed Partners
• Some broadcasters have had to cut local news or pursue mergers to maintain current levels of coverage, according to former Federal Communications Commissioner Robert McDowell. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who has warned that heavily regulated local TV stations could disappear, has launched efforts to rebalance the regulatory asymmetry but it is unclear if antitrust regulators will agree with him that the video marketplace is sufficiently competitive to approve defensive mergers between even small local stations, according to the McDowell. Local TV newsrooms in small markets can cost $5 million to construct, with annual operating expenses starting at $500,000, but stations rely on shrinking advertising dollars and subscription fees to pay those expenses, according to BIA Advisory Services. Consumers have more programming choices than ever and advertisers see all video platforms as substitutes for traditional TV, according to National Economic Research Associates. TV broadcasters have only a 9.3% viewer share, according to BIA Advisory Services.
• TV broadcasting industry employment and average wages for nonsupervisory employees decreased slightly during the first five months of 2026, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). TV broadcasting industry revenue decreased 7.1% year over year and increased 11.9% quarter over quarter during the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the US Census Bureau. TV broadcasters moderately increased their prices during the first three months of 2026, according to the BLS. Television broadcasters generate revenue primarily through advertising sales, which include on-air and digital media.

Industry size & Structure

The average television broadcaster employs about 206 workers and generates about $104.5 million annually.

• The television broadcasting industry consists of about 712 firms that employ about 147,000 workers and generate $74 billion annually.
• The industry is highly concentrated; the top 20 companies account for about 91% of industry revenue.
• Large firms include Sinclair Broadcast Group and Nexstar (Tribune Media Group). The major television broadcast networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, CW) also own and operate local television stations, primarily in major media markets. Major media companies, such as Gannett and Hearst, also own stations that operate as network affiliates.
• About 1,780 television broadcast stations exist in the US, including almost 400 educational stations, according to the FCC.