AdvertisementBroadcast TV stations have long had the highest profit margins in the media business. “It used to be that people would grow into the news habits of their parents, and now they’re not,” said Andrew Heyward, a former president of CBS News who now advises local TV stations. Since 2000, TV stations have seen their take of ad dollars decline by an inflation-adjusted 36%, according to BIA Advisory Services. The dollars that TV station owners receive from cable and satellite operators for carrying their signals are expected to stagnate because of the dwindling number of pay-TV subscribers. TV stations say they have to adapt to streaming as well if they want to have a future.

Source: Los Angeles Times March 23, 2026 14:32 UTC