The Local Broadcast Advantage: Trust, Scale, and Real Results
In a world of fragmented screens and shifting algorithms, broadcast television is one of advertising’s most powerful and proven platforms. While much of the industry’s attention has shifted heavily toward digital and streaming, broadcast continues to lead in trust, scale, and impact – especially at the local level.
According to the TVB 2025 Purchase Funnel Study, 82% of consumers say that ads seen on linear TV influence their online search behavior – a clear demonstration of television’s ability to drive lower-funnel activity, not just brand awareness.
Trust That Moves Audiences
Local broadcast maintains a high level of consumer trust, particularly in local news and sports. In fact, according to viewers are four times more likely to trust brands that advertise locally than those that only advertise nationally. In a media environment where misinformation and brand safety concerns are growing, that level of consumer credibility offers a powerful halo effect for advertisers, enhancing brand legitimacy, recall, and overall campaign performance.
This trust directly translates to results. The Local Lift analysis shows that ads running in trusted local environments outperform by up to 32% in brand consideration, a testament to broadcast’s unique ability to connect authentically with communities and drive consumer action.
That trust is reinforced by broadcast’s unmatched scale in moments that matter. According to TVB’s 2025 National Media Related Universe Estimates, linear television continues to deliver near-universal reach, with broadcast reaching the vast majority of U.S. TV households and more than 16% of households receiving television exclusively via over-the-air signals.
Nielsen’s December Gauge Report also reports that broadcast viewership accounts for 21.4% of total watch-time in December, underscoring broadcast’s ability to deliver mass exposure in an increasingly fragmented media environment. Live programming further amplifies this impact. According to Nielsen and the NFL, the league averaged 18.7 million viewers per regular-season game, with cable sports programming experiencing a 16% viewing lift in December 2025. This was bolstered by historic streaming audiences, including record breaking NFL games on Netflix and Prime Video during the holiday period. This marks the second-highest per-game average since tracking began and reinforcing broadcast’s continued ability to command attention, trust, and real-time engagement at scale.
Reaching Whole Communities, Not Just Segments
One of broadcast’s greatest strengths is its ability to serve entire communities, rather than narrowly defined audience segments. While digital campaigns rely on behavioral targeting to build audiences, broadcast delivers wide coverage across geographic and demographic lines. This unifying reach is especially valuable for advertisers looking to drive shared cultural relevance in local markets.
And when combined with streaming’s addressability, the result is unbeatable. Pairing broadcast’s mass scale with digital targeting allows brands to surround their audience – on every screen, in every stage of the funnel.
From Measurement to Optimization: The Rise of Data-Driven Linear (DDL)
Measurement advances have unlocked something even more powerful for local broadcast: optimization. With data-driven linear (DDL), advertisers can now plan and refine linear TV schedules using real household level TV viewership data, optimizing where, when, and how ads run across DMAs to maximize reach, efficiency, and outcomes.
With the rise of data-driven linear (DDL), advertisers can now plan and refine linear TV schedules using household-level viewership data, optimizing where, when, and how ads run across DMAs to improve reach, efficiency, and outcomes.
Rather than relying solely on age and gender proxies, DDL prioritizes networks, dayparts, and markets based on actual viewing behavior and performance signals, bringing the intelligence marketers expect from digital into the linear TV ecosystem.
Industry analysis shows this opportunity is significant. According to Arima and Nielsen research, more than 75% of national linear TV inventory is data-enabled, yet only a small portion of linear ad spend currently leverages data-driven optimization.
In practice, campaigns using data-driven linear approaches have delivered up to 2.7 times higher unique reach relative to their share of impressions, outperforming broader national messaging despite representing a smaller share of overall investment. This shift positions local broadcast as a flexible, performance-informed channel while preserving the scale, trust, and community connection that define its value.
Embracing Convergence, Amplifying Results
Today’s media consumption is seamless, and smart planning must follow suit. Audiences shift between set-top boxes, smart TVs, phones, and desktops, and broadcast thrives across all of them. It isn’t a traditional holdover – it's a convergence-ready workhorse delivering consistent results in a dynamic media environment.
Broadcast remains a powerful tool, delivering scale, credibility, and community connection that many digital environments can’t replicate alone. When integrated effectively with digital and streaming tactics, it becomes a central force in delivering full-funnel impact and driving online behavior.
Broadcast: A Smart Bet for Smart Marketers
For performance-driven marketers, local broadcast is indispensable, as it offers rare consistency in a chaotic media ecosystem, with the power to build brand, influence behavior, and drive conversions.
As the media landscape continues to evolve, so should our assumptions. Broadcast continues to play a pivotal role in driving reach and guiding consumers through the purchase funnel, especially when leveraged at a local level. When strategically integrated, it not only builds trust but also delivers measurable bottom-funnel outcomes.
Now is the time to lean into local broadcast.
[Editor's note: This is a contributed article from Locality. Streaming Media accepts vendor bylines based solely on their value to our readers.]
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