Broadcasters and ad-tech executives at the TVNewsCheck Local TV Strategies conference discussed shifting from record 2026 political ad revenue toward automated, audience-based buying for 2027. The industry is prioritizing linear addressability, programmatic integration, and AI-driven workflow modernization to sustain growth in an election-free year.
The shift toward automated infrastructure is a defensive necessity as local broadcasters face a significant revenue drop-off following the 2026 political cycle. By adopting programmatic workflows and electronic verification APIs, stations aim to eliminate the friction that historically pushed local budgets toward digital-only platforms. This modernization connects linear inventory to the broader streaming ecosystem, allowing buyers to manage broadcast spots with the same velocity as CTV. The success of this transition depends on whether broadcasters can maintain premium pricing while adopting the audience-based metrics favored by agencies like Publicis Media. Watch for Hearst Television’s addressable rollout metrics in early 2027 as a benchmark for linear-digital convergence.
Broadcasters are increasingly looking to Comscore for alternative measurement to validate audience reach as they move away from traditional panel-based data.
Following record political spending in 2026, local broadcasters are pivoting to workflow automation to sustain revenue during the 2027 election-free year. By adopting programmatic integrations and linear addressability, stations aim to eliminate manual processes and reduce friction, allowing them to compete more effectively with digital-only platforms for advertising budgets.
Broadcasters are adopting automation to replace manual, spreadsheet-based processes and eliminate friction that historically pushed advertising budgets toward digital-only platforms following the 2026 political cycle.
Hearst Television plans to scale linear addressable deployments in 2027 to combine the mass reach of broadcast television with household-level targeting capabilities.
ITN is integrating with Magnite Clearline to enable digital agencies to purchase linear broadcast inventory through programmatic workflows, increasing the velocity of broadcast spot management.
E.W. Scripps Co. has expanded its local sports portfolio to include five NHL teams and the Detroit Pistons to help secure preemption-free inventory.
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