ALAN WOLK (AW): Local TV in 2025 is at a crossroads. From Comscore’s vantage point, what do you see as the single biggest challenge stations are facing right now? JON CARPENTER (JC): The easy answer is audience fragmentation - but that only scratches the surface. What we’re really seeing is a deeper challenge: the need for broadcasters to fully demonstrate the total value of their audiences to advertisers across every platform where they engage. The reach of local broadcasters extends far beyond linear. Their web properties, digital subchannels, and social platforms and personalities are powerful extensions of their brands, and when those are combined, they represent an audience that’s larger and more dynamic than ever before. The real challenge is making cross-platform value visible, measurable, and actionable. Providing a solution for this issue is where Comscore is placing its focus. Our investments today are all about delivering a unified view of audiences across linear and digital. A perfect example of this is with Comscore Content Measurement where we’re bringing the linear and digital worlds together to give broadcasters and advertisers a holistic understanding of who’s watching, where, and how. We have also expanded the scope of Comscore TV to include hundreds of digital subnets / over-the-air only stations, with hundreds more coming soon, to help ensure that as much audience engagement as possible contributes to the story that broadcasters can tell advertisers. Ultimately, it’s about empowering local TV to compete, and win, in a world where the audience isn’t fragmented, it’s everywhere. AW: “Local TV” used to mean a broadcast tower and a DMA. How would you define “local” today in a streaming-first world? JC: You’re absolutely right. It’s been a long time since “local” referred only to linear broadcasts or a market level boundary. Today, local is defined by all the ways broadcasters connect with their communities: on-air, online, and everywhere in between. That connection now extends across an entire ecosystem: linear TV, station websites, social channels, OTT apps, and even short-form platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Audiences no longer experience “local” through a single medium; they experience it through moments of relevance, trust, and familiarity that travel with them across devices and platforms. At its core, local has always been about community and that hasn’t changed. Though what has changed is the medium in which it is manifesting. Whether it’s the 11 p.m. newscast, high school sports highlights, or a story shared in someone’s social feed, broadcasters are still doing what they’ve always done best: building connection and credibility with the audiences around them, now in more channels than ever before. AW: What are advertisers asking you for most when it comes to proving the value of local TV? JC: What we’re hearing most from advertisers right now is a desire for consistency and predictability in measurement — and that really speaks to the broader shifts happening across the industry. Amid evolving methodologies and competing currencies, advertisers want confidence that the insights they’re using to make decisions are stable, transparent, and comparable. That’s an area where Comscore continues to deliver for both broadcasters and advertisers. Beyond that, the conversation has evolved. Advertisers and agencies aren’t just looking for linear metrics; they want a complete, unified view of audiences and campaign performance across every platform where engagement happens. They need to understand how all of these touchpoints work together to drive real outcomes, from linear to digital to streaming. That’s exactly why we’ve been so focused on cross-platform measurement solutions. It’s about giving advertisers a full picture of value, helping them see the true reach and impact of local TV in a marketplace that’s anything but linear. AW: Local TV measurement standards have been called inconsistent and fragmented. What is one way Comscore is working to fix this? JC: I wouldn’t agree that all measurement providers fall under that description — at least not when it comes to Comscore. For several years now, we’ve been delivering consistent, market-level measurement across all 210 local markets — within 48 hours. That reliability is something we take pride in, because it’s foundational to how local broadcasters and advertisers make decisions. That said, there is fragmentation, but this does not only apply to measurement itself. A lot of the friction we see today actually exists within the workflow and transaction systems that the local ecosystem relies on. The challenge isn’t just about who measures, but how that data moves through buying and selling platforms in a way that’s seamless and actionable. That’s why Comscore has been working closely with our partners across the ecosystem to fully integrate our data into the tools and systems both the buy and sell sides depend on. The goal is simple: deliver consistent, connected, and transactable measurement that reflects the reality of today’s cross-platform local market. AW: Attribution has become table stakes in digital. How can local broadcasters best make the case that TV advertising drives outcomes too? JC: Attribution has definitely become a buzzword, but it’s also one with a complex origin, because there isn’t a single, universal definition for it. What really matters is being able to show, with confidence, how advertising drives tangible results — and that’s where local broadcasters have a powerful story to tell. At Comscore, we’re helping our broadcaster clients make that case through [Comscore Campaign Ratings (CCR), our cross-platform campaign measurement solution. CCR allows clients to demonstrate to agencies and advertisers the complete impact of their campaigns — not just on linear, but across every property where their audiences engage. By connecting exposure to outcomes across platforms, broadcasters can show that TV continues to be one of the most effective drivers of real business results — and that its impact only grows when combined with digital. AW: Gen Z audiences aren’t watching the 6pm news live. But they are watching it via clips on YouTube and other platforms. How should we measure this? JC: That’s exactly the challenge Comscore Content Measurement (CCM) was designed to solve. Whether someone watches the newscast live on linear TV, catches a segment on the station’s website, or scrolls past a clip on YouTube or TikTok — it’s all engagement with the same content and the same brand. The real value lies in understanding that total audience — across every platform — and being able to view it holistically and deduplicated. That’s what CCM delivers: a single, unified view of content consumption that captures how people are engaging, wherever they choose to watch. Ultimately, it’s about evolving the definition of “viewership” to reflect reality — because today’s audiences don’t think in platforms, they think in content. AW: As sports rights move back to local, what makes live sports such a unique asset? JC: Live sports are one of the few remaining moments in media that bring communities together in real time. As rights shift back to local, they’re reinforcing something that’s always been true: sports are the heartbeat of local connection. They unite viewers across generations, platforms, and devices — whether they’re watching the game live on broadcast, catching highlights on a station app, or sharing clips on social media. For local broadcasters, that makes live sports an incredibly powerful asset. It delivers scale and engagement — passionate, loyal audiences who show up consistently and lean in deeply. And from a measurement perspective, it’s a clear example of why cross-platform visibility matters so much. The value of that audience doesn’t stop at the linear telecast; it extends across every digital touchpoint where fans interact with their teams and their communities. At Comscore, that’s exactly what we’re helping broadcasters quantify — the total reach and resonance of those live moments. Because in an era of fragmented viewing, few things demonstrate the power of “local” like a hometown team that everyone’s watching together. |
