Google local media revenue — search and local advertising on YouTube — is now at $19 billion, according to BIA Advisory Services.
For those scoring at home, that is virtually the same number that collectively, local TV stations pulled in local advertising, around $20 billion or so in a given year.
That should send shivers down the spines of TV executives. But from their point of view, it is a mixed bag, and one that should include — if not give prominence to — retransmission revenue.
Recently, BIA said traditional local TV advertising is estimated to be $18.2 billion this year — with digital advertising adding $1.1 billion, and retransmission — the increasingly strong revenue stream — rising to $8.4 billion.
