Radio’s economics often get discussed in terms of audience reach or ad performance, but new data puts a far larger number on the board. A new economic analysis shows local radio and TV support more than $1.19 trillion in US GDP and 2.46 million jobs.
The impact study, released this week by Woods & Poole Economics, Inc. with support from BIA Advisory Services, arrives amid ongoing policy debates over media ownership, emergency communications, spectrum use, and the future structure of local news.
As shared by the National Association of Broadcasters, the study reveals local broadcasting’s place as essential infrastructure rather than a discretionary media service. Researchers cite broadcasting’s universal availability, lack of subscription fees, and independence from broadband access as defining economic and public-interest characteristics.
According to the analysis, local broadcasters directly employ nearly 311,000 Americans across journalism, programming, engineering, and advertising operations, generating $54 billion in GDP tied to station-level activity. That employment base supports coverage of local government, elections, education, and community events across markets of all sizes.
Public safety remains a central component of broadcasting’s measured value. The study emphasizes local stations’ role as the backbone of the nation’s Emergency Alert System, delivering life-saving information during wildfires, hurricanes, severe weather, and other disasters, including scenarios where digital networks fail.
Beyond direct employment, the report identifies a substantial secondary economic effect. Broadcasting activity contributes an additional $134 billion in GDP across related industries such as construction, retail, and manufacturing, supporting nearly 776,000 additional jobs nationwide.
As expected, advertising represents the largest share of broadcasting’s economic contribution. The study estimates that advertising on local broadcast television and radio generates more than $997 billion in GDP and supports over 1.37 million jobs, driven largely by local and regional businesses relying on broadcast media to reach customers and sustain operations.
That economic contribution stands in contrast to how national advertising revenue is distributed across media platforms. Separate data from Madison & Wall shows that US advertising spend is highly concentrated among a small number of global digital companies.
According to Madison & Wall’s analysis of the last four quarters of US ad revenue, Google and Meta together account for more than half of total ad spend, followed by Amazon at 9.4%. Radio companies remain present in the national data, though at comparatively smaller shares. iHeartMedia ranks 14th overall, representing approximately 0.8% of total U.S. ad revenue. Cumulus Media appears at No. 39, accounting for roughly 0.2%.
Taken together, the NAB-backed economic study and Madison & Wall’s ad revenue rankings illustrate a growing disconnect between broadcasting’s economic and civic contribution and its share of national advertising spend. Local radio delivers universal access, public safety infrastructure, and local commerce support, while competing in an advertising marketplace increasingly shaped by scale, data aggregation, and platform economics.
As federal policymakers and regulators weigh decisions affecting broadcast ownership rules, emergency communications funding, and long-term protections for local media, the data offers a clear measure of what is at stake, as advertising markets grow more concentrated elsewhere.
