By 7:15a, the local station has announced Friday’s high school kickoff, a road closure on Elm Street, and where a lost beagle turned up. That’s the Main Street advantage: nobody in town needs an algorithm to tell them what matters today.
It’s the one asset Big Tech can’t buy: being known, trusted, and needed by the people next door. It has carried independent and small-market broadcasters through every wave of disruption, and today it is paired with smart digital integration.
At Forecast 2027, these operators share their secrets, and the larger groups would be wise to take notes.
“Main Street Media: The Local Advantage in a Changing Market” explores how independent and small-market broadcasters continue to compete and grow. Community trust, local relevance, and digital integration remain their key advantages, and local TV and radio are finding new ways to stay essential and profitable. Panelists will share the strategies and market insights that help Main Street media adapt, strengthen their audiences, and build sustainable businesses, with lessons larger groups can apply to their own local strategies.
Norsan Media CEO Natalia Sanchez Alvarez, Bold Gold Media Group Founder/President Vince Benedetto, Vision Multi Media Group, LLC Manager/Principal Owner Sheila L. Brown, and Morgan Murphy Media COO Chris Cornelius take part. Kentucky Broadcasters Association President & CEO Chris Winkle moderates.
Join us at Forecast 2027, set for November 12 at the Harvard Club of New York City, just three weeks away. Forecast limits seating to keep the room intimate, so secure a seat via the Forecast website. Forecast is closed to press, so these conversations will not be posted online or covered in the Radio Ink or RBR+TVBR headlines.
Additional sessions include:
- “The Future Starts Here: A Visionary Closing Conversation,” sponsored by Madhive: Hearst Television President Michael J. Hayes, Audacy Chief Business Officer Chris Oliviero, Gray Media President/Co-CEO Pat LaPlatney, and Townsquare Media CEO Bill Wilson, moderated by Gray Media COO Sandy Breland.
- “The Future of Local TV and Radio”: NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt in conversation with Colorado Broadcasters Association President and CEO Justin Sasso.
- ABC News Chief Business, Technology, and Economics Correspondent Rebecca Jarvis in conversation with ABC News National Correspondent Steven Portnoy on “The View from the C-Suite: Lessons Learned from Two Decades Covering Disruption, Recessions, and Reinvention.”
- Marketer and best-selling author Larry Bailin’s keynote on digital disruption, “The Future Belongs to Those that Can Hear It Coming.”
- “Broadcast on the Docket: Power, Policy, and Pressure in Washington,” moderated by Frank Montero with Nic Anderson, Joe Di Scipio, and Rick Kaplan.
- “Converged Broadcast: The Cross-Media Radio, TV, and AI Playbook,” moderated by Heidi Raphael with Caroline Beasley, Tanya Vea, Phil Brooks, and Brock Berry.
- Revenue leaders from Cox, Hearst, BIA, and WPP Media on where 2027 broadcast growth is coming from.
- Lifetime Leadership Awards honoring Harvey Nagler and Valari Dobson Staab, presented jointly by Radio Ink and RBR+TVBR.
- A Broadcast Leadership cocktail hour honoring Radio Ink’s 40 Most Powerful People in Radio and RBR+TVBR’s Top Broadcast Television Leaders.
About Forecast
Now in its 24th year, Forecast brings together station owners, CFOs, group executives, and Wall Street analysts for a full day of data-driven sessions on the business of radio and television. Angela Yee and Fred Toucher will MC.
