Katz TV: Local News Dominates Cable News

By Michael Steinberg VP, TV Insights & Analytics

Local news continues to out deliver cable news networks by a wide margin. In February 2024, local late news programs delivered 13.5 million households and 16.0 million Adults 35+, over five times more audience than the combined number of the top five cable networks deliver throughout the day.

Local early news held a similar advantage with an average of 13.5 million households and 15.7 million Adults 35+ compared to cable's top 5 combined average daily delivery of 2,419 households and 2,733 Adults 35+.

LOCAL NEWS Accounts for 80% or More Viewership: The combination of local early and late newscasts on Broadcast accounts for 80% of HH and Adult 35+ news viewing, when compared to cable news primetime on the top 5 nets.  In other words, cable news is only accounting for 20%. Additionally, for Adults 25-54, local early/late news accounts for 88% of News viewing.

Head-to-Head, the Choice is Clear: LOCAL NEWS Dominates Cable Network News. A comparison of local news and cable network news from Mon-Fri 5-8PM hours reveals 88% of Adults 25-54 news viewers choose to watch local news. 78% of Adults 35+ news viewers are watching local news. In addition, local news delivers 7x the households of its closest cable news competitor.

A Matter of Trust: Viewers trust their local news more than cable network news. A NEW Katz survey of Adults 18+ found that 73% trust their local news compared to 55% for cable network news.