Consolidation Wave Reshapes San Diego's Local Television Market
Local TV ownership consolidates with potential changes to broadcast regulations expected | KPBS Public Media Industry Faces Structural Decline BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front) San Diego's television broadcasting landscape faces twin crises of consolidation and structural revenue collapse as national media companies pursue mergers amid declining viewership and anticipated regulatory relaxation under the Trump administration. While Nexstar Media Group's pending acquisition of Tegna would give it control of three San Diego stations and EW Scripps rejected Sinclair Broadcasting's hostile takeover, the underlying industry economics reveal a death spiral: broadcasters are raising retransmission fees to compensate for lost advertising revenue, which accelerates cord-cutting, which further erodes both revenue streams. With pay-TV penetration falling to 34.4% of U.S. households and traditional TV losing $12 billion in revenue in 2024 alone, the question is not whether San Diego's ...