Television stations significantly increased the number of local news telecasts and hours of news content they aired over a 10-year period, according to an analysis of Nielsen data conducted by the National Association of Broadcasters.
NAB examined the number of programs classified by Nielsen as “local news” as well as the hours of local news aired across the country, comparing data from the same month (November) in 2011, 2016 and 2021.
NAB’s findings show that 154,445 local news telecasts aired in November 2021, an increase of nearly 16% from November 2016 and 35% from November 2011. In addition, more than 107,000 hours of local television news content aired in November 2021 across the country, an increase of more than 16% from November 2016 and over 40% from November 2011.
