01/22/2025

Broadcast Television Is Dying

The new administration is threatening it anyway

Broadcast television seems a little screwed. Viewership has been on a steady decline for the past 20 years. More and more, people get their entertainment and their news online. The biggest shows are coming to streaming first, and broadcast’s biggest shows are losing their big-name hosts. Naturally, ad revenue is on a steady decline, as well. Even Trump and his choice for Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair, Brendan Carr, are rattling their sabers and threatening to pull the broadcast licenses of networks that run programs or news stories the White House does not like.

It can feel like broadcast television will be gone tomorrow, and, with it, one of the only totally free sources of news and entertainment.

That's what's so crucial about broadcast TV. While it does require a television and a digital tuner to watch, there's no monthly fee for internet or service, and unlike YouTube or Instagram, no company is collecting enormous amounts of data on you to sell to advertisers. It’s a completely passive experience. The stations air sports and news and entertainment, and you can tune in or not. And people are not tuning in.

Please select this link to read the complete article from WIRED.