• by Wayne Friedman , April 20, 2017

Total TV station revenue will dip this year -- even factoring in digital advertising revenue and retransmission fees to its dominant linear TV advertising coffers.

TV research/advisory BIA/Kelsey expects total local TV station revenue to be $28.08 billion -- down 2% from the $28.42 billion of a year ago.

The lack of big 2016 Olympic and political advertising revenues will play a significant role in the decline this year.

BIA/Kelsey expects traditional linear TV advertising to drop 4.1% to $19.8 billion from its $20.6 billion, and sees digital revenue rising 8.8% to $1.09 billion from the $1.006 billion of 2016.

Retransmission fees are expected to climb 6% to $7.2 billion. In 2016, these were at $6.8 billion.

BIA/Kelsey projects that in 2018, total TV station revenues will sharply climb overall to $29.92 billion. These revenues will then witness a smaller hike to $30.17 billion in 2019, before sharply rising again to $32.78 billion in 2020.

Olympic and political advertising will again be major factors in 2018 and 2020.