• by Wayne Friedman , January 12, 2022

The largest U.S. TV station company, Nexstar Media Group, projects local TV stations could see a sharp increase in revenues -- an industry-wide $15 billion a year -- in the shift to the new next-gen ATSC 3.0 technology standard by 2030, according to a company investor presentation.

The sum is an estimate from a survey by BIA Advisory Services.

Nexstar says the expansion into high-speed broadband data transmission markets, via the new ATSC tech, could generate comparable revenue to current retransmission deals TV stations companies make with traditional and virtual pay TV providers.

Retransmission revenues, which make up a major part of their business, total around $13 billion per year, according to Nexstar. Local TV advertising pulls in around $20 billion per year, per industry estimates.

The news from Nexstar resulted in a sharp stock-market price increase on Wednesday. At the market’s close, Nexstar gained 6.1% to $164.20, while Tegna grew 4.2% to $18.92, Sinclair Broadcast Group rose 1.5% to $29.21 and E.W. Scripps was up 2.4% to $20.26.

By the end of 2022, Nexstar says it will have converted TV stations resulting in a 50% reach of its local audience, estimated to be 212 million.

Industry-wide, major TV station groups have converted TV stations in around 15 to 20 U.S. markets so far, with Nexstar, Tegna, Fox, Sinclair Broadcast Group and E.W. Scripps being the most aggressive operators.

Nexstar pulls in around $5 billion in total revenue from 200 stations in 116 markets.

Fifty percent of Nexstar's revenues are from distribution fees, while 36% are from core advertising; 7% from political advertising; and 7% from digital media and other businesses.
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