Radio profitability rises after a 30-year low

By Keren Henderson, Tim Mirabito and Bob Papper

Aug. 4, 2025 — The latest RTDNA/Newhouse School at Syracuse University Survey found that radio news profitability rose to 13% in 2025. That has a rebound from last year’s 30-year Survey low of 10.1%. 

Clear patterns of profitability are hard to identify. Stations in major markets are just as likely to profit from news as those in smaller markets, and the same holds true regardless of staff size. For whatever reason, stations in the South and Midwest are more likely to show a profit from news than stations in the Northeast or West.

Managers say, on average, 15.8% of station revenue comes from news. That’s down a point from last year. But the median — or typical — percentage holds steady at 10%. That’s well below the average, but it’s double what the median number had been before the 2024 report.

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About the Authors

Bob Papper is Research Professor of Broadcast and Digital Journalism at Syracuse University and has worked extensively in radio and TV news. 

Keren Henderson is Associate Professor of Broadcast and Digital Journalism at Syracuse University and has worked as a news producer and video editor. 

Tim Mirabito is Assistant Professor of Broadcast and Digital Journalism at Syracuse University and worked in television, radio, print and online media. 

This research was supported by the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and the Radio Television Digital News Association.

About the Survey

The RTDNA/Newhouse School at Syracuse University Survey was conducted in the fourth quarter of 2024 among 1,918 operating, non-satellite television stations and a random sample of 4,763 radio stations. The television response rate is different for every question, but valid responses came from as many as 1,406 television stations (73.3%) and 599 radio news directors and general managers representing 1,632 radio stations. Some data sets (e.g. the number of TV stations originating local news, getting news from others and women TV news directors) are based on a complete census and are not projected from a smaller sample.