TV news profitability drops to lowest level since 2010
By Bob Papper, Keren Henderson and Tim Mirabito
July 28, 2025 — TV news profitability fell below 50% for the first time since 2010, according to the latest RTDNA/Newhouse School Survey. Smaller markets saw the biggest drop, while larger markets held steady or improved slightly.
Website profitability also declined, with only 42.9% of stations reporting a profit and nearly half unsure of their status — making the data less reliable but still concerning.
News budgets took a major hit, with 38.3% of stations reporting cuts and just 19.9% reporting increases. We had to go back to 2010 — in the wake of the housing implosion — to find budget numbers this depressing. The percentage of budgets that declined is nearly four times higher than last year. No group escaped the carnage.
Read the Full Report
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.