<\/p>\n
Ellina Abovian, a veteran correspondent for KTLA-TV, was recently on assignment covering a story about Los Angeles International Airport when she received a message that every media business professional dreads. <\/p>\n
She was asked to see her boss at the station when she was done. At the meeting, she was told she would be losing her job after 11 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was totally blindsided,\u201d said Abovian, 40. \u201cThere was no indication.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Glendale native was among several longtime KTLA personalities who were laid off<\/a> amid a wave of cuts at outlets owned by Nexstar Media Group in Los Angeles and other cities. They included midday anchors Glen Walker and Lu Parker along with veteran meteorologist Mark Kriski, who first joined the station in 1991. <\/p>\n The layoffs prompted an outpouring of support<\/a> for the journalists among Los Angeles TV viewers, who saw them as friends and neighbors. Abovian said she received more than 20,000 messages of support.<\/p>\n \u201cI had no idea that people felt so strongly,\u201d Abovian said in an interview. \u201cFor people to say, \u2018I loved hearing your voice,\u2019 and remember all these little moments. … It\u2019s sad because you have these people in your living room every day.\u201d<\/p>\n Once the primary source of community news and information, local TV news stations are struggling with their own tough story, one marked by declining ratings, stagnant revenue growth and rapid shifts in how media is consumed in the internet era.<\/p>\n Broadcast TV stations have long had the highest profit margins in the media business. But the financial model that sustained that growth has steadily eroded in recent years. Streaming \u2014 which now accounts for more than 40% of all viewing \u2014 has pulled consumers away from traditional TV, putting pressure on outlets to control costs so they can remain financially viable. <\/p>\n More than 2,000 TV stations nationwide still provide a vital role in communities, delivering as much as 12 hours a day in programming, live sports and local news to every household in the U.S. But they are now faced with an aging audience that isn\u2019t being replaced by younger viewers who prefer streaming platforms and social media.<\/p>\n \u201cIt used to be that people would grow into the news habits of their parents, and now they\u2019re not,\u201d said Andrew Heyward, a former president of CBS News who now advises local TV stations. \u201cThe next generation of consumers are never going to run home to watch the newscast at 5, 6, 10 or 11.\u201d <\/p>\n A recent S&P Global report estimated local ad revenue for TV stations growing at just 1.5% annually over the next five years, less than the rate of inflation, hitting a peak of $25.58 billion in the election year of 2028 and dropping to $22.11 billion in 2029. <\/p>\n Since 2000, TV stations have seen their take of ad dollars decline by an inflation-adjusted 36%, according to BIA Advisory Services.<\/p>\n The dollars that TV station owners receive from cable and satellite operators for carrying their signals are expected to stagnate because of the dwindling number of pay-TV subscribers. As cord-cutting reduces the number of pay-TV customers, station groups have to wrangle higher fees out of the ones that are left.<\/p>\n Those pressures have squeezed Nexstar, the nation\u2019s largest station owner with 164 outlets. The Irving, Texas-based company posted a net loss of $170 million in the fourth quarter of 2025. Nexstar declined to comment further about its cuts, which also hit stations in New York and Chicago and affected some 20 newsroom employees.<\/p>\n