Total local advertising revenue in the US will reach $161.3 billion in 2020, up from $152.5 billion this year, according to new research from BIA Advisory Services. The “U.S. Local Advertising Forecast 2020” shows that political and over-the-top (OTT) advertising and growth in mobile and social ads are reasons why the revenue landscape for 2020 looks robust.
The rise in local ad revenue in the US marks a 5.8 percent increase. Contributing to this growth is traditional media revenue, which accounts for 58.5 percent of total local advertising in 2020 at $94.4 billion—an increase from $93.2 billion in 2019 thanks to political ad spend.
With the expectation of an aggressive presidential election, $6.58 billion will be spent in local political advertising in 2020, most of which will spread across over-the-air (OTA) television, online and digital, cable, radio and OTT. In each of the three top political revenue-generating markets—Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Phoenix—OTA television will comprise about 47 percent of political ad spend.
Locally activated OTT advertising, on the other hand, will double from $1.06 billion in 2020 to $2.13 billion by 2024.
The report also projects significant ad spending in native social ads next year. Current social media ad revenues from all forms of mobile devices represent 93.8 percent of total social ad spend. That figure will grow to 96 percent by 2024 as users shift from desktops to portable devices. The mobile native and social segment of mobile advertising is forecasted to grow 13.9 percent from 2019 to 2024, making it the fastest-growing area. Specifically, $29.5 billion will be spent on mobile in 2020, and $44.6 billion by 2024.
Findings are based on nationwide total US spending estimates for five years in addition to individual media forecasts for 13 media.
