For the third year in a row, the average amount of news coverage provided by local television stations per week increased, according to the latest RTDNA/Hofstra University survey.
Up 18 minutes from last year, the amount of TV coverage has surpassed five hours per week, to 5:18. For network affiliates, the number jumps to 5:36 per week. Sunday news coverage, specifically, rose six minutes.
The survey found that the largest individual jumps in coverage time were in the smaller markets and stations. Over the years, the average amount of news by network affiliation has gotten closer and closer, though Fox affiliates still run less local news than other affiliates. Regionally, northeast stations run the most local news.
A little more than half (52.8%) of stations involved in the survey reported that they ran the same amount of news coverage compared to last year.
Read more at B&C here.
