Leading Local Insights

Hosted by BIA Advisory Services

Business

Website RSS feed

Episodes

113

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

Get on point analysis of the local media marketplace with BIA’s Leading Local Insights Podcast. Each week, BIA shares its current insights on major topics including OTT, digital, broadcast, print, media ad platforms, advertising revenue estimates, financial valuations and more. Want BIA to cover a particular topic? Email us at podcast@bia.com.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

August 12, 2026Episode 11234 min

Political Crowd-Out: Record Spending Squeezes Local Advertisers

Local TV can feel like the safest bet for reach, until election season turns the ad break into a bidding war. In this Leading Local Insights Podcast, joined by an exceptional panel of political experts, we explore political crowd-out — when political spending pushes local advertisers out of TV inventory — and what it means for pricing, availability and where those ad dollars go next. If you are planning around political advertising, broadcast inventory constraints, or local media strategy, this conversation is built for you. We speak with Todd Wiseman, founder of Riptide Creative and Advertising and a columnist for TV News Check. With 25 years in media, Todd has managed more than 4,000 campaigns and generated over $500 million in advertising revenue. He shares a firsthand perspective on why local TV stations can feel like "ghost towns" during political cycles and what that means for local advertisers and sellers. John Link, SVP of Data at AdImpact, puts the political spending surge into perspective, explaining how record-setting dollars can become highly concentrated in a small number of states and markets, creating very different inventory pressures from one market to the next. From BIA, Senan Mele, VP of Forecasting, examines what BIA's data shows about the changing revenue mix during election years, including how core commercial TV revenue can decline even as non-political advertising spending grows across the broader local media market . We also discuss the Supreme Court's NRSC v. FEC decision and its potential implications for coordinated political spending and demand for lowest-unit-rate inventory, and where displaced dollars can go, including CTV/OTT, digital video and social video. Then we punt around the question: when the political season ends, will those dollars return to traditional TV, or has the media mix changed for good?

June 29, 2026Episode 11133 min

Selling More Than a 30-Second Spot: Advertising That Gets Renewed

Turning a QR code into qualified leads, first-party customer data, and advertiser renewals is easier said than done. In this episode, Josh Good, Manager of Marketing & Revenue Enablement at Megaphone TV , joins BIA's Mike Boland to discuss how interactive advertising is helping broadcasters transform traditional 30-second commercials into premium "interactive 30s" that generate measurable engagement and deliver stronger results for advertisers. Josh explains how interactive formats—including polls, contests, user-generated content, and sweepstakes—can enhance broadcast TV, CTV, and digital campaigns while giving advertisers the first-party data and measurable outcomes they increasingly expect. Using the HVAC industry as an example, Mike and Josh explore practical campaign ideas, seasonal strategies, and ways broadcasters can create more valuable advertising solutions, strengthen client relationships, and drive higher renewal rates through interactive advertising.

June 18, 2026Episode 11035 min

The Connected Car: Advertising's Next Frontier

What happens when your car becomes a media platform? As vehicles become increasingly connected, personalized, and AI-enabled, automakers are creating new opportunities to engage consumers long after they leave the dealership. In this episode of BIA's Leading Local Insights Podcast , Rick Ducey sits down with connected vehicle expert Roger Lanctot, chairman and founder of Strategia Now Consulting , to explore how connected cars are evolving into media ecosystems. They discuss AI assistants, personalized in-car experiences, location-based advertising, and how the connected vehicle could transform audience engagement and advertising. The conversation also examines what these changes mean for radio, local media, and the future of reaching consumers on the move. Listen to discover why connected vehicles may become one of the most important emerging platforms for local media and advertising. View Video Recording here .

June 11, 2026Episode 10929 min

What Google I/O 2026 Means for Search, Shopping, and Local Media

In the third installment of BIA’s AI podcast series, BIA’s Celine Matthiessen and media analyst Mike Boland unpack the biggest announcements from Google I/O 2026 and what they signal about the future of search, shopping, and discovery. As Google continues to reinvent search around AI, the conversation explores how intelligent agents, AI-powered shopping, and conversational experiences could reshape the way consumers find information and make decisions. Building on BIA’s recent discussions about AI advertising and conversational discovery, Celine and Mike examine what these changes could mean for advertisers, broadcasters, local businesses, and media sellers. They discuss the growing role of AI agents, the value of intent-driven interactions, and why understanding Google’s AI roadmap may be critical for staying visible and competitive as search continues to evolve.

May 28, 2026Episode 10825 min

How Conversational AI Is Changing Discovery for Brands and Media

This episode of BIA’s Leading Local Insights Podcast explores how conversational AI is reshaping search, discovery, and online visibility for brands, broadcasters, and media companies. BIA’s Celine Matthiessen and media analyst Mike Boland discuss the shift from traditional keyword search to AI-driven discovery, where consumers increasingly ask detailed questions and receive synthesized answers instead of scrolling through search results. Following BIA’s recent podcast on AI advertising inside ChatGPT, they examine how conversational AI is transforming SEO, visibility, and content strategy through AI optimization (“AIO”), “zero-click” search behavior, and the growing importance of trusted local content, reviews, citations, and topical authority for broadcasters and media brands. View the Video Podcast here .

May 13, 2026Episode 10734 min

How AI Ads in ChatGPT Are Reshaping Advertising

This episode of BIA’s Leading Local Insights Podcast explores OpenAI’s move into advertising within ChatGPT and what it could mean for brands, agencies, and media sellers. Listen as BIA’s Celine Matthiessen and media analyst Mike Boland unpack emerging AI ad formats, evolving measurement challenges, and the expanding role AI assistants could play in search, discovery, and consumer decision-making. Celine and Mike also examine how quickly the AI advertising market is taking shape, with ChatGPT ad pricing already beginning to move closer to premium Google search inventory as advertiser interest and targeting capabilities expand. They explore the rise of “zero-click” AI search behavior, new attribution challenges for advertisers, and why media sellers should position themselves as trusted AI education resources for clients. View the Video Podcast Here .

May 5, 2026Episode 10624 min

The Hidden Risk: When Traffic Breaks and What That Means for Revenue

It’s not the flashiest part of a media business, but when it breaks, everything breaks. In this episode of BIA’s Leading Local Insights Podcast , Rick Ducey sits down with Marketron CEO Jimshade Chaudhari to break down why “traffic” is one of the most critical and overlooked functions in revenue operations, and how rethinking it can unlock efficiency, scalability, and growth. From the loss of institutional knowledge and a growing talent gap to traffic’s role as a “critical but not strategic” function, Rick and Jimshade examine how that mindset is evolving and what it means for staffing, efficiency, and revenue delivery. They also cover how stations are adapting to leaner teams, navigating more complex cross-platform campaigns, and where Traffic as a Service (TaaS) is emerging as a scalable, modern solution. Listen now to understand where the real risk sits and how to get ahead of it.

April 20, 2026Episode 10515 min

From Forecast to Revenue: Turning Market Data into Sales Advantage

In today’s complex local media landscape, data alone isn’t enough. It’s how you use it that drives revenue. In this episode, BIA’s Christina Hurley is joined by AdApt partners Jeff Gallop and Dave Buonfiglio, along with industry expert Shannon Kinney, to explore how BIA’s partnership with AdApt is bringing local market intelligence directly into the sales workflow. The conversation highlights the shift from intuition led selling to data informed strategy, and how integrating BIA’s advertising forecast into AdApt’s platform helps sellers prioritize accounts, shape smarter conversations, and build more effective proposals. If you're looking to turn market data into a true sales advantage and see how BIA and AdApt are redefining sales execution, this is where to start.

April 7, 2026Episode 10430 min

From Inventory to Impact: The Shift to Outcome-Driven Media Sales

If you're navigating the shift from traditional media to integrated digital sales or looking to unlock new revenue growth, this episode provides a clear, actionable roadmap as BIA’s Rick Ducey talks with Stephanie Slagle, Chief Revenue Officer-Graham Media Group, about how sales teams are transforming for today’s market. At the center of their conversation is recognition of a clear shift: moving from selling inventory to delivering outcomes. Stephanie shares practical insights on leading through change, overcoming resistance, and building high-performing, digitally fluent sales teams. She also explains how automation and AI can streamline workflows, why outcomes and not products should lead every conversation and what truly sets top sellers apart today. Want to watch this podcast? View on our YouTube channel here .

March 17, 2026Episode 10317 min

Rethinking Local OOH: Not Just Seen — Acted On

How digital out of home is turning visibility into measurable action and why marketers are paying closer attention. Out of home ( OOH ) advertising has long been known for visibility. Increasingly, however, it is proving to drive real consumer action. In this episode of the Leading Local Insights Podcast , Dave Rivera, VP of Channel Partnerships at Vistar Media , joins BIA’s Celine Matthiessen to discuss the rapid evolution of digital out of home (DOOH) and why more advertisers are prioritizing it in their media mix. BIA’s latest U.S. Local Advertising Forecast shows OOH spending growing more than 3% annually , with 5% growth expected between 2025 and 2026, and DOOH representing about 42% of total OOH spending . Rivera explains that OOH often acts as a conversation starter for brands , prompting consumers to search and engage after encountering a message in the real world. In many campaigns, DOOH exposure drives measurable results, including search lifts of up to 80%, while strengthening engagement across social, display, and CTV. Because it reaches people naturally as they go about their day—rather than interrupting them online—OOH today is not just seen, it’s acted on.