Local Broadcasters, Meet Your Competitive Edge: First-Party Data

Last updated: June 16, 2025

You know your market. But do you know your digital audience?

Local broadcasters have long held the crown when it comes to trust, reach, and relevance. For decades, you’ve been the go-to source for news, weather, and community stories—deeply embedded in the daily lives of your viewers. You know the neighborhoods. The school boards. The potholes and the playoff scores.

But here’s the problem:
If you don’t own your digital audience data, you’re about to lose all three—trust, reach, and relevance—to someone else.

The world has shifted beneath your feet:

Third-party cookies are vanishing.
Social platforms are hoarding referral traffic (thanks to “zero-click” experiences).
Ad buyers are demanding smarter targeting and more measurable ROI.

Meanwhile, upstart competitors like Axios Local, 1440, and 6AM City are moving fast. They’re building email-first, audience-owned businesses from the ground up—grabbing attention and ad dollars that once belonged to you.

And the kicker?

📢 Only 9% of media companies say they’re fully using their audience data to drive revenue.
(Source: State of Audience Report, 2025)

The good news: That means 91% of your competitors are just as stuck as you.
The better news: You don’t need to reinvent the wheel.

What First-Party Data Actually Means for Local Broadcast

First-party data isn’t just a buzzword. It’s your competitive edge—if you know how to gather and use it.

First-party data gives you the power to:

Know who’s watching and interacting
Get more than ratings. Identify the individuals behind the clicks, views, and signups across your digital platforms.

Connect CTV, linear, web, email, and app behavior
Build a unified picture of your audience—so you know who’s watching your evening news and reading your high school football roundup the next morning.

Create sellable, targetable audience segments
Parents of teens. Local business owners. Luxury shoppers. Weather preppers. Sports fans. You already reach them—now you can prove it.

Build premium ad products with real targeting power
Sell more than impressions. Offer advertisers custom newsletters, branded content, and sponsored segments that actually perform.

The Path Forward: Start Small, Scale Fast

You don’t need a massive digital team. You don’t need six months of “strategic alignment.” You just need a place to start.

Omeda helps you go from stuck to knowing your audience and growing your revenue —fast.
We work with the team you already have to turn your audience into a revenue engine.

Here’s how:
✅ Pick a priority area. Weather? Lifestyle? Sports? Start where your audience is already engaged.
✅ Launch a use case. We’ll help you identify the quick wins—like a targeted newsletter, identity capture strategy, or high-interest segment.
✅ Activate smarter campaigns. With your first-party data connected and flowing, you can launch new ad products that perform and prove their value.

This isn’t about boiling the ocean. It’s about filling the pool with first party data.

Ready to turn your audience into your most valuable asset? Let’s talk.

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