In today’s marketplace, every impression is scrutinized. Each delay, discrepancy, or zero-cell gap can translate into a missed opportunity or lost revenue and that is why currency must begin with local accuracy. This granularity is not simply to provide a sense of credibility for advertisers, but to serve as the vital fuel for the survival and success of local broadcasters.

It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere: Local Market Viewership on Friday, May 16th

The Problem: What Happens When Local Gets Lost?

Legacy measurement systems often apply national models to local markets, skipping over market-specific behaviors or erasing small and mid-size regions entirely. That creates:

• “Zero cells” in key markets—where viewing is happening, but nothing gets reported
• Inconsistent insights that undercut advertiser confidence
• Delays that disrupt planning and pacing
• Undercounting that erodes the value proposition of local inventory

If audiences aren’t visible in the data, stations can’t monetize them. And advertisers miss opportunities to connect with real communities.

Let’s Make It Real: Welcome to Laredo

Welcome to Laredo, Texas. Picture a vibrant border city with just under 58,000 TV households—where culture, language, and viewing habits don’t fit a national average. This is a community where Spanish and English media intersect daily, and where local content truly resonates.

But under legacy measurement systems, a place like Laredo might barely show up. In some cases, it’s what the industry calls a “zero cell”—no reported viewership at all. That’s not just a data gap. It’s a disconnect that can cost local stations revenue and advertisers reach.

Comscore’s measurement and personification process changes that.

We measure Laredo directly, with data from 1 in 4 households in the market. That means viewership isn’t modeled or assumed—it’s counted. Daily. With precision. And that visibility translates into real value: for stations selling inventory, and for advertisers trying to engage a culturally rich, highly attentive audience.

Because every household should matter. And every market deserves to count. Comscore makes sure they do.

Every Local Market, Measured by Comscore

The Comscore Advantage: Local by Design

Comscore’s local and national currency solutions weren’t retrofitted to meet today’s challenges—they were designed from the ground up to reflect how viewership actually happens.

We don’t model local behavior. We measure it—directly, daily, and at scale.

Here’s what makes our approach different:

• Ground-up methodology: Singular in-market methodology design across all 210 markets
• No more blind spots: Even smaller markets are measured with precision
• Daily delivery: Real-time updates that reflect true local viewing
• MRC-accredited: Independently validated for quality and trust
• Proven monetization impact: Local stations consistently capture more value when their audiences are counted accurately

Local isn’t a layer we added later—it’s the foundation of our system. And that foundation is what gives stations the clarity, confidence, and credibility they need to transact.

Built for What Comes Next

The media marketplace isn’t standing still—and measurement can’t afford to either. As platforms, audiences, and transactions evolve, Comscore is already equipped to meet what’s next.

Unlike legacy systems being retrofitted to accommodate new behaviors, Comscore’s methodology was designed to measure viewership wherever it happens. Cross-platform, digital, and local measurement aren’t recent additions to our toolkit—they’re the foundation. That’s why our infrastructure already supports the convergence of linear, CTV, and digital inventory, delivering consistent, unified reporting across channels.

As impression-based transactions grow and programmatic models expand, Comscore is built to scale with them—supporting everything from market-level buys to national currency with confidence. The infrastructure is in place. The data is live. The system is real.

We’re not playing catch-up. We’re already delivering on the future the industry is planning for.

The Takeaway: Local Accuracy Powers Local Revenue

Every national campaign is ultimately built on a series of local impressions. Without a strong foundation at the market-level, the whole system wobbles.

Comscore ensures that the foundation is solid, visible, and transactable—because local isn’t just where viewership starts. It’s where the business of media gets real.