The combined weekly reach of Las Vegas's broadcast television stations has slipped to 66.0% of all adults, according to Nielsen. These stations include KSNV, KVUU, KLAS, KTNV, and KLVX.  

The combined Las Vegas TV audience now falls behind streaming platforms at 70.4% and cable programming at 66.8%. To put this virtual dead heat into perspective, none of the three video media is a match for Las Vegas radio which reaches more than 81.2% of local adults every week.

But although the reach of broadcast TV, cable, and streaming are neck-and-neck, the share of time consumers spend with each of these media is dramatically different.

During the past seven days. according to Nielsen, only 64.7% of local consumers tuned in to Las Vegas television stations like KSNV, KVUU, KLAS, KTNV, and KLVX.  TV's diminishing reach among adults 18 and older has been eclipsed by the audience size for social media, cable, and Las Vegas radio. Furthermore, streaming video services such as Netflix, Hulu, Prime, and Disney+ are quickly reaching parity with over-the-air options.

The erosion of local TV station audiences is stunning when comparing prime-time ratings from the past.  In 1980, the highest-ranked TV show was Cheers with a 21.3 rating. The 30th-ranked show was The Wonder Years with a 14.2 rating.

Twenty years later, Survivor was the number one show with a 17.4 rating and Family Law was the 30th ranked show with an 8.8 rating.

Finally, in 2019, Sunday Night Football was the number one ranked show with a 10.9 rating. Survivor tied with Dancing With The Stars in 30th place with a 5.5 rating.

It is stunning to think that the number one TV show in 2019 had a 24% lower rating than the 30th-ranked show in 1980.

Every week, 1.7 million Las Vegas consumers watch something on TV.

Not too many years ago, when a Las Vegas consumer sat down to watch TV, the program options were limited to what was on KSNV, KVUU, KLAS, KTNV, KLVX, or, maybe, what was on a handful of cable channels.  That was then. This is now.

Today, according to Nielsen, each time a TV is turned on in a Las Vegas living room, the viewer has more than 817,000 options not only from broadcast stations and cable systems, but also from streaming video platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Peacock, YouTube, Amazon, Tubi, Crackle, and FreeVee.

Of course, Las Vegas consumers don't even need to sit down in front of their big-screen LCD, anymore. Most of the 817,000 available programs can also be viewed on their computers, tablets, gaming devices, and smartphones. But as far as viewers are concerned, though, it's all just television.

It wasn't too long ago when advertising on Las Vegas television stations was considered the gold standard for marketing by local business owners. But over the past few years, the number of viewers reached by KSNV, KVUU, KLAS, KTNV, and KLVX has plummeted. In all, only 71% of adult consumers now tune-in to at least one of these channels during the week, according to Nielsen.

The consumption of video content isn't diminishing among Nevada consumers. What has changed, though, is how they are watching it.

In November, according to Nielsen, the share of time watching broadcast television has fallen behind other video options including cable programing and internet-delivered choices such as Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and hundreds of other streaming networks.

Based on projections from the National Retail Federation (NRF), Las Vegas consumers are on track to spend $31.7-billion with retailers by the end of this year. This would be 13.5% higher than was spent in 2020.

To earn a significant share of these retail dollars, Las Vegas area business owners are expected to spend $775-million to advertise by year's end, according to Borrell Associates. This company tracks advertising expenditures in local markets across the U.S.

To ensure they are spending their advertising and marketing dollars wisely, many Las Vegas business owners research how to best target prospective customers by using local media. An exceptional resource for local business owners to investigate the media habits of localconsumers is on the advice section of AdvertiseInLasVegas.com.  

Here are the top five most-read articles on the site in 2021:

Advertising on Las Vegas television and cable is becoming less attractive to local business owners as viewers rapidly defect to alternative video entertainment sources including, Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, Amazon and Disney+.

Collectively these streaming services are referred to as Over-The-Top Television (OTT) and Connected-TV (CTV). Viewers can only access this OTT and CTV content via smartphone, tablets, computers, smart-TVs, Amazon Fire Sticks, and Roku Sticks, Nielsen reports that 92.7% of Clark County adults own at least one these devices. Furthermore, they are using them.

According to Nielsen, OTT and CTV networks now reach 44.8% of all Las Vegas consumers every week.

More than one-third of Clark County households are 'cord-cutters' or 'cord-nevers'. This means, they have fired their cable or satellite television providers or never subscribed at all. Instead, these consumers are choosing to find their video entertainment elsewhere.

The number of local homes that subscribe to pay-TV services began plummeting in 2013. New technologies has allowed viewers to bypass cable and satellite for more compelling content at lower prices. These cord-cutters now depend on services like Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and Amazon Prime to fill their multiple screens.

For many years, Nevada small business owners have been investing a significant portion of their advertising budgets into cable-TV.  The medium had proven to be a low-cost, high-reach alternative to buying commercial on over-the-air television stations. 

Now, because of cord-cutting, there are 611,000 adult consumers in Las Vegas with unconnected TVs. This profoundly diminishes the value proposition of advertising with local cable systems.

There is a powerful and affordable solution, however, for small business owners to reach both the diminishing cable audience and the expanding number of cord-cutters.

Advertising is critical to the success of every Las Vegas small business owner.  One of the most powerful elements of any advertising campaign is how many people it reaches.

Nielsen, the world's largest consumer insights company, found that advertising reach has a more significant effect on sales than branding, recency, and context.

There are many ways a local business owner can advertise. This includes traditional media like Las Vegas radio, local TV, and newspaper. It also includes online advertising options such as Facebook, Instagram, and Pandora.

They type of customer an individual business needs to reach depends on the goods and services the company sells. For instance, a daycare operator might want to reach households with young children. On the other hand, a real estate agent could be looking for consumers in the market to purchase a new home.

Every vote counts.  Many times the difference between winning an election and losing is a handful of ballots. This is true in races for almost every elected office, referendum, and issue on the national, statewide, and local level.

To win a modern election requires advertising. Successful advertising requires reach. In Las Vegas, the most potent way to reach voters is on local radio.

Last week, for instance, 88% of all registered voters in Clark County tuned-in to a Las Vegas radio station.  This is significantly more than were reached by local TV, local newspaper, or the major social media site like Facebook and Instagram.

If you don't have time to read this entire article, then I will tell you right now. The best way to advertise in Clark County is on Las Vegas radio.

A vital function of advertising is to build mental availability, which nudges a consumer toward the purchase of a product or service. It also serves to provide public notice that a product or service exists and is available for purchase.

Consumers in the valley are are expected to spend at least $39 billion at retail this year. To claim a greater share of this giant pool of cash requires local business owners of every size to advertise their goods and services. As Professor Jef Richards at Michigan State University points out, “Advertising is totally unnecessary…unless you want to make money."