Local Lens Q4 2025: Trends shaping tomorrow’s ad market

‍

‍

The adtech landscape isn’t evolving, it’s being rebuilt in real time. Linear TV budgets are shifting to streaming. Political dollars are flooding CTV. AI is rewriting how people search and discover. And younger, more diverse audiences are setting new expectations for how brands show up.
‍
Staying ahead of these shifts isn’t optional anymore. That’s why we created Local Lens: Madhive’s quarterly report on trends, platforms, and audience behaviors reshaping local media. No consultant-speak. No fluff. Just insights you can put into action.

What’s inside Local Lens

Local Lens breaks down into four sections, each tackling a critical piece of the local media puzzle:

1. New Frontiers in Programmatic
   Where budgets are moving and why. CTV’s double-digit growth. The political ad surge coming in 2026. FAST overtaking cable for live sports.
2. Platform Plays & Ecosystem Upheaval
   The forces reshaping the supply chain. Tariff pressures squeezing local budgets. Retail media and CTV converging. AI changing search behavior (and what that means for your ads).
3. Creative Innovation Across Formats
   How DOOH, digital audio, and podcasts evolved from awareness plays into measurable performance channels - with the receipts to prove it.
4. The Audience is the Strategy
   Why Gen Z, Gen Alpha, and diverse audiences are rewriting the rules of engagement with their spending power and expectations. 

Staying competitive in local media isn’t about having more budget, it’s about having better intelligence.

Download our Q4 2025 edition of Local Lens to get the full report with all the data, insights, and takeaways you need to stay ahead: