In his latest essay, "The Real Threat to Local Broadcasting", Terry Heaton asserts that "embracing the multi-platform universe" is only part of how local broadcasters will begin to reclaim lost revenue: "It's the metaphorical tip of the iceberg for two reasons. One, the biggest business disruption isn't coming from multiple platforms; it's the drift from mass media to personal media. And, two, if multi-platform is a broadcaster's only strategy, he or she is assigning him or herself to the content-provider (only) space for the future. The real opportunities are on the aggregation side (think Topix.net), not just in making content available everywhere..."

Terry continues: "However, the biggest threat to local television isn't DVRs or VOD. It isn't audience fragmentation, the decline of the 30-second spot or bad programming. It certainly isn't the internet or the difficulty of finding that killer online application to support an old business model. And it isn't being cut out of the network supply chain by direct-to-consumer distribution... The biggest threat to local TV is outside technology companies moving into the local entertainment and information space unchallenged by existing local media. This is a very deadly part of the iceberg, because local media companies either don't see it coming or believe they are immune to such competition."

Terry also notes: "While there's a lot of excitement about revenue growth among local media companies, the reality is that more local online ad money goes to companies outside the market than media companies within the market, and this shows no sign of letting up..."

For more on that front: a new report by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers claims that "Internet advertising in the United States in 2005 totaled $12.5 billion, an all-time, single-year record... Last year's spending represents a 30% increase from 2004. Revenue in the fourth quarter of 2005 was $3.6 billion, a 34% increase from the same period in 2004."