The past year has been marked by rapid advancements in AI, presenting both opportunities and challenges for broadcasters around the country. As AI technologies evolve, they are reshaping content creation, audience engagement, and operational efficiency. Here’s a look at the key developments and their implications for Wisconsin broadcasters.
New Tech Releases
Major AI platforms launched transformative updates in 2024: OpenAI’s GPT-4o significantly reduced inaccuracies and became freely accessible. Google released two major updates to Gemini, while Meta and X introduced major AI tools, expanding options for content creators.
AI tools now offer more precise content generation; they hallucinate less and put out text that is more sophisticated than what they generated in 2023. While not perfect, they provide broadcasters with the ability to produce content faster and more efficiently.
AI-Driven Content Creation
This year saw breakthroughs in content-specific tools:
- Udio and Suno introduced text-to-music platforms that generate songs almost instantly—already adopted by broadcasters for production elements.
- OpenAI and Adobe launched text-to-video tools, used by blue-chip companies like Coca-Cola’s with their Christmas commercial.
- Google’s NotebookLM unveiled a podcast-generation tool, creating AI-driven explainers on user-specified topics.
For broadcasters, AI has become an essential resource for idea generation, writing copy, transcriptions, and more—particularly in smaller teams with limited time and staff. As accuracy improves, these tools will only grow in utility in 2025.
AI’s Impact on Revenue
AI’s “Wild West” era is maturing. Lawsuits by media companies have given way to major licensing deals: News Corp signed a $250 million contract with OpenAI, and Reddit secured $60 million annually from Google for AI training content.
Broadcasters hold valuable, truthful content—essential for AI training. This creates opportunities for new revenue streams as AI platforms look to license reliable data to improve their systems.
Challenges and Ethical Considerations
Despite its promise, AI still presents challenges:
- Misinformation: AI “hallucinations” remain a concern, undermining public trust.
- Public Perception: Coca-Cola’s AI-driven ad received backlash, highlighting a consumer preference for human-driven content. Research by many firms, including Jacobs Media, consistently shows that audiences reject AI replacements for people but accept AI tools that enhance content.
- Fair Compensation: Ethical use requires ensuring creators—songwriters, photographers, journalists—are fairly compensated when their work trains AI models.
Broadcasters must use AI responsibly, balancing technological benefits with obligations to their audience and the public at-large.
Preparing for the Future
Success in this AI-driven era depends on enhancing—not replacing—the human elements that make broadcasting impactful. With fierce competition from digital marketers who are rapidly adopting and developing AI tools, Wisconsin broadcasters must continue to embrace AI solutions in 2025 that strengthen our mission to inform and serve our audiences.
As trusted community voices, authenticity and public trust remain paramount.
The WBA Digital Hotline is a free service of the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association and is available to all members – contact Chris Brunt at Jacobs Media at chris@jacobsmedia.com with any digital questions you have.
