RFK Jr. intends to implement a pharmaceutical ban keeping big pharma from advertising on all traditional media outlets regulated by the FCC.
Local news and traditional media are already in “free fall” as viewership declines and advertisers diminish.
How much money does Big Pharma spend on TV ads?
Between January and November 2024, the most recent data at the time of reporting showed that spending by the prescription drugs sector on national cable and broadcast TV amounted to nearly $4.2 billion, marking a 4% increase compared to the previous year and accounting for 75% of television advertising during news programming.
Pharmaceutical firms are still spending significantly on traditional TV ads, hitting $3.4 billion in the initial eight months of 2024, even as linear TV viewership decreases.
Pharmaceutical companies utilize direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketing to advertise their medications to the public, with television serving as a primary channel for these campaigns.
A notable illustration of a corporation that heavily invests in television commercials is AbbVie, especially for medications such as Rinvoq, Skyrizi, and Vraylar.
Pharmaceutical advertising contributes substantially to the revenue of TV networks, especially Fox News and CNN, which heavily depend on these advertisements for income.
A report from Intellectual Takeout stated that 75% of the revenue from Fox News’ evening news comes from pharmaceutical companies.
You think Legacy media is dying right now?
— 🪶Native Patriot 🇺🇸 (@LaNativePatriot) November 17, 2024
Wait until RFK Jr. stops Big PHRMA from advertising their “drugs” on their networks
They were subsidized into portraying false world views which will inevitably lead to their downfall pic.twitter.com/JpkVwWF8pS
How the pharmaceutical ban will end legacy media as we know it
The pharmaceutical ban eliminates up to 75% of TV revenue. No other competing advertisers exist on this scale for the networks. ABC, CBS, and NBC share local revenues with local TV stations running those same ads. Local TV stations will get hammered by this pharmaceutical ban.
The pharmaceutical ban will send financial shock waves across all TV networks.
Amid a broad reshuffle of its programming lineup, MSNBC is initiating “mass layoffs” of 99 employees who are members of the WGA East, the union said.
In the midst of an extensive reorganization of its program schedule, MSNBC is beginning significant staff cuts, affecting 99 WGA East union members, as announced on Tuesday, March 4, 2025.
According to WGA East, “we learned that MSNBC is starting mass layoffs of 99 of our union colleagues from at least nine different shows. This devastating news comes after the slow, painful trickle of announcements regarding a near-total overhaul of the network’s broadcast lineup.”
Over the past few months, nearly twelve prominent anchors and TV hosts have departed from their positions at leading networks such as CBS, NBC, MSNBC, Fox News, and CNN.
MSNBC recently announced the departure of Joy Reid and the cancellation of her show. Lester Holt is also leaving NBC Nightly News after being on the air for ten years, following another nightly news anchor’s departure last month.
CNN’s chief domestic correspondent, Jim Acosta, revealed on air in January that he is leaving the network. He stated that after careful thought and considering an alternative time slot offered by CNN, he has chosen to depart.
Norah O’Donnell concluded her time as the CBS Evening News anchor in January, having earlier disclosed in the summer her plans to step down post the presidential election while continuing as a contributor for CBS.
“I have spent 12 years in the anchor chair here at CBS News, connected to a daily broadcast and the rigors of a relentless news cycle,” she said in July. “It’s time to do something different.
Following the 2024 presidential election, Chris Wallace announced his departure from CNN, where he had worked for over two years. Having spent close to twenty years at Fox News, Wallace informed The Daily Beast that he intended to transition to streaming or podcasting.
Andrea Mitchell revealed last October that she planned to conclude her program Andrea Mitchell Reports on MSNBC. As we prepare to cover a new administration, Andrea’s expertise and reporting are more needed than ever,” NBC News leaders said in a staff memo at the time. Please join us in congratulating Andrea on 16 years at the anchor desk at MSNBC and for her continued work with NBC News as we prepare to cover this historic election.
Anthony Adornato, who leads the broadcast and digital journalism department at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications, stated to USA TODAY that news outlets are shifting focus away from high-paid celebrity anchors due to evolving news consumption trends and increased interest from younger viewers in alternative content sources.
Pharmaceutical ban – where does big pharma advertise now?
Once the pharmaceutical ban takes place, look for big pharma to attempt to move its advertising spend to streaming platforms (like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Max), streaming news sites like MyrtleBeachSC News, podcasters, mailers, MMS texting, paid informational health blogs, as well as, social media platforms like X, Facebook, Tik Tok, Youtube, and Google, and Google content pay per click ads on streaming news sites.
These business are not regulated by the FCC.
Said David Hucks, of MyrtleBeachSC News, “Only the worst business executives in America will allow Google pay per click pharmaceutical ads on their streaming news sites at current Google ads rates. Google Pay Per Clicks can be as cheap as 6 cents per click. After the pharmaceutical ban, why would streaming news allow big pharma ads at these low prices.”
