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Job outlook for broadcast producers in the United States
Broadcast producer job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected broadcast producer job growth rate is 8% from 2018-2028.
About 12,800 new jobs for broadcast producers are projected over the next decade.
Broadcast producer salaries have increased 8% for broadcast producers in the last 5 years.
There are over 5,198 broadcast producers currently employed in the United States.
There are 13,811 active broadcast producer job openings in the US.
The average broadcast producer salary is $82,832.
Are broadcast producer jobs in demand?
Broadcast producer job and salary trends over time
Broadcast producer jobs over time
Broadcast producer job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 5,198 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 4,493 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 4,858 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 4,460 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 4,419 | 0.00% |
Average broadcast producer salary over time
Broadcast producer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $82,832 | $39.82 | +2.7% |
| 2024 | $80,685 | $38.79 | +3.8% |
| 2023 | $77,714 | $37.36 | +0.1% |
| 2022 | $77,649 | $37.33 | +0.9% |
| 2021 | $76,923 | $36.98 | +3.7% |
Broadcast producer jobs by state
Most common states for broadcast producers
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 69 | 10% |
| 2 | Vermont | 623,657 | 22 | 4% |
| 3 | New York | 19,849,399 | 357 | 2% |
| 4 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 48 | 2% |
| 5 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 47 | 2% |
| 6 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 15 | 2% |
| 7 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 12 | 2% |
| 8 | California | 39,536,653 | 563 | 1% |
| 9 | Texas | 28,304,596 | 253 | 1% |
| 10 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 134 | 1% |
| 11 | Georgia | 10,429,379 | 126 | 1% |
| 12 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 106 | 1% |
| 13 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 83 | 1% |
| 14 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 78 | 1% |
| 15 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 55 | 1% |
| 16 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 51 | 1% |
| 17 | West Virginia | 1,815,857 | 22 | 1% |
| 18 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 11 | 1% |
| 19 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 10 | 1% |
| 20 | Alaska | 739,795 | 9 | 1% |
Most common cities for broadcast producers
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago | 1 | 0% | $71,142 |
| 2 | Washington | 1 | 0% | $100,877 |
Broadcast Producer job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of broadcast producer experts
Olympic College
University of Toledo
Susquehanna University
Columbia College Chicago
Drexel University
Baylor University
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Radio Television Digital News Association
Florida State University
University of North Texas
Amy Hesketh
Full Time FacultyOlympic College
Social Sciences & Humanities (SSH) Division
What soft skills should all Broadcast Producers possess?
Amy Hesketh: -Collaboration.
-Teamwork.
-Project management.
-Crew management.
-Professionalism.
What skills stand out on Broadcast Producer resumes?
Amy Hesketh: Ability to work with a variety of editing software (Avid, Adobe Premiere Pro/Audition, Resolve). Screenwriting and story development.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Broadcast Producer job market given the pandemic?
Deborah Orloff: Working remotely and meeting via Zoom (and similar video conferencing platforms) is obviously a huge trend, and I expect it to continue.
What skills stand out on Broadcast Producer resumes?
Deborah Orloff: Flexibility and the ability to adapt to changing situations and new technology has become more important than ever! Creativity and entrepreneurship are also very important!
Craig Stark Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Communications, Department Head of CommunicationsSusquehanna University
Communications Department
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Broadcast Producer job market given the pandemic?
Craig Stark Ph.D.: Probably more remote work opportunities. I would expect many employers will find it more cost-effective to have employees work from home or remote sites, which means employees have to have a good working knowledge of time management and technical skills.
What Broadcast Producer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Craig Stark Ph.D.: If a graduate needs to take a gap year from work, the best thing I think they could do is stay involved with the industry. Subscribe to email and text updates from trade magazines, follow regulatory agencies like the FCC and FTC online, and stay in touch. Maintain contact with anyone that you've networked with and attend any virtual job fairs or conferences that you can. Use the time to practice and hone any technical or professional skills that you're interested in. The most important thing is to stay up-to-date and involved as much as you can, so that when the gap year is over it will be easier to get back into the swing.
What general advice would you give to a Broadcast Producer?
Craig Stark Ph.D.: Be flexible and willing to change goals and perspectives. The industry is constantly changing and evolving but fortunately you can do anything with a communications degree. Use that flexibility to your advantage and do the best you can to prepare for any industrial, professional, and personal changes in your life.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Broadcast Producer job market given the pandemic?
Duncan MacKenzie: The fine arts' job market is always aggressively entrepreneurial and requires our practitioners to establish their voice and space. With many of our more traditional paths squeezed or closed, we see an increased enthusiasm for online venues and the kinds of work that can support them. After the pandemic, we expect to see a return to the materially based practices and those with performative and social aspects, as the audience will be looking for less mediated experiences.
What skills stand out on Broadcast Producer resumes?
Duncan MacKenzie: For all young artists, organizational skills, digital and web-based skills, and an ability to communicate verbally and textually are very important; beyond that, craft-based skills relevant to whatever is being made are always crucial.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Broadcast Producers to find work opportunities?
Duncan MacKenzie: Artists can find relevance anywhere they want to work, but often, they must build the audience for their creative output. It is more comfortable in big cities such as New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago, as they have pre-existing channels and communities for art-making and viewing. Still, those cities can be significantly more expensive to live in.
What skills stand out on Broadcast Producer resumes?
Michael Wagner: Primarily an understanding of how to be productive in virtual teams. Anything that proves that somebody is capable of working independently and reliably.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Broadcast Producers to find work opportunities?
Michael Wagner: In our fields, location is no longer a serious concern. People work from anywhere. There are still traditional pockets of media industries such as LA, but the overall tendency is to move into remote work arrangements.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Broadcast Producers to find work opportunities?
Chris Hansen: Most cities of any size have businesses and churches that need media professionals. Every business needs a media presence for their website, or social media, or advertising. So whether they do that with in-house media employees or outsource to firms or freelancers who handle the work, having these skills will make you employable in most medium-sized or large cities.
What type of skills will young Broadcast Producers need?
David Carren: Critical thinking, a significant component of all successful creative endeavors, will be a considerable asset. Another essential ability to collaborate or work with others efficiently and effectively will also matter a great deal.
What experience really stands out on Broadcast Producer resumes?
Nate Bynum: Performance experience is the most apparent accomplishment theatre employers look for on a resume. The documented ability to sing, dance, and act, are still the standards that define a well-rounded theatre performer. A summary showing roles in a wide variety of genres (classical/period/musicals/comedies/dramas) will undoubtedly stand out versus one limited in number and scope. As well, classes taken are of interest to a potential employer. Courses in movement, voice, diction, screen acting, stage combat, etc., will suggest that the student was focused on being--or the program forced them to be--well-rounded and involved. And, fortunately, or unfortunately, the school can make a difference to employers.
The more prominent and more well-known the program, the more famous the alumni, the more severe or well-trained the student is deemed to be. I say "unfortunately" because that is often far from being true. There are many good students to be found on large and small campuses. A well-rounded theatre student has trained in various genres (stage, musicals, film/tv, opera) to prepare for a career in the arts. The operative word being "career." Say, for example, the theatre student is applying to teach at a university. The classes or specialized area of training becomes a lot more important than the proven ability to perform. And with that, the ability to write and communicate orally.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Broadcast Producers?
Nate Bynum: Undoubtedly, training was greatly affected during the pandemic. Arts training is now, and has always been, hands-on. Even if classes were allowed in-person, social distance spacing is anathema to the movement in the discipline. Theatre and screen acting are collaborative arts. Teachers and students have to work together and nearby. This can not be accomplished via Zoom and 6ft. spacing. Social distance does not exist in the arts. Thus, the limits placed on teachers and students in executing exercises, performing scene work or tech work, or proving to understand the intricate details of a particular art were lost and will have to be learned at another time.
What type of skills will young Broadcast Producers need?
Dan Shelley: In addition to the fundamentals - shooting/recording video/audio, editing, sharp newswriting skills, excellent live reporting technique, strong anchoring ability, (not necessarily in that order) - they'll need to know more than a little about the communities and newsrooms in which they want to work BEFORE they apply. Once they get a job, they'll need to be prepared for long hours, modest pay (at first), and they'll have to place a heightened degree of awareness on their personal safety when working in the field.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Broadcast Producers to find work opportunities?
Dan Shelley: There are entry-level, mid-level and senior-level positions open across the country. Companies that operate local newsrooms around the U.S. are placing a great emphasis on improving the diversity of their workplaces, particularly in newsroom management positions. There are significant opportunities for BIPOC broadcast and digital journalists to get onto the management track by taking producer and other mid-level supervisory positions.
What general advice would you give to a Broadcast Producer?
Michael Neal Ph.D.: The advice can be tricky, especially since our graduates go into a number of fields. My hope for them is that they continue to build upon what they learned in our program and apply it to new situations and contexts outside of school. I often tell students that editing, writing, and media aren't skills you master and then apply universally across contexts. Instead, we encourage students to keep growing and stretching themselves, since they will most likely face new genres, audiences, and contexts that they didn't see in college. Therefore, we teach them to be flexible, to be close readers, and analyze each rhetorical situation to determine how to best communicate within that context. Good writing isn't one-size-fits-all. Instead, it's a complex, negotiated relationship between writers, texts, contexts, audiences, media, modalities, etc.
What general advice would you give to a Broadcast Producer?
Johnathan Paul: My number one piece of advice for soon-to-be or recent graduates is never to stop learning. I always strive to tell my students to be as diverse as possible. Don't just know one thing; in today's market, you need to know how to do several things. Diversify your tool palette. This will help you in the long run and may lead you to a career path you didn't realize existed.
How would you rate the starting salaries for Broadcast Producers, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?
Johnathan Paul: Trying to pinpoint a starting salary in the film and television industry is incredibly challenging. There are so many different avenues that a recent graduate can go into, and each one of those job tracks has a benchmark for what number their starting salary begins at. For example, someone joining a film crew as a Production Assistant will typically make less than someone taking an entry level office job at a studio. The video game industry tends to have better starting salaries; however, many of those jobs are temporarily based on a development cycle. Freelance and contract work are just a reality of the media industry, and it's something I try to prepare my students for.