Radio Poised for First Quarterly Rebound in 3 Years

RADIO ONLINE | , , | :am CT

It's been three years (Q1-2007) since radio last posted quarterly revenue growth. But early indications suggest that radio's turnaround may finally be here, says Advertising Age. Several analysts project radio to finish 2010 with flat revenues to 2% higher than last year. This would become the industry's first year-over-year gain since 2006.

Double-digit increases in national and local among several categories such as entertainment, financial services and automotive, as well as new spending from political and hospitality marketers, have put radio on track to finally post a quarterly gain again, the trade periodical reports.

RAB President/CEO Jeff Haley said December was also encouraging, with increased national spot buys as McDonald's, Dunkin' Donuts, Wal-mart and Geico turned to radio for strategic marketing, value messaging and contextual placement.

"To me it's a validation that people aren't just putting money back into media, they're putting money into media based on response and the value they receive," Haley said.

Clear Channel and its rep firm Katz Media Group have already seen a 19% increase in bookings for the first quarter. The growth came from spending increases in four of radio's historically biggest categories: finance (up 7.1%), entertainment (up 20.3%), automotive (up 27%) and telecommunications and wireless (up 19.7%). Retail was the only top five spending category to post a decrease with a 7.2% decline.