Katz Says Q2 Spending Boosts National Spot Radio

RADIO ONLINE | Tuesday, May 17, 2011 | 2:23pm CT

Second quarter spending increases are leading to strong gains in a number of leading ad categories, including automotive (domestic), finance, retail and telecom, said Katz Radio Group President Mark Gray. The National Spot Radio Market is pacing up 1.4% in the second quarter as five of the six market group segments are showing increases. In addition, early Q3 pacing numbers are up more than 7%.

Katz remains "very optimistic" about radio's outlook and long-term growth as the radio industry has moved to expand into online, on-demand, mobile and digital broadcasts, offering broadcasting and online clients a greater ability to capture a larger share of advertising dollars in the digital space.

We're encouraged by several of National Spot Radio's core advertising categories. The top seven categories represent 90% of all revenue. With the exception of consumer products, all are pacing up strongly in the second quarter over 2010, with auto, professional services and finance all up double digits.

Political spending¸ as anticipated, is down from last year's very active election season. However, Gray notes that issue advertising focused on education, energy and the economy is making a greater contribution than usual in an off-cycle year.

Gray is also seeing solid gains across most markets and regions of the country. While the top 10 markets are showing modest improvement in the second quarter, markets in the vast majority of the country are showing strong gains in the period.