Local 2018 Radio Ad Spending in California to Hit $1.66B

RADIO ONLINE | Tuesday, June 12, 2018 | 7:56pm CT

BIA Advisory Services

Local advertising in Los Angeles will top $9.1 billion in 2018, while statewide spending is expected to exceed $18.8 billion across California's 12 media markets, according to BIA Advisory Services' local advertising forecast. Of the 16 advertising platforms tracked in the BIA's forecast, the top five choices for expenditures in California for 2018 included broadcast radio with a forecast of $1.66 billion.

"Our California ad forecast shows that key advertisers are getting more comfortable with a cross-platform advertising approach that includes significant mobile and digital along with their traditional advertising," said BIA Advisory Services chief economist and SVP Mark Fratrik.

The Los Angeles market represents 48 percent of California's local ad spending. Key vertical markets of retail, general services and financial/insurance across the state will cumulatively spend nearly $8 billion divided between traditional and digital media, with mobile advertising experiencing the highest growth of any media. BIA's forecasting shows that financial and insurance industry advertisers will increase its spend by at least 18 percent from 2018 through 2022.

Ad Spend in Top Media in California

1. Direct mail ($4.81 billion)
2. TV Over-the-Air ($2.66 billion)
3. Mobile ($2.38 billion)
4. Online ($2.21 billion)
5. Radio Over-the-Air ($1.66 billion)

BIA will present its California market intelligence at its LOCAL IMPACT Los Angeles event on Thursday, July 12 in Los Angeles.

Michael Johnson Jr. Named PD for iHeart Hartford Michael Johnson Jr. iHeartMedia Hartford and New Haven has appointed Michael Johnson Jr. as Program Director for its Sports and Talk outlets, effective immediately. In his new role, Johnson will oversee WUCS (Fox Sports 97.9), home of the UConn Sports Radio Network, along with WPOP-AM (NewsRadio 1410) in Hartford and 960 More

Podtrac April Rankings Show Modest Podcast Gains Podtrac Podtrac has released its Top U.S. and Global Podcast Publishers & Networks rankings along with its Top U.S. Podcast chart for April 2026, showing modest month-over-month gains across several participants and the addition of a new publisher to the list. Among U.S. publishers and networks, six participants More

Smigel Launches ''Humor Me'' Podcast on iHeart ''Humor Me With Robert Smigel & Friends'' iHeartMedia and Will Ferrell's Big Money Players podcast network have launched a new comedy podcast, "Humor Me With Robert Smigel & Friends," which debuted May 8. Hosted by Emmy Award-winning writer, producer and comedian Robert Smigel, the weekly show features a rotating panel of comedy writers and More

Christian Cultural Center Returns to WMCA Salem Media Salem Media Group has announced the return of Christian Cultural Center to the lineup of WMCA (570/102.3 The Mission) in New York, with a new weekday program hosted by Pastor Jamaal Bernard. Beginning May 18, the program will air weekdays at 5:30am ET, reaching listeners across the New York Tri-State area. More

Saga Q1 Revenue Falls, Net Loss Widens Saga Communications Saga Communications reported first quarter 2026 net revenue declined 5.6% to $22.9 million, down from $24.2 million in the same period a year ago. Station operating expense was essentially flat, decreasing 0.2% to $22 million. The company posted an operating loss of $3.3 million More

MapQuest Adds iHeartRadio Streaming to Platform iHeartRadio MapQuest and iHeartRadio have announced a new partnership that integrates live iHeartRadio streaming directly into MapQuest.com, marking the first time audio has been built into the navigation platform. The integration allows users to listen to live radio while navigating, with a new "Live Radio" button More