It's always been radio's slowest revenue quarter, and 2013 was no different. Keeping in line with what many of the major radio companies reported in their quarterly earnings, radio took in $3.5 billion in January through March, with March providing something of a revenue spark after a slower start.
Spot revenue declined 2% for the quarter, while digital increased 9% year-over-year. Radio's bread-and-butter category, automotive, offered more dealer incentives and pulled back on advertising in Q1, according to the RAB -- and a 20% decline in automotive advertising is a big number to make up.
Here's how some of the other categories performed in the first quarter of 2013:
Communications and Cellular was up 36%. Financial Services was up 13%. Casinos and lotteries were down 15%. The Beverage category was down 4%. Concerts/Theaters/Movies declined 4%.
Read the full RAB report HERE.(5/17/2013 2:45:04 PM)
Automotive advertising did NOT pull back in Q1. Automotive DID pull back advertising on radio though, in Q1. The dealers especially in the major markets are getting smart-- they see NO ROI with radio! Reason: they know their commercials ARE NOT HEARD when they are buried in a long commercial cluster break. ...Radio had better go back to very short breaks, or this is only the beginning of the loss of ROI focused advertisers.
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