5-7-15Radio companies that come in with flat revenue during the first three months of the year, or are down less than their industry peers, now consider those quarters to be a success. As first-quarter-earnings season begins to wind down, flat has pretty much been radio's story. Emmis reported a revenue increase of 0.8 percent for December, January, and February (which is Emmis' fiscal fourth quarter) in Miller Kaplan markets that were down 2 percent. CEO Jeff Smulyan said the New York market was very weak, down 7 1/2 percent overall, saying the radio industry is "skittish" and off to a tough start. Of particular interest was Smulyan's reporting that the wireless advertising category was down 35 percent. That's a theme we've heard a lot from other CEOs over the past few weeks. Looking ahead, Smulyan and CFO Pat Walsh say their radio division is pacing -6.5 percent for the company's fiscal Q1 (March, April, and May) and up mid-single digits in Q2 (June, July, and August) .
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