Radio Facts:
Radio’s Digital Revenue Double-Digit Growth for Q3
Off-Air Revenues Also Show Significant Gains
as Industry Revenues Indicate Improving Trends
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New York, New York – November 21, 2014 – The Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB), the radio industry’s advertising advocacy group serving more than 6,000 member Radio stations across the U.S., announced today that the Radio industry continues to build its digital profile as Digital revenue in Q3 showed growth of 11% over last year. In addition, despite a flat national advertising market across media, total Radio ad revenues showed signs of rebounding with improving trends over Q2 performance (-2% vs. -3%) – and Off-Air revenue posted a 14% gain, for its fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth.
Year-to-date through September changes for Spot and Network were identical to their Q3 showings
(-3% and -4%, respectively).
“The increasing strength of Radio’s digital platforms becomes more evident every quarter as advertisers recognize the unparalleled benefits of reaching Radio’s dedicated audiences on every device and platform they are using,” said Erica Farber, President and CEO of the Radio Advertising Bureau. “In addition, the growth in off-air opportunities for advertisers is a clear indication that Radio is focused on continuing to deliver more innovative solutions to help them reach their consumers.”
“As radio broadcasters continue their focus on reaching consumers and enhancing advertiser ROI through broadcast, digital platforms and new off-air opportunities, advertisers are recognizing that the best way to communicate with consumers and build brands has evolved far beyond simply running a Spot schedule on-air,” Farber continued. “On-air personality involvements, events, station websites and other digital options continue to generate support, use and results among major brand marketers as well as local businesses.
Growth Categories in Q3
There were upticks from Health Care (+4%), Professional Services (+5%), and Insurance Companies (+1%); these industries also showed increases in year-to-date spending – up 6%, 6% and 7% respectively. Nice growth signs while several of Spot Radio’s top tier revenue categories registered dips while facing very strong Q3 delivery last year.
Additionally, there was upward momentum from many categories in the next tier that helped improve Radio’s bottom line this quarter, many of which reflect the impact of increased consumer optimism and spending in the housing, travel and personal entertainment areas. These are (in rank order based on dollar volume):
“Looking at this list of growth categories, much of the increased volume derives from locally-focused, Main Street businesses who can directly observe the impact of Radio advertising on their bottom lines,” states Farber. “Additionally, Radio’s ability to motivate listeners to action is reflected in the increased spending in such categories as Charitable/Religious/Non-Profit/Government Agencies, Entertainment, Sporting Events/Expos/Shows, and Recruitment/Employment – advertisers that count on Radio to help raise funds, fill seats, fill jobs and depend on results from their investments.”
The diversity of Radio’s top advertiser list continues to exemplify the ability of our medium to deliver for a broad spectrum of products and services. The “top ten” comprises a cross-section of major brands from seven different categories:
*Spot Radio, Digital and Off-Air revenues are based on a pool of more than 100 markets as reported by the accounting firm of Miller Kaplan Arase LLP and extrapolated to the entire U.S. Digital Revenue is comprised from activity generated by websites, Internet/web streaming and HD Radio including HD2 and HD3 stations. Network Revenue includes seven major Radio network companies. Revenue data has been randomly verified since 2002.
The lineup of markets/stations may vary from year to year. Percent change is calculated on revenue adjusted to current year reporting.
