RSS
Home
Radio listeners up, ad revenues down
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Please listen and buy from me!
“AM/FM radio listeners increased by 3 million in 2008, bringing the number of weekly radio listeners to 235 million”
The quote above is obviously very positive, however when you delve into the data, we also learn that ad revenues are down considerably.
“Radio ad revenue was down 6.5% during the first two quarters of 2008, making it the second-most-declined medium next to newspapers, which suffered a 7.4% decrease in ad spending during the same period”
Though the article points out the failings of the industry to embrace new media, I believe that the problem is much deeper. Simply stated, thanks to the consolidation of the radio industry, there is less and less “local” radio across the country.
In my particular area, there is virtually none. We have learned the hard way that during a local crisis, the last place that we should turn to for information is radio, unless of course we wanted to know who has the number 4 song on the Ryan Seacrest’s American Top 40 countdown program!
While I think that there is a place for syndicated radio programming, locally, we have lost our identity. With the exception of someone like Rush Limbaugh who can successfully push a national sponsor to success, according to our research, people buy from local vendors. Unfortunately for them, people like me cannot remember the last time that they listened to either AM or FM radio.
If the stats offered are correct, I believe that the reason listeners are tuning back in are economic related. Given the current economic climate, I suspect that it must be tougher to sell satellite radio subscriptions as well as for merchants to convince people to purchase portable music players (MP3) plus, then purchase songs, books, etc, to play on them.
Related Articles:
Comments
.jpg)
