Commercial radio sector records fall in metro ad revenue

The commercial radio industry recorded a slight fall in metro ad revenue of just over 2% for November.

A total of $68.601 million was secured according to figures sourced by Deloitte and released by Commercial Radio Australia.

“The commercial radio industry has seen 14 months of consecutive increases in advertising revenue, so this may be a month of consolidation,” said Joan Warner, chief executive of CRA.

The November dip was against a particularly strong month in November 2014, when advertising revenue was up 10.34%. Figures for the individual markets showed that revenue in Sydney decreased by 4.55% to $20.706 million in November compared to the same month a year ago, while Melbourne was down 3.19% to $20.637 million. Brisbane also declined by 4.03% to $10.741 million.

Adelaide (up 4.51% to $6.448 million) and Perth (up 3.86% to $10.068 million) both recorded increases.

For the five-month period ending November 2015, Adelaide recorded the strongest growth (up 12.92% to $31.541 million), followed by Perth (up 7.03% to $46.196 million) and Sydney (up 5.08% to $102.921 million).  Melbourne grew by 4.36% to $102.795 million and Brisbane rose by 3.22% to $52.250 million.

Financial year-to-date figures show growth across all five capital city markets with a total rise of 5.51% to $335.704 million.

The Deloitte figures report actual revenue received by metropolitan commercial radio stations and include all metropolitan agency and direct revenue.

Source: Radio Today