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New York, New York - November 20, 2009 - As Q3 approached, consumer confidence slowly inched upwards, providing encouraging signs of an economic recovery.  "As the quarter came to a close, it showed promise of an upswing in advertising spend by marketers," stated Jeff Haley, President and CEO of the RAB.  "Increases in expenditures in highly competitive categories continue to positively influence Radio’s bottom line."

"Although there have been shifts in rank, Radio's top 5 categories have been consistent since 2005" Haley commented.  "Within these top 5 categories we continue to see some advertisers aggressively increase their share of voice when compared to their higher spending competitors."  Some notable examples of these Local/National accounts include: Subway, Dunkin’ Donuts, MetroPCS, as well as Volvo and Hyundai Motor Corporations.

 

Throughout 2009, Radio has seen narrowing gaps between previous year comps with each successive quarter. Q3 '09 total revenue stands at 84% of the Q3 '08 level - significantly improving on Q1's 76%.

Digital Radio's Digital sector also shows positive signs with quarter and year to date increases of 14% and 12% respectively. Although there have been economic hurdles, stations supported and improved upon their brand’s online extensions - websites, online streaming, mobile applications - providing content and programming that addressed listeners' demands therefore providing advertisers with additional marketing options.

Radio's digital platform offers both local and national advertisers an additional venue to reach consumers across the audio spectrum.  Recently Piper Jaffray indicated "that small businesses will begin to catch up with consumers online, bringing significant growth to the local online sector and moving local dollars from offline to the Web".

*Local, National, 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 & Co. and extrapolated to the entire U.S.  The methodology to derive the 2007 local, national, digital and Off-Air (non-spot) quarterly dollar amounts has been recalibrated and maintains previously reported quarterly total revenue while reflecting a shift in the dollars within the sectors.  Digital Revenue is comprised from activity generated by the websites, internet/web streaming and HD Radio including HD2 and HD3 stations.  Network Revenue includes the top five Radio network companies. Non-Spot data has been collected and verified since January of 2002, and reported since September of 2004. 

 

The RAB began reporting quarterly Radio revenue in dollar amounts with the 2007 results.

 

The Radio Advertising Bureau serves more than 6,000 member Radio stations in the U.S. and over 1,000 member networks, representative firms, broadcast vendors, and international organizations. RAB leads and participates in educational, research, sales, and advocacy programs that promote and advance Radio as a primary advertising medium.

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