Saga's Ed Christian: Radio 'Vitals Are Good'

Ed Christian

There’s no question the first quarter of the year was distinctly mediocre for the radio industry, with most companies reporting that revenues were flat or down in the first three months of the year.

The not-so-stellar news last week included Saga Communications, where total revenues slipped 1.2% from $29.4 million in the first quarter of 2014 to $29.1 million in the first quarter of 2015.

MediaPost reported within these figures, radio revenues as reported on a same station basis were flat at $24.3 million; on an actual basis (including divested stations) they were down 2.4% from $24.9 million. The company’s smaller TV division saw revenues increase 6.6% from $4.5 million to $4.8 million.

Saga CEO Ed Christian attributed the results to general weakness in the radio business, noting that “nobody in the broadcast industry is happy with Q1.” However, he was optimistic about the rest of the year, citing signs of an economic recovery and returning consumer confidence.

On last week's analysts conference call Christian said "if there are thoughts of broadcasting as a troubled industry, please dispel them. Our vitals are good, and there is a healthy pulse. We are relevant. We’re not aged. In short, radio and TV advertising, if done properly still works and generates results."

He added, "There are other companies that are like us and believe that this business is built on people and our assets go home every day and if we don’t have well-trained committed people in our stations, then we lose. And I think that that’s one of the big issues that the industry faces right now is we have this race to squeeze and see how much we can rely on having empty shelves of radio stations by importing them."