Report: Radio Growing Share In Digital Revenue

Radio gained digital share in 2012, and it looks like many stations are building on that momentum in 2013, according to a report issued by Borrell Associates on behalf of the Radio Advertising Bureau.

Moreover, there appears to be significant profit in local digital sales operations, the report states.

The report, Benchmarking: Local Radio Stations' Online Revenues, says that radio grew its online ad revenues 22 percent last year, outpacing the 20 percent overall increase in local online ad expenditures. That was enough to achieve a share increase of two-tenths of a point, to 2.0 percent.

The report is based on Borrell's annual industry-wide survey of more than 6,200 local online operations, including more than 2,000 radio stations in 527 clusters. This report analyzes data derived from three principal sources: media ad revenue, local business ad spending, and a special radio manager survey asking questions about digital revenue resources, sales methods, expenses and other digital operations.

The growth signaled a boost for the radio industry, which had lost digital advertising market share for three years against aggressive sales from newspaper, TV, Yellow Pages and Internet pure-play competitors. The results offer strong evidence that radio is turning the corner in digital sales, according to the report.

Overall, radio sellers closed $370.7 million in local online advertising last year. Borrell expects the number to pass $420 million this year as many radio groups double down on digital sales efforts.

Much of that growth will be fueled by stations budgeting for unusually high growth. In a survey of 1,075 radio stations administered in January as part of the report, 17 percent said they expect growth of 30 percent or more this year.

There's more good news for radio: Stations are diverting their focus from banner advertising and branching out to sell other, more popular formats like email advertising, paid search and even video ads. While banner ads were the largest single source of revenue for 32 percent of the stations who participated in the survey, the number dropped to 22 percent for 2013.

The full study is available to RAB members on RAB.com, by clicking here. A free webinar featuring the study results will also be presented by the RAB and Gordon Borrell, on Thursday, March 7, at 10AM CST. To register for the webinar, follow this link.