Report: Media-Entertainment Tops Auto In Radio Ad Dollars

Media and entertainment narrowly edged out automotive as radio’s top ad category among the industry’s publicly traded companies, a new Wells Fargo Securities analysis shows.

InsideRadio reports that top category accounted for 18% of radio ad dollars, closely followed by auto with 15%. Auto, traditionally radio’s top breadwinner, has modestly trimmed ad spending on radio and other traditional media, according to industry execs.

Consumer/retail and services tied for third place on the Wells Fargo tally, each delivering 13% of revenues, followed by a tie for fifth place among financial services and food & beverage at 9% apiece.

Other major radio ad categories include health care/pharma (7%), telephone/utilities (5%) and travel & leisure (3%). Political/organization, which both radio and television stations said fell well below expectations during the 2016 election cycle, delivered 3% of ad revenues, followed by gas/oil (2%). “Other” categories made up 3% of revenues.

The new breakdown, based on data from publicly held radio companies and Wells Fargo data, is contained in a Radio Industry Refresher report put out by Wells Fargo senior analyst Marci Ryvicker in response to queries from investors about the Entercom-CBS Radio merger. It paints a mostly upbeat picture of the industry, using Nielsen and other data to remind investors that “radio is one of the few reach mediums” and that “listenership has been pretty stable.” But radio revenues “are not as stable,” the report says, pointing to low- to mid-single digit annual declines since 2012. However the revenue numbers don’t include digital media and political advertising, just national and local spot, and thus offer an incomplete picture of industry revenue.

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