Metro radio stations report gains in ad revenue

According to figures sourced by Deloitte and released by Commercial Radio Australia (CRA), metropolitan commercial radio stations in Australia have reported growth in advertising earnings in the month of January 2017 to $50.55 million.

Following on from a 6.75% increase in ad revenue in the month of December 2016, an annual growth of 4% took the total to $779.96 million for the calendar year 2016.

Joan Warner, CEO of CRA said, “Radio achieved a fourth successive year of advertising revenue growth last calendar year, and though there has been a slower start to 2017, the industry has been remarkably resilient.”

The Brisbane commercial radio market experienced the most growth with a January revenue contribution of $7.61 million, up 9.93% from December. Although Melbourne’s market contributed approximately double the ad revenue than Brisbane with a total of $15.45 million, its revenue contribution experienced a marginal fall in January.

Both Sydney and Perth markets grew to $15.26 million and $7.07 million respectively, while Adelaide’s commercial radio market experienced a significant drop in ad revenue, plunging 9.61% to $4.74 million.

The industry also saw growth across the seven months of the financial year to date. With a total of $445.87 in ad revenue since July 2016, there has been a 1.1% increase compared to the same period a year ago.

With further plans to continue to meet the needs of listeners and clients, the Australian commercial radio industry is planning to introduce a number of new initiatives in 2017.

It has announced a move to an automated holdings system to be rolled out this year to make the process of purchasing radio ads simpler and more streamlined.

Other general enhancements to the industry include a wide-streaming app called RadioApp. After launching last year, RadioApp will ensure that radio remains a consumer-friendly platform that is easily accessible to listeners through the integration of numerous listening mediums.

“Radio has been a reliable performer over many years and we expect that trend to continue due to our consistency in attracting audiences,” Warner affirmed.

The figures genereated by Deloitte include actual revenue received by metropoitan commercial radio stations and accounts for all metropolitan agency and direct revenue.