BIA Forecast: Radio to Grow 2.3 Percent this Year

The top 25 radio groups are expected to post revenue increases of only about 2.3 percent this year, according to a forecast from BIA Financial Network - and this view is actually more optimistic than Wall Street’s, as many analysts have already revised downward their forecasts to below 1 percent or lower, Billboard Radio Monitor writes. While radio continues to experience sluggish growth, it is “by no means a dying medium,” Mark Fratrik, VP of BIA, is quoted as saying, though he acknowledges that there are challenges to the industry.

Two such challenges include the increase in penetration of satellite radio and the struggles to develop a greater consumer awareness of digital radio. But radio has not been alone in its struggles to increase growth. Of all established advertising media, outdoor is the only area that is still seeing strong growth, said Fred Moran, a Stanford Group analyst, earlier this spring.

On the other hand, some radio markets are “actually rebounding and performing well,” Fratrik said.

Phoenix, for example, is expected to see revenue increase by as much as 8 percent.

BIA also ranked the top 25 radio groups, and the ranking showed little change from previous years. Clear Channel and CBS Radio remain number one and two, with revenues of $3.5 billion and $2.2 billion respectively. Entercom Communications, Cox Radio, ABC Radio/Citadel, Citadel Communications, Radio One, Univision Radio, Cumulus Media, and Emmis Communications round out the top 10.