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Radio Revenue to Sink 15% in 2009: BIA

BIA Advisory Services is now saying that radio revenues will fall 15% in 2009, to $14 billion - down from its former estimate of a 10.6% decline.

The first quarter saw radio revenues decline 24%, following a full-year drop of 9% in 2008. If BIA’s estimate is correct for the year, the next three quarters would have to average no more than a 12% drop - an improvement over Q1, according to MediaPost.

Indeed, BIA vp Mark Fratrik is hopeful that advertising may have hit its bottom. He expressed optimism about the future of radio, saying the medium has “shown agility by adjusting its programming and how it’s delivered, and listeners are responding. These adjustments could translate into a viable way of attracting advertisers.”

BIA points to the way stations have been making format changes, particularly to all-news, which has experienced a 9.2% rise in listenership compared to the first quarter of last year, Mediaweek writes.

Jeff Haley, Radio Advertising Bureau president and CEO, was publicly optimistic about radio despite the steep first-quarter loss. “Radio’s digital platforms are experiencing the greatest growth and are reflective of the dollar shift from media to marketing by many of today’s advertisers. As consumer and technological sophistication increases, advertisers will continue to support those platforms which appeal to their customers’ increased on-demand behaviors - and radio is primed for it.”