Spot Radio Sees First Positive Quarter Since ‘07

In the first quarter, spot radio is likely to see its first quarterly revenue growth since Q1 2007.

For Q1 10, Katz Media Group chief executive officer Stu Olds projects that national spot radio will be up 19%, with January seeing a 21% rise, followed by a rise of 2% in February and a 7% rise in March.

Improvements came from finance (up 7.1%), entertainment (up 20.3%), automotive (up 27%) and telecom and wireless (up 19.7%).

Retail did not post an increase in spending, being down 7.2%, reports Radio Sales Today. Fast food and internet were also down (3.5% and 69.4% respectively), according to MediaPost.

Automakers Make the Most of Radio

Top advertisers for the quarter have been General Motors, Honda, Mercedes, Chrysler, Ford, Verizon, AT&T, Geico, Wal-Mart, and Safeway, among others. In a memo, Olds writes (via Radio Ink), “This broad-based category lift translates into strong pacing in every market segment and in every region of the country. In fact, all top 25 markets are pacing ahead of last year, with 78 of the top 100 ahead of last year’s first quarter.”

Clear Channel Sells Out iheartradio Inventory

In another sign of good things to come for radio, Clear Channel Radio, which owns Katz Media Group, has said that it is sold out of iheartradio inventory for both the web and mobile in January. Clear Channel says Fox and the CW were the biggest advertisers.