Commercial Radio Revenues Increase

RadioCentre, the industry body for UK Commercial Radio has announced that national revenue figures for the Q2 period have risen to over £85 million – a healthy 3.4% increase year-on-year.

Local revenue for Q2 grew 1.2% year on year to over 40 million and sponsorship & promotions revenue dipped slightly down to 24 million, but overall, says RadioCentre, the figures are showing strong signs that the industry is well on its way to a recovery.

Simon Redican, managing director of the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB), said: “The results are extremely encouraging. We have already stated our optimism publicly but it is always good to get confirmation. Radio is the multiplier of the digital age and advertisers are recognising the important role it is playing as part of the media mix.”

This follows last week’s RAJAR results, which showed that commercial radio has narrowed the gap with the BBC, seeing year on year and period on period upturns in its weekly reach and share of listening (see All Commercial Boosts Share Of Listening Whilst All BBC Records Decline).

The RAJAR figures, also for Q2 2007, revealed that commercial radio’s weekly reach rose to around 32 million with its share of listening jumping to 43.5%.

Separately, the RAB today announced that they will be rolling out the advertising effectiveness tracker in the coming months, which is designed to demonstrate to advertisers the value of their investment in the radio medium.

Redican added: “This will provide major advertisers with confidence in the medium’s ability to build value for their brands.”

RadioCentre: www.radiocentre.org RAB: 020 7306 2500 www.rab.co.uk