Commercial Radio Records First Full Year Revenue Growth Since 2004

Revenue for commercial radio has increased over 7% year on year for the final quarter of 2007, at over £150.9 million.

According to the latest figures from the RadioCentre, radio advertising totalled £598.2 million last year, up 2.8% on 2006.

Within the £150 million, national revenue saw the largest growth year on year by 11.4% to £8.3 million; local revenue increased by 3.2% to almost £40.2 million, and revenue from sponsorship and promotions increased 1.1% to over £27.4 million.

Andrew Harrison, chief executive of RadioCentre, said: “This is the third consecutive quarter of revenue growth for the commercial radio industry and the first full year of growth since 2004 – this really is good news for our industry.

“Despite reports that the traditional media sector is facing challenging times, these figures confirm that our sector is bouncing back as advertisers recognise radio’s valuable role in a multi-media schedule.”

Simon Redican, managing director of the Radio Advertising Bureau, added: “These figures are another set of impressive results for our sector. Commercial radio reaches over 30 million listeners a week – advertisers can’t ignore that reach and it’s a great place for them to get their messages out to the great British public – today’s figures reinforce that.”

RadioCentre: www.radiocentre.org