UK Radio Groups See Slight Improvement, But Revenues Down
Capital Radio is expecting a 4% fall in like for like airtime advertising revenues for the year ending 30 October, despite a gradually improving environment. Meanwhile, rival radio company, GWR Group, says its Local Radio Group is trading strongly, whilst Classic FM revenues remain volatile.
Capital is anticipating some positive growth in October, although this is largely the result of a weak October last year.
“With the recent optimism in the media marketplace we have seen some limited signs of improvement. However, we remain cautious and believe that it is too early to tell when the UK advertising sector will recover,” said today’s statement.
GWR Group is a little more optimistic. It is experiencing an improved short-term visibility for ad revenues and expects a satisfactory outcome for the year. Satisfactory in this case is a boost to financial and operational figures at the company, despite the uncertain market.
GWR’s Local Radio Group saw airtime revenues jump by a hefty 18.9% in the six months to 30 September. This is a result of sales initiatives and the new inventory system put in place earlier this year, according to the company. Revenues at Classic FM, the company’s national commercial station, were down by 12% during the same period.
Shares in GWR were down by 1.1% at 227.5p at 10.00am; Capital Radio shares were off 5.3% at 492.5p, following its weaker statement.
