National advertisers’ radio spend down 21.2% in Q4 2008

National advertisers’ radio spend was down 21.2% year on year in the fourth quarter of 2008, with total spend in Q4 down 14.5% to £129 million.

According to figures from the Radio Advertising Bureau, total ad spend for the year was £560.2 million.

National advertisers’ spend for the year was down 9.6% to £304.8 million.

Local advertisers’ radio spend was down 9.8% in Q4 to £36.2 million. For the full year 2008 it fell 6.1% to £149.6 million.

Branded content, meanwhile, was down 1.1% year on year in Q4 to £27.1 million, while across the year it was up 4.3% to £105.8 million.

A GroupM UK ad forecast released last December predicted that radio advertising would be down 8% this year.

ZenithOptimedia, meanwhile, forecast a 3% drop in UK radio advertising for 2009.