US radio station trends are reported to be improving around 3% in the first quarter of this year, with March looking stronger than January and February, according to analysts Merrill Lynch.
The Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) announced that January radio advertising revenue increased by 3% year on year, with local spot advertising up by 2% and national advertising increasing by 6%. Non-spot revenue was reported to have risen by 2%.
According to Merrill, the primetime scatter market for US television networks is still slow, with advertisers waiting until the last minute to purchase space advert space.
Press reports in the States indicate that some major advertisers such as Procter & Gamble, Pfizer and Kraft have exercised their options to reduce commitments for network television buys in Q2, following a similar move by some advertisers in Q1 of 2005.
This trend is echoed for cable advertisers, with Mediaweek reporting that advertisers are buying very late in the national scatter market. Pricing is reported to be roughly 5% above the upfront.
Last month, Merrill predicted that the first half in 2005 would remain tough and volatile for the UK radio advertising market, with recent mergers and acquisitions within the industry forecast to keep the market focused on potential break up valuations (see Merrill Predicts Rocky Road For 2005 Radio Advertising Industry).
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