Big radio owner CC Media Holdings said radio broadcast revenue fell 17% in the most recent quarter, to $703 million. Outdoor advertising was off 19%.
Overall, the San Antonio-based company reported revenues of $1.4 billion in the third quarter, down 17% from a year ago. But that’s better than the 22% and 20% quarterly declines of earlier this year.
It showed a loss of $89.9 million for the quarter compared with a loss of $90.2 million a year ago.
Following up on the numbers, the Wall Street Journal reported: “The company disclosed that its debt-to-earnings ratio continued to edge toward troublesome territory. … But Clear Channel said it expects to remain in compliance with the conditions attached to its senior secured credit facilities this year.”
The Journal quotes one analyst saying “Local advertising led us into this recession, and it should lead us out. However, we really don’t know the order of magnitude of the recovery, especially in radio.” Read that story here (subscription required).
