Duncan’s: 4 firms Do Not Control 90% of Radio Ad Revenue

Duncan’s American Radio is refuting an earlier report used by new U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ernest Hollings, D-S.C. and Byron Dorgan, D-N.D. to decry the effects of consolidation on radio and TV station ownership.
Duncan’s research shows that the top four-billing companies — Clear Channel, Infinity, Cox Radio and ABC Radio — had combined 2000 ad revenues of $7.2 billion, which is about 42% of the industry’s $17.12 billion total.
Hollings and Dorgan had used an unsourced figure of four companies controlling 90% of radio ad revenue in an editorial published in “The Washington Post” last week.
They stated: “Those hoping to acquire more media outlets claim that the transformed and newly competitive media landscape demands a deregulatory response. In our view, the proponents of deregulation and consolidation have yet to prove their claims. Deregulation without reasoned justification is nothing more than deregulation for its own sake. We have already been down that road and we have seen the troubling results in the radio marketplace.”
“We must not make a similar mistake by further consolidating ownership of our local television stations. … Despite the proliferation of the Internet and the increased deployment of digital cable and satellite television systems (with hundreds of programming options), most people still get their information from local newspapers, radio and television stations.”