Radio Sales Slide Downward

Radio ad sales continued their downward trend through March, dropping 10 percent on a combined national and local basis, the Radio Advertising Bureau reports.
Comparing the same month last year, local sales are down 6 percent, while national numbers dipped 23 percent.
But RAB’s President Gary Fries pointed out that local sales are on average 80 percent of any station’s total revenue and following the historic highs of last year, a 6 percent drop in that part of the total revenue may be sustainable.
“Local Radio continues to be more stable relative to other media sectors,” said Gary Fries, RAB’s president and chief executive officer. “The nature of the Radio business is so embedded in the local marketplace, that it will sustain our medium through this slowdown in the economy. Once we get into the later half of 2001, past the high comparisons from the first six months of 2000, radio will be well positioned to pick up momentum.”