Radio to Hit $20 Billion; Dot-Coms Down

Radio is about to become a $20 billion industry, according to one expert. Meanwhile, dot-com spending is down significantly.
Interep CEO and Chairman Ralph Guild made the prediction at a session at the Annual Media Conference hosted by investment bank UBS Warburg.
Guild reported that for the first nine months of 2000, local and national radio revenue was up 16 percent. Interep’s forecast for the end of the year is “approximately in the 15-percent range,” Guild said.
The impact of the Internet on radio was under discussion. Guild said in spite of emerging media that could be directly competitive, radio has doubled its revenue since 1994.
He noted a nearly 50 percent decline in dot-com spending during the second half of this year, but said dot-coms will still place among the top five categories for national radio spending for the period.