Sales in Un-Rated Markets Steady

One area of radio station sales that has not seen a downturn is stations located in markets not rated by Arbitron, according to BIA. In 2000, there were 2.5 times more stations sold in rated markets than stations in un-rated market. By 2005, there were only 33 percent more sold in rated markets.
“This trend indicates that potential buyers are looking for strategic acquisitions in smaller markets since there are few, if any, radio stations available in the larger markets where most of the strong stations are already part of local clusters,” said Mark Fratrik, vice president of BIAFN. “Also, by developing a cluster of radio stations in an un-rated market, groups can work with Arbitron to establish it as a rated market.”
In 1996, there were 261 Arbitron markets, and now there are 296. Establishing a rated market provides the opportunity to increase revenues at a faster pace than otherwise, according to Fratrik.