Veronis Suhler Predicts Second Half Rebound

The communications industry will rebound in the second half of the year, according to Veronis Suhler Stevenson’s annual Communications Industry Forecast. Total communications spending in the United States will jump 4.8% to nearly $610 billion this year, according to the report – up from about $580 billion in 2001. The forecast cites an uptick in radio advertising spending in the first quarter of this year.
“We foresee a return to an expansive attitude toward communications spending, although we aren’t projecting anywhere near a repeat of the super-heated growth of the late Nineties. We’re in uncharted waters, both in terms of the explosive growth that occurred through 2000 and the abruptness and severity of the disruptions of the past year,” said James Rutherfurd, EVP and head of investment banking at Veronis Suhler Stevenson.
Radio-advertising expenditures declined 6.2%, to $17.9 billion in 2001, after nine consecutive years of accelerating growth. According to the report, local ad spending will rebound 3% to $14.6 billion this year, while national radio will post 4% growth, to $3.2 billion.