Wachovia Sees 1% Radio Drop in 2006

RAB on Friday said June radio revenue was up 1%, the second month there’s been a positive number, noted Marci Ryvicker, VP for equity research at Wachovia Capital Markets. Yet Wachovia’s full-year estimates for the industry remain unchanged at 0.6% growth.
“During the May earnings season, many pure-play operators deemed Q2 the ‘bottom’ for radio. We would like to agree as our Q2 expectation of -1% shows that this may be the case. However, other than easy comps from political races, New Orleans and Home Depot, we don’t expect core demand to improve much. There continues to be a lack of demand and a weak auto category.”