• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, May 8, 2013

Radio had a weak first quarter, judging by results from some of the big radio groups, with Cumulus, Saga, and Clear Channel reporting year-over-year revenue declines. However, Salem Communications was a relative bright spot with modest revenue growth.
 
Cumulus saw totals revenue slip 1.3% from $236 million in the first quarter of 2012 to $232.9 million in the first quarter of 2013. The decline was partly attributed by CEO Lew Dickey to the absence of political advertising. He also cited trouble at the company’s syndicated talk segment, an oblique reference to Rush Limbaugh’s much-publicized comment in February 2012 calling a feminist activist a “slut,” which Dickey previously said caused many advertisers to pull support from the conservative talk show. This supposedly hurt results at a number of big Cumulus stations that carry it, including New York City’s WABC.
 
Limbaugh has blasted Dickey’s remarks, saying the Cumulus boss is scapegoating him for the company’s own failings, and threatened to pull his show from the network. Cumulus fired back, with an unnamed exec telling Radio Ink that 48 out of the 50 biggest network radio advertisers, as well as every major agency, have effectively blacklisted Limbaugh’s show.
 
There were similar results (if considerably less drama) from Saga, which also reported a modest revenue decline. According to Saga, total revenues slipped 1.3% from $29.3 million in the first quarter of 2012 to $29 million in the first quarter of 2013. Like Cumulus, Saga suffered from the near-absence of political advertising, as well as a drop in national advertising demand.
 
Last week, Clear Channel said its Media and Entertainment division (formerly Clear Channel Radio) saw revenues fall 2% from $671.5 million to $656.6 million, reflecting losses at its traffic division, resulting from contract losses and consolidation, and weakness at its Premiere division, which syndicates Limbaugh’s show.
 
Christian broadcaster Salem said total revenues increased 2.5% from $54.3 million to $55.6 million, powered largely by an increase in Internet revenue, which jumped 30.7% from $7.4 million to $9.7 million. Growth on the digital side helped offset declines in broadcast revenue, which fell 1.6% from $44 million to $43.2 million, and publishing revenue, which dropped 7.9% from $2.9 million to $2.7 million.

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