• Brandweek, Wednesday, November 15, 2006 11:45 AM

Commercial time on radio stations averages less than 10 minutes an hour, lower than the 12 to 14 minutes on TV. A study released Tuesday by Empower MediaMarketing, which analyzed Nielsen Monitor-Plus data in 15 of the nation's top markets, found that radio stations air 9.42 minutes of commercials per hour, with Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles airing the most at 10.25 and 10.15 minutes, respectively.

The three markets with the lowest number of average commercial minutes were Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla. (8.43), Atlanta (8.83), and Philadelphia (8.84). "Our belief as an agency is that radio is generally undervalued, particularly by national advertisers," says Julie Pahutski, senior vice president of research for Empower. The amount of commercial time varied by format, with news/talk and sports stations devoting the most time to commercials at 11.91 minutes and 11.47 minutes.

Read the whole story at Brandweek »