• by November 6, 2000

Proprietary data released by Interep today shows that despite a pacing slowdown in 3rd and 4th quarter for national radio advertising, the overall health of 2000 billings remains solid.

In addition, the analysis points out that comparatives for the 2nd half of 2000 are impacted significantly by the explosive surge in dot-com radio advertising in the 2nd half of 1999, creating somewhat of a pacing anomaly.

Yet, while much attention has focused on declining dot-com revenues, several categories remain strong throughout the 2nd half. These include Political, Telecommunications, Auto After-market (parts & service), Transportation (airlines), Computers, Investment Houses, Medical/Health Services and Food Products.

Despite the decline in dot-com spending in the 2nd half of 2000, the sector still remains the top dollar category in total year-to-date bookings due to heavy spending in the 1st half, and remains up 17% for the year.

As of mid-October, collectively dot-coms accounted for 12% of year-to-date national radio billings - a percentage similar to 1999. However, in the second half of 2000, dot-coms collectively account for just 7% of total national radio spending, placing third behind both Retail and Telecommunications, each comprising 13-14% of billings. These two industries have traditionally alternated between 1st and 2nd among the top radio categories, until 1999 when dot-coms took the top spot.

Next year may mark a return to the usual rank order among national radio categories. If the dot-com sector retains an approximate 7% share next year, it would generally rank within the top 5-10 range. Interep also points out that because of the diverse nature of dot-com advertisers, lumping them together as an anomalous group may not be the most useful way to look at the sector going forward. Growth categories in the 2nd half of 2000 are led by Political spending and related categories of Issues/Lobbies and Government.

However, a sizable number of other categories unrelated to the special political year are also showing significant growth. Categories showing double-digit growth include the Telecommunications, Auto After-market, Transportation (airlines), Computer, Investment Houses, Medical/Health Services and Food Products.

From a raw dollars stand point, increases in the Telecom category are most significant, greatly surpassing even the sizable contributions of Political spending. New advances and competition within the wireless communications sector continue to fuel spending in this category. The Computer/Technology industry is another that continues to undergo constant innovation, and as a result continues to show consistent spending growth in radio. Categories showing the greatest percentage losses in the 2nd half include Home Video, Car Rental and Dot-coms. From a dollars analysis, cuts in Dot-com spending are of course the greatest contributor to 2nd half losses.

In 1999, particularly in the 3rd and 4th quart