• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, November 2, 2009

Beasley Broadcast Group and Entercom Communications rounded out a spate of weak third-quarter results from radio broadcasters.

Beasley said its total revenues fell from $30.6 million in the third quarter of 2008 to $24.4 million in the same period in 2009, a 20% drop. Like its peers, Beasley expressed only muted optimism about the chances of a near-term recovery in advertising demand.

According to chairman and CEO George Beasley, most of the revenue drop was concentrated in the company's big metro markets, namely Las Vegas, Miami and Philadelphia, which accounted for roughly two-thirds of the total decline. These drops exceeded the savings achieved by a companywide cost-cutting initiative, resulting in a 3.4% decline in operating income to $5.8 million.

Looking to the future, Beasley was hopeful but guarded: "While it is difficult to gauge the pace of an economic recovery, we were pleased to see initial improvements in advertiser activity in the third quarter." He added that the company's "streamlined cost and operating structure" should allow it to benefit from "even modest increases in radio advertising spending."

Separately, Entercom said net revenues decreased 14% to just under $100 million, driving a 25% drop in earnings before taxes, to $29.7 million. The company's president and CEO, David Field, was somewhat more hopeful about the near future: "We are increasingly optimistic about 2010, based upon a number of indications of improving demand for advertising in the year ahead, particularly in light of easy comparative results after two years of cyclical decline across virtually all ad sectors."

As for this year's dismal results, Beasley and Entercom reflect the radio industry's woes. In the third quarter, total revenues at Emmis Radio fell 26.5%, from $72.7 million in the third quarter of 2008 to $53.4 million in the third quarter of 2009. This contributed to an overall revenue decline of 27.4%, from $92.7 million to $68 million. Radio One's revenues fell 12% to $75.5 million.