Radio advertising sales figures seem to have stabilized in June as softening of advertising appears to have come to an end. The Radio Advertising Bureau said today that combined local and national
dollars for Radio were down 8%; local numbers dropped only 4%, while national declined 20% against June of 2000.
Beginning this month, the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) will also report quarterly
results. Second Quarter 2001 dipped 4% in local, was off 21% in national and declined 8% in combined local and national dollars.
From a year-to-date perspective, local ad revenues were 4% behind
the first six months of 2000, while national sales were down 21%. On a combined basis, local and national year-to-date numbers trailed 2000 by 8%.
The RAB Sales Index for the month of June is
131.5 for local, 110.4 for national and the combined local and national total for the month is 126.0. The year-to-date Index for local is 132.2, national is 121.6 and the combined total is 130.0. The
RAB Sales Index, which was introduced at the beginning of this year to put the overall Radio industry growth into perspective, equates base year 1998 to 100.
"Radio's core business remains solid,"
said Gary Fries, President and Chief Executive Officer, RAB. "Radio's foothold remains in the local marketplace where business is currently healthier than on the national front. As national
stabilizes, all indicators point to a turn toward positive growth for Radio in 4th Quarter of 2001."
These monthly totals are based on the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) Radio revenue index of
more than 100 markets.