• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, June 5, 2006

A week after TNS reported anemic first quarter advertising demand for local, national and network radio advertising time, the trend appears to be continuing into the second quarter. Overall radio ad spending declined 4 percent in April, according to estimates released Friday by the Radio Advertising Bureau.

Using the term "sluggish" to describe April's results, the RAB said national ad demand took the biggest hit, dropping 7 percent from April 2005. Local spot radio declined 4 percent, bringing combined national and local spot radio spending down 5 percent for the month.

The estimates, which are based on a compilation of self-reported data from stations in more than 150 markets, bring radio's ad volume down 1 percent through the first four months of 2006. The RAB said the April downturn offset "minor growth spurts from earlier in 2006."

The RAB data follows a report by TNS, which estimated local radio ad spending fell 1.1 percent, national spot declined 0.2 percent, and network radio plummeted 3.5 percent during the first quarter of 2006, a quarter when total measured media spending jumped 5.2 percent.

Radio Ad Spending

April '06 Vs. April '05		YTD '06 Vs. YTD '05
-------Local Revenue-------		-------Local Revenue-------
All Markets	-4%	All Markets	-2%
------National Revenue------		------National Revenue------
All Markets	-7%	All Markets	0%
----Local & Nat'l Revenue----		----Local & Nat'l Revenue----
All Markets	-5%	All Markets	-2%
------Non-Spot Revenue------		------Non-Spot Revenue-------
All Markets	8%	All Markets	9%
----------Total Revenue-------		---------Total Revenue-------
All Markets	-4%	All Markets	-1%

Source: Compiled by accounting firm Miller Kaplan Arase & Co. from a pool of stations in more than 150 markets for the Radio Advertising Bureau.