Commentary

Online Ads Trump Radio in 2008

Online Ads Trump Radio in 2008

Ben Macklin, eMarketer senior analyst and author of a new report, Radio Trends, concludes that "Traditional radio is rapidly being subsumed into a new, broader sector called 'audio'" that will include Internet radio, satellite radio, podcasting, high-definition radio and mobile audio services.

The study, reported for EMarketer, shows Online ad spending transactions through 2007 and 2008 will exceed that being spent on traditional radio.

U.S. Online and Radio Advertising Spending Through 2011 ($ in billions)

Year

Online Ad Spending

Radio Ad Spending

2006

$16.9

$20.1

2007

21.7

20.4

2008

28.2

21.0

2009

34.0

21.5

2010

39.0

22.1

2011

44.0

22.6

Source: EMarketer, August 2007

The report cites Bridge Ratings, Arbitron and Edison Media Research in projecting the U.S, weekly radio audience to still be dominated by "Terrestrial" radio, with a weekly audience of about 283 million Americans, almost ten times as many as listening to Internet radio.

U.S. Weekly Radio Audience Estimated for 2007(millions of listeners)

Terrestrial radio

282.8

Internet radio

29.0

Podcasting

7.1

Mobile phone audio streaming

4.1

High-definition radio

0.3

Source: EMarketer from Bridge Ratings, Arbitron, Edison, 2007

And, according to Lumin Collaborative, cited in the study, traditional radio is losing its significance in people's lives. US adults are spending more time each day on the Internet and watching TV than listening to the radio, writes Macklin.

Media Use Per Day by U.S. Adult Internet Users(January, 2007)

Media

Echo Boomers (18-31)

GenX  (32-42)

Baby Boomers (42-62)

Total Mean Hours/Day

Internet

3.28

3.00

2.69

2.91

TV

2.73

2.63

2.83

2.78

Radio

1.79

1.88

1.93

1.87

Source: EMarketer, April 2007, from Lumin Collaborative

Macklin's conclusion for advertisers is "There are... many synergies between radio and the Internet, and for the most part they complement rather than compete with each other."

More on this analysis may be found here for your review.

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