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Online Radio Revenue to Jump 12% in 2009 »
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Online Radio Revenue to Jump 12% in 2009
Online radio revenue is expected grow 12%, to $441 million this year (from $394 million in 2008), and will leap 20% in 2010, to $530 million, according to a forecast from SNL Kagan, which predicts a bright future for radio station online revenue growth.
SNL Kagan also predicts that online revenue will grow from 2.7% of total radio revenue in 2009 to 3.2% of the total in 2010. By 2013, it is expected to level off, accounting for 4.7% of radio’s total revenue, writes MediaBuyerPlanner.
SNL Kagan analyst Justin Nielson noted that even though radio broadcasters have been slow to embrace new technologies, the decline of traditional ad spending has driven them to explore “online initiatives to grow top-line revenues, improving their websites and embracing online streaming and mobile apps to drive their local base to their multiple platforms,” he said.
“With total radio revenue only expected to post modest growth over the next five years, it has become increasingly vital for stations to monetize digital innovations,” Nielson added.
In radio forecast news from other companies, ZenithOptimedia predicts that overall radio revenue will return to positive growth in 2011, while PricewaterhouseCoopers expects terrestrial radio to decline by a 4.7% compound annual rate over the next several years, to $13.6 billion in 2013. Radio advertising is expected to drop 14.2% this year to $14.8 billion, but will begin to turn around in 2010 and 2011; PwC says positive growth won’t be seen again until 2012.
In more good news for radio, a recent media use and credibility study from ARANet and Opinion Research Corporation found that US consumers are increasingly turning to online and radio sources for news and information, and are spending less time overall with daily newspapers and TV.
About the forecast: These projections were published in SNL Kagan’s Broadcast Investor feature and are available via the SNL Kagan Unlimited Information Service.
