On June 28, Bear Stearns hosted the 4th Annual Interep [IREP] Radio Symposium in NYC. The day encompassed 13 sessions over an eight-hour period. At the Symposium, Miller-Kaplan reported that non-traditional revenue for radio was up at a double-digit clip [10%] from 2002 to 2007. Radio network contacts suggested that the business was up 5% through May [not including traffic]. Mid-small market radio [markets 51+] are up 3% through May. HD Radio stations on-air should reach 1,850 in 2007 from 2006's 1,176 level.
Early on, Philadelphia PPM ratings have declined 25% to 30% relative to diary ratings. Bear said it believes that market revenue generally declined at low to mid single digits when Nielsen's LPM was introduced into the local markets. Will radio follow suit?
For radio, April was +2%. At the Symposium, May seemed flattish and June seems like it may finish down LSD. So Q2 should pencil out flat. While Miller-Kaplan suggested 2007 would finish +1% to +2%, 4Q political may make that more difficult.
Media Monitors reported that radio's average minutes per hour were flat (10.8 minutes) in May 2007 relative to May 2006. But industry sources suggest that Clear Channel is adding units back into the radio "system," implying ad inventory may increase.
