Radio mega-rep Katz Media told clients Monday that Q3 is pacing up 15% for National Spot, with core categories driving growth, not just political. And while it is still very early, Q4 is pacing up 50%.
The email from Katz CEO Stu Olds (which was also distributed to the trade press) reported that National Spot sales were up 16% for the first seven months of 2010, through July. Q3 is pacing up 15%, with September, the final month of the quarter, ahead 22%. “While these pacing numbers only reflect business on the books as of today, they show strong momentum for the fourth quarter, which is pacing at more than 50% growth compared to last year’s period,” Olds wrote.
Yes, political is big in this election year, but Olds points to strong growth in core categories, with all but one of the top seven non-political categories up double-digits in Q3 and all seven currently pacing up double- or triple-digits in Q4. Retail is currently up 18.7% in Q3 and a whopping 109% in Q4. Auto continues its rebound, up 23.6% in Q3 and 55.6% in Q4.
The update from Katz shows that the improvement in National Spot sales is broad-based across all sizes of markets. In the third quarter, 55 of the top 100 markets gained more than 10%, and in the fourth quarter current pacing indicates 94 of top 100 markets are up double-digits, Olds told clients.
“Thanks for keeping the momentum going,” the Katz CEO said to the client stations which air the National Spot advertising his company sells. Katz, far and away the largest radio rep company, is a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications.
