Q3 RADIO SALES UP 8.7% 8 Consecutive Quarters of Stable Growth - Longest sustained period since 2002 CBS Release National radio sales in Q3 grew 8.7% and are now expected to finish the year at 9% ahead of last year, according to information provided by Canadian Broadcast Sales (CBS).
“National radio has now posted eight consecutive quarters of positive growth. That’s the longest stretch since Q1 of 2002,” said Patrick Grierson, president of CBS. “What’s noteworthy is that this growth has been steady, stable and sustainable with no volatility. We’re projecting Q4 to remain on this positive pace and result in a 9% annual growth.”
‘Radio’s resilience is a major factor in this stable growth. Normal quarterly churn is approximately 40%. In Q3, only 33% of revenue from last year did not repeat,” said Grierson. “We were able to increase sales from new sources by 41% which compensated for the turnover and yielded the positive growth.”
Q3 saw strong performances in five major categories: Restaurants up 62.1%; Alcoholic Beverages 27.3%; Financial Services & Insurance 22.7%; Retail 18.6% and Automotive 12.2 percent. The Telecommunications category was off 18% for the quarter.
“In Retail, Grocery stores were up 40%,” said Grierson. “Banks were up almost 300% and Insurance companies 33.8 percent. Beverage alcohol was boosted by a 40% increase in beer spending. In Automotive, tires were up 111 percent. It appears Telecommunications took a bit of a breather but we anticipate that sector will heat up in the final quarter.”
Advertising spending against the general “Adult” demo was 75.2% of total budgets, which is in the normal range, while the Female demo attracted 15.4% percent. Males were 9.3%, bouncing back from Q2’s all-time low of 5 percent.
CBS, a national sales firm, represents in excess of 60% of all private Canadian radio stations and provides the broadest single industry measure of national radio sales. Clients include Corus Entertainment Inc., Rogers Media Broadcasting, Cogeco Diffusion Inc., Golden West Broadcasting, Newcap Radio Inc., Jim Pattison Broadcast Group, Rawlco Radio, Vista Broadcast Group, Harvard Broadcasting, Blackburn Radio Inc., Haliburton Broadcasting, Stirling Communications and RNC Media Inc. |