November results end 20-month growth streak for metro radio
November saw metropolitan commercial radio stations record their first month of decline in 20 months, according to figures released by commercial radio and audio today.
The figures, which were compiled by media data analytics company Milton Data, put ad revenue for November at $69.48 million, down 1% from the $70.32m a year ago, though still finishing 5% above pre-Covid revenue of $66.26 in November 2019.
Results were mixed across cities, with Melbourne seeing an increase of 2.4% and Adelaide up 1.9%, while Sydney dropped 4%, as did Brisbane and Perth, down 44% and 1.9% respectively.
“After reporting 20 months of successive growth, the commercial radio market stabilised in November in line with broader macroeconomic factors but the good news is that we are now ahead of pre-Covid levels,” said CRA chief executive officer Ford Ennals.
“November 2021 was a strong month coming out of lockdown, so to be only marginally lower this period is a positive result. There was strong investment from communications, FMCG, insurance and auto brands and the retail sector continues to hold up well.”
In the January to November period ad revenue totalled $684.74 million, up 6% on the previous corresponding period.
The results follow last’s weeks release of Gfk Survey 8, which saw commercial radio end the year with a record weekly high of 12.2 million listeners over the five major metro markets.
Have your say