That question was answered by Wells Fargo analyst Davis Hebert during his detailed economic presentation Wednesday morning at the Radio Show in Nashville. Hebert also said he expects radio to see a 1-2% increase in advertising revenue this year, and in 2017 he expects radio to give back about 1% because of fewer political dollars. So what do investors want? Here’s Hebert’s list.
Hebert says investors want to see more core revenue growth and do not want to see one company growing at the expense of another. They also want to see a new growth catalyst; he mentioned NextRadio and that it could be the catalyst the industry needs. Investors want to see radio produce better results from events, digital, and mobile. They want to see debt reduced, especially from radio’s two biggest companies, iHeartMedia and Cumulus. Investors are worried that millennials are spending more time consuming audio on their smartphones than listening to radio and want radio to define its place in the dashboard, especially as cars become more connected.
