The United States Traffic Network debacle and a soft advertising environment were the big factors in Entercom’s weak second quarter. On a same-station basis, Entercom’s Q2 net revenue was $372.1 million compared to $405.7 million in the second quarter of 2017. CEO David Field said the USTN situation cost Entercom $12 million in the quarter with another $6 million revenue hit expected to be taken in Q3.
On the bright side Field said progress is being made in the turnaround of some of the former CBS stations including in New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Washington, and Houston. Even though political ad spending has already ramped up for TV, Field says it’s normal that radio sees those dollars later in the political season and expects to see more of that money headed toward radio in September, October, and November.
Entercom’s top performing markets in Q2 were Houston, San Francisco, and Austin, and the company’s top-performing advertising categories were insurance, drug stores, lottery/casinos, and e-commerce. The company is also starting to see an influx of sports gambling advertising thanks to the recent changing in sports gambling laws. Radio.com’s digital revenue bookings were up 40% over last year. Entercom pulled all of its radio stations off TuneIn, moving them exclusively to the Radio.com platform which was originally launched by CBS Radio.
Field said the company has upgraded its market manager positions in 17 of its markets.
Entercom is pacing down 2% in Q3 and up 3% in Q4.
