At Townsquare, which has been an industry leader in pulling in digital revenue, broadcast revenue was hit a lot harder than the digital division during the worst months of the pandemic.
At Townsquare, advertising accounts for approximately 82% of total net revenue in 2019. Overall, ad revenue for April was down 42%, May was down 41% and June dropped 30%.
Broadcast revenue declined 52% in April, and improved to 35% by June, translating to a 45% Broadcast decline in Q2, compared to 2019. Digital advertising revenue declined only 18% in Q2.
Auto and entertainment experienced the largest declines in the second quarter, as did furniture stores, fast food, and dentists. The company saw spending increases in education, insurance, groceries, and state government. Currently, Townsquare reports it is seeing new business surges in contractors and builders, healthcare, banks, home repair and hardware and education and training.
Looking ahead to Q3, July overall revenue was down 24%, with Broadcast revenue off 29% and digital advertising revenue down only 10%.
The company expects August to finish better than July based on current revenue on the books and therefore expects Q3 to be materially better then Q2, for both broadcast and digital advertising revenue.
