As of Wednesday morning, the political well has gone dry. Oil is back above $100. Radio’s 2027 hangs on which of two futures arrives next. Radio Ink’s Forecast issue maps both, then asks the harder question: how do you hear what’s coming before it gets here?
Ahead of Forecast 2027 on November 12 at New York’s Harvard Club, consider this your soundcheck, with the forecasters, dealmakers, and lawyers shaping the year ahead and the sellers already doing the work.
Cover Story: Larry Bailin, “If It Ain’t Broke, Fix It”
Digital marketing disruptor Larry Bailin has watched every tech wave since an AOL floppy disk in 1994. His message for radio: the old rules won’t save you. Ahead of his Forecast keynote, “The Future Belongs to Those That Can Hear It Coming,” he explains why AI “is not smarter than you; it’s just faster than you,” why radio’s positioning is the envy of digital, and why too many sellers are “afraid to ask if it works.”
If you sell radio against digital, this is your playbook. Bailin makes the case that you’re not in the radio business. You’re in the business of getting clients customers.
Future Forecast: Best Case/Worst Case 2027
On paper, BIA’s 2027 local ad forecast barely moves: $186.5 billion, against $186.1 billion this year. Underneath, the political money drops from about $9.7 billion to $1.1 billion while core advertising grows. Three of the industry’s sharpest forecasters, BIA’s Senan Mele, Borrell Associates’ Gordon Borrell, and Madison and Wall’s Luke Stillman, map the road up and the road down. They also name the advertisers who bend, the ones who break, and the plan to prepare for both.
Legal and Brokers Roundtables
In our annual Legal Roundtable, Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth’s Frank Montero and the NAB’s Shawn Donilon and Rick Kaplan assess a crowded Washington agenda: the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, the FCC’s review of local ownership caps, and how likely a legal challenge is if the caps fall.
Media Services Group’s Bob Heymann, Kalil & Co.’s Lou McDermott, and Tideline Partners’ Greg Guy weigh in on valuations, tighter financing, and whether we’re watching the end of the mid-sized group or a restructuring. Their advice to disciplined buyers: “2027 is the year.”
Diaper = Dandy
An adult diaper brand found its sweet spot on sports radio. NorthShore Founder Adam Greenberg explains why baseball announcers, free to ad-lib the stigma away, turned an awkward category into a fan favorite. The result is in-game reads that listeners and social media love, and a lesson for any seller with a hard-to-talk-about client.
Want To Monetize Your P1s? Join the Club
Podcasters have built a business between host and listener. Radio already reaches those fans every day. Strategic Solutions Research’s Hal Rood shares new audio data on Superfans, host endorsements that outperform spots, and what stations could build for them.
Publisher’s Beat: Leadership Is the Multiplier
Radio Ink President and Publisher Deborah Parenti argues that broadcasting’s most enduring advantage isn’t a transmitter or an app. It’s trust, and protecting it takes purposeful leadership.
PLUS:
- Roy H. Williams on the purpose of advertising
- Grace Agostino on why your brand is not a content factory
- Dara Kalvort on whether you should be making that pitch at all
- Loyd Ford on earning the business in sales calls now
- Josh Brown on getting back to the basics
- Kathleen Fink on the rural radio forecast for 2027
- Women to Watch: Centennial Broadcasting’s Kristin Nash
- Big Apple, Big Winners: Marconi Radio Awards and the 34th Radio Wayne Awards at NAB Show New York
- People on the Move
- Sign-Off with Angela Yee and Fred Toucher, your Forecast 2027 co-MCs
- A Blast from the Past, and a look ahead to December
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