Thanks to our friends at BIA/Kelsey who helped us take a look back at how radio revenue has grown since 1996. We used the top ten billing radio stations in the country, a list BIA/Kelsey releases every March. Several stations, that were powerhouses years ago, are long gone from the list, while others, like WFAN, the first-ever sports talk radio station in America, continue to churn out the revenue.
Twenty years ago, back in 1996, CBS’s WFAN was the top billing station in the country. At the time the station raked in over $45 million dollars. In 2015, WFAN was still on the list, ranked 4th, with $47 million. The number one billing station in 2015, WTOP, took in $65 million, $20 million more than WFAN generated back in 1996. Let’s take a closer look at who made the top ten in 1996.
In 1996, the top ten billing radio stations in America took in $327.6 million. In 2015, that number jumped to $475.3 million.
For more lists on America’s top billing radio stations, GO HERE
I agree with your premise, no name. Any other business that had been around 100 years would call these figures “stable.” And, if you can keep operating costs under the growth rate of revenues, you’ve got a pretty good business.
It has not been a high growth industry as Les Moonves says, but does it have to be? Plenty of people buy bonds and utility stocks. And we got through the recession a lot better than many. Roy Williams, in his Monday Memo said he feels that radio got through the advent of the internet the “least damaged” of all major media.
Using these above Top-10 station revenue totals.
1996: $327,650
2015: $475,200
Adjusted for the cumulative rate of inflation during this period (51.1%), to keep pace the 2015 revenue should be $494,956. The realty: These Top 10 stations show a revenues reduction of 4.1%.
This says more, over a shorter period of time:
RAB reported total industry revenue, 2011 – $17,396
RAB reported total industry revenue, 2015 – $17,373
Adjusted for the cumulative rate of inflation during this period (5.4%), to keep pace the industry should have billed $18,330 in 2015. The reality: Radio shows a total revenue reduction of 5.2%.