Digital revenue projected to grow for radio, RAB finds

Digital ad revenue for the radio industry increased 11.4% to $550.8 million in 2015. That’s the key takeaway from the latest benchmarking report commissioned by the Radio Advertising Bureau and conducted by Borrell Associates. According to the analysis, the average market cluster saw $961,756 from digital sales during the year.

Although digital only represented 5.4% of station revenue last year, the report projects growth to 6.5% of station revenue in 2016. It predicts a 14% rise in the radio industry’s digital advertising for the year.

Enthusiasm for digital channels is also high with a record 82% of survey respondents seeing strong potential there. A growing percentage also had faith in their digital strategies, with 37% stating that their plans are moving in the right direction, up from 27% in the previous year. The survey portion covered 250 sales managers, radio executives, and digital managers.

“Digital continues to be radio’s fastest growing sector,” RAB President and CEO Erica Farber said. “The results from this study provide us with insights of where efforts are paying off and what additional training is needed for radio to continue with this trajectory.”