Townsquare Q2: Digital initiatives growing fast, and advocacy for regulatory change

In this week’s Q2 earnings call, Townsquare Media noted that its digital initiatives, most of which are bundled into Townsquare Interactive (digital marketing services for local small businesses) and Townsquare Ignite (connecting advertisers with targeted consumers via programmatic platforms and first-party data), are leading drivers of quarterly growth.

According to co-CEO Bill Wilson, “Our digital products and solutions continue to be our primary revenue growth drivers particularly Townsquare Interactive and Townsquare Ignite. In Q2 Townsquare Interactive our digital marketing solutions business continued its strong performance increasing revenue to 11.7 million in the second quarter and 22.5 million in year-to-date representing revenue growth of approximately 17% compared to the same periods of 2017.”

Company executives also took advantage of the call to advocate for regulatory adjustment of local station ownership limits, a key NAB lobbying point. Dhruv Prasad, who shares the CEO role with Wilson, stated that radio’s main competitors are Facebook, Google, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, and Sirius XM — all without any footprint limits in the U.S.

“Given the vastly different competitive landscape in the information marketplace it follows logically that rules when originally intended to limited advantage and undue influence must themselves adapt or be eliminated altogether,” Prasad said. “Ownership restrictions limit the ability of local stations particularly those in smaller markets to take advantage of economies of scale and time of unprecedented competition. For over the air radio to continue to serve the public interest we must be free to compete for assets, capital and resources on a level playing field with our competitors.”

Brad Hill