TORONTO – Business continues to boom for private radio in terms of national ad sales, which rose 6.1% in the third quarter of this fiscal compared with the same time last year, according to figures from Canadian Broadcast Sales.
CBS says that bookings for the fourth quarter of the broadcast year are on track to climb 9.9% from Q4 last year, with even bigger gains predicted for the first quarter next year. “In the near term, radio will continue to enjoy the positive momentum of the past several years. The early revenue pacing for the first quarter of 2008 is up 11.6%, which bodes well for another good year,” said Patrick Grierson, president of CBS. “Business for radio has been strong for some time now and we don’t see that changing in the short term.”
Sales were strongest in Q3 in Ontario, “led by a very hot Toronto market,” said Grierson.
The most coveted demographic by national advertisers in Q3 was adults 25-54—some 43.6% of sales went to stations focusing on listeners in that range. Trailing far behind was adults 18-49 (13% of sales), women 25-54 (11.5%), adults 18-34 (3.3%), and men 25-54 (2.9%).
In terms of dollar value, there has been a decline in total spending on the adult 25-54 demo, but CBS says this “has been more than made up for by strong gains in the women 25-54 group,” continuing a recent trend toward shifting to a female-oriented demo.
The biggest national spender continues to be retail, with $6 million in sales in the third quarter, accounting for 14.5% of all spending. Next up were automotive at $5.3 million (13%), telecommunications at $4.5 million (11%), government at $3.7 million (9.1%), and financial services and insurance with $3.6 million (8.7%).
Huge gains in buys were seen from the business sector, increasing national spending by 122%, health care (88%), telecommunications (79%), travel and transportation (54%), and restaurants (45%).
“There are a number of interesting industry issues that we are watching,” said Grierson. “People meters are currently being tested in Montreal with the first results expected next year; Google radio sales in the U.S.; and the impact of the strong Canadian dollar on marketers who repatriate profits to the U.S. all have the potential to affect radio in varying ways.”
CBS sells national ads on behalf of nearly 60% of all Canadian private radio stations, including those operated by Corus, Rogers, Astral, Cogeco, Golden West, Newcap, OK Radio, Pattison, Rawlco, and Vista, plus other independent smaller market operators.
