The revenue number is a good starting point, but I suspect the profit margin has never been more slim, and it will only worsen as radio listeners… well… die. British radio is (at least from an outsider’s perspective) more diverse than American radio, with dramas and comedies as well as news, sports, talk, and music. There are simply no new US radio listeners taking the place of the older ones. For the life of me, I cannot fathom why anyone would advertise on it.
There are many fingers to point the blame for the death of American radio, but chief among them has to be the mega companies merging all the stations into effectively (or noneffectively) one bland playlist on an infinite loop. Through consolidation, radio lost its identity and it lost the connection it made with its listeners, who flocked to podcasts for acoustic intimacy and gravitated towards Spotify because it at least plays different music occasionally. The only stations I’m aware of consistently turning a profit are the right wing talk stations, because I guess MyPillow has to advertise somewhere. PS- By contrast, at least in Los Angeles, Spanish-language radio continues to flourish, as it has for decades. They manage to connect with the community in ways no English-language station has been able to do since KMET 94.7 signed off in the 1980s. Kevin M. (RPCV) On Sun, Jan 7, 2024 at 11:39 AM Adam Bowie <[email protected]> wrote: > US radio is still insanely profitable, turning over around $13bn in > revenues in 2023. For context, US podcast revenues were forecast to be > about $2bn. > > The main problem in recent years has been insane debt levels caused by all > the consolidation that just couldn't be serviced. Everyone biting off way > more than they could chew. The underlying business of radio is still > perfectly viable commercially. > > So although broadcast radio may be in long-term decline, like broadcast > television, and owners might indeed be playing the same six songs over and > over, but they still have audiences... That's a creative issue. > > Also, a bit like streaming TV services mostly just lose money, Spotify > only just about washes its face. We seem to have moved into an era where > the new services replacing the old, are not remotely as profitable as the > outgoing business models... > > > > Adam > > On Sun, Jan 7, 2024 at 6:12 PM Kevin M. <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Turns out listeners might want to hear more than the same six songs plays >> over and over. Go figure. >> >> >> https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/audacy-kroq-wfan-files-bankruptcy-1235781045/amp/ >> >> >> Kevin M. (RPCV) >> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "TVorNotTV" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKgmY4DegusMweHgc0HaDB%2BDV7M5t7tNa6eoQ1%2B8F2-Nm-87UA%40mail.gmail.com >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKgmY4DegusMweHgc0HaDB%2BDV7M5t7tNa6eoQ1%2B8F2-Nm-87UA%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAD_sJGBNCwQWz3-pATX8ESkXi_%2B2BbWWV%3D-E01Wv-7BakUtzdA%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAD_sJGBNCwQWz3-pATX8ESkXi_%2B2BbWWV%3D-E01Wv-7BakUtzdA%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKgmY4CYKg%2BTpaoy-MZnV1rpQL6TnKC3OOBGBs3a%3DKJHBkr%3DXg%40mail.gmail.com.
