Salem Media Group saw a decline in revenue during the first quarter of 2024, with the company believing that advertisers are questioning the “effectiveness” of radio.
The company saw a net revenue of $58.6 million in the quarter, a drop of 8.3%. Broadcast revenue fell to $46 million, down 4.6%. Digital revenue, however, was on the rise, up to $10.7 million. That is an increase of 1.9%.
“Revenue growth from the sale of broadcast airtime is negatively impacted by audiences spending less time commuting, certain automobile manufacturers removing AM radio signals, increases in other forms of content distribution, and decreases in the length of time spent listening to broadcast radio as compared to audio streaming services, podcasts, and satellite radio,” the company claimed. “These factors may lead advertisers to conclude that the effectiveness of radio has diminished.”
The drop in broadcast revenue can be attributed to a decline in local advertising, as the company dropped $1.1 million in the category. Salem Media Group shared that it is still heavily reliant on its stations in Los Angeles and Dallas for large portions of its local ad revenue.
“Our broadcast advertising revenue is particularly dependent on advertising from our Los Angeles and Dallas markets, which generated 15.3% and 18.4%, respectively, of our total net broadcast advertising revenue during the three-month period ended March 31, 2023, compared to 15.1% and 18.7%, respectively, of our total net broadcast advertising revenue during the three- month period ended March 31, 2024.”
Revenue from its nationally syndicated programs fell $800,000 in the first quarter when political advertising wasn’t factored in. The company did see an increase of $400,000 in that particular advertising category.
