Local advertising is expected to grow by 3.2% in 2024, and streaming audio will be a big driver in that growth according to a new report from Borrell Associates.
The company forecasted an expansion of local ad revenue but not to the levels that many in the industry had hoped for.
“For the past three quarters, we haven’t seen a lot of variation in SMBs’ attitudes about the economy and their plans to invest in advertising,” said Corey Elliott, Executive Vice President of Local Market Intelligence and Borrell’s chief forecaster. “They’re mostly neutral and slightly positive about the economy, but we’re still not seeing anything that would signal the bigger spring-back that many are hoping for.”
While some more traditional forms of media are forecasted to see a downturn — newspapers (-6.7%), cable TV (-6%), radio (-2.3) — streaming platforms for both TV (+3.9%) and streaming audio (+7.8%) are expected to see growth compared to last year.
In fact, streaming audio is the second-highest category for growth during 2024 according to Borrell. Only Online Listings Sites (+8.1%) are forecasted to see a bigger jump than digital audio.
Local television is expected to see growth, too, in 2024. Borrell forecasts a 5.9% jump in revenue for the medium.
