Local advertising will rise roughly 5.5% on a year-over-year basis to about $171 billion in 2025, excluding political, with $10 billion of that amount spent on over-the-air radio.
Those numbers are among the headlines of “The 2025 Radio Revenue Outlook,” a webinar presented Thursday by Marketron and BIA Advisory Services.
Panelists included Nicole Ovadia, Vice President of Forecasting at BIA; and Todd Kalman, Senior Vice President of Sales at Marketron. The event was moderated by Beth Osborne, Director of Marketing and Content at Marketron.
The panelists acknowledged the unique year radio had in 2024 with record political dollars, while 2025 begins with strong potential for stations to increase obtainable digital revenue while not losing any spot budget.
While spot ad dollars are looking at a nominal decline of 0.4% in 2025, radio is still a key component of media planning, due to its status as the No. 1 mass-reach media, as well as the fact that customers across all demographics listen to OTA radio. Additionally, Nielsen’s new three-minute listener qualifier and the continued appeal of local news may lift radio’s revenue prospects in 2025.
A key spending milestone will occur this year when local digital advertising spending (52%) will surpass traditional (48%) for the first time, according to BIA’s estimates. The ongoing shift to digital presents opportunities, the panelists said.
“Let’s face it: radio stations’ customers are buying and using digital tactics — even if they’re not buying them from the radio station,” Kalman said. “Most advertisers have a digital strategy… And if a customer doesn’t have a digital strategy, they feel that they need one.” Today’s radio sellers can present an on-air and digital strategy for clients.
Kalman said the bottom line is about achieving a satisfactory result for the customer. Not only do digital products enhance the revenue side, but they also ensure renewals among advertisers, thereby preserving the spot side as well.