The CRTC has released final 2008 revenue figures for Canadian commercial radio and those who say the genre is dead or dying can suck on this for a while!
Radio generated 1.58 billion dollars last year. That’s an increase of 5% or, in dollars and cents, $78 million over the year before. Up until ’08, revenues had been increasing 6.5% year over year for several years. AM radio’s numbers are down a bit, which isn’t surprising, what with many stations on that band struggling to find their way. But FM is up. And as of the end of last summer, the industry was employing just over ten thousand people in this country.
There’s a whole segment of old-timers and cynics that likes to claim radio is on its last legs. Really? Look at those numbers and remember that’s a billion with a b, kids! Meanwhile, what’s happening to satellite radio? Oh yeah, it’s emitting a death rattle. Don’t count regular old fashioned terrestrial radio out. There are challenges with getting a new generation to put down their Ipods and listen but for now and for some time to come, radio will continue to soldier on.