Research

2005 DR Radio Media Billings Stagger to Disappointing Finish

1 Jun, 2006 By: Shay Moftakhar Response

---

Fourth-quarter results wrap a dismal year in which billings lost 29 percent — $26 million — from 2004 numbers.

TNS Media Intelligence's (TNSMI) fourth-quarter 2005 direct response (DR) radio totals provided to Response indicate a 27.4-percent slide of $6.6 million for the final three months of the year. The quarterly results closely mirror the combined results of the previous three quarters of 2005. DR radio ended the year down $26 million behind 2004's total of just under $89.5 million. More than half of this loss can be attributed to Dell Computers' $15.4 million decrease in DR radio spending in 2005.

Fig. 1 Percentage Breakdown Among DR Radio Outlets

Ironically, nine of the 17 categories reported increases over 4Q 2004 figures. The "Business" category had the highest dollar and percentage increase with a $1.1 million jump from $26,500 a year ago — a 39-fold advance. "Correspondence schools" netted an extra $8,200 — a 482-percent increase, while "Video supplies and equipment" gained $13,000. The "General" category had a respectable 21.9-percent increase of $342,000.

Fig. 2 Fourth-Quarter 2005 DR Radio Categorical Distribution

Of the eight categories that declined, the "Computers, software and home office category" suffered most, repeating its third-quarter performance with a 90-percent nose-dive of $4.7 million. The "Apparel" category was torn in half, losing $449,400. A long-form stalwart, the "Drug and toiletry" category plummeted $2.3 million.

Fig. 3

All three DR radio outlets suffered heavy double-digit declines. Similar to the third quarter, national spot radio shrunk by 61.5-percent — a $725,900 loss. Network radio's $4 million deficit was a 28-percent loss and local radio dropped $1.9 million. In terms of market share, national spot radio and network radio lost 2.3 and 0.4 percentage points respectively, while local radio picked up the slack, gaining 2.7 points.

Fig. 4 Total Quarterly DR Radio

1 2 

Bookmark it: digg del.icio.us technorati yahoo facebook twitter