BIA/Kelsey: U.S. Local Advertising Up 5.2% In 2018, But Radio Flat

2018 Study

BIA/KELSEY’s U.S. Local Advertising Forecast 2018 predicts total local advertising revenue in the U.S. will increase by 5.2% to $151.2 billion in 2018. Traditional media will comprise 64.7% of the revenue, with online/digital securing 35.3%.

“The strong economy and the expectation of highly-competitive statewide political races next year reinforce our outlook that local advertising revenue will show strong growth in 2018, in fact, higher than we’ve seen for five years,” BIA/KKELSEY SVP/Chief Economist MARK FRATRIK said. “Combine these factors with the continued strength of traditional and online media and the revenue landscape for next year looks robust.”

Key findings from the forecast include:

• Direct mail tops all media with a 25.4% ($38.5 billion) slice of the local advertising pie.
• Local television continues as second media at 13.8% ($20.8 billion).
• Mobile rose to third place, representing 12.6% of local advertising spend in 2018. This category will grow to 19.2% by 2022.
• Radio falls to fourth at 10.4%, generating $15.7 billion, followed by newspapers at $15.4 billion (10.2%).

Radio Deep Dive

• Radio was essentially flat in 2017, with future years also only showing small increases of less than 1% annually.
• Increased streaming audio competitors and increased competitors for advertisers has basically kept the over-the-air advertising stagnant, with online efforts by stations continuing to help support a slight overall revenue growth.
• Many radio groups are continuing their efforts in online activities which bolster the overall revenue of these stations, as station operators recognize that future revenue growth must come from these sources.
• Biggest ad revenue increase in 2018 across U.S. will be SOUTHEAST - 1.1%

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