Global radio station market to reach $87.31 billion in 2023, report
The global radio station market will grow from $83.74 billion in 2022 to $87.31 billion in 2023 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.3%.
The Russia-Ukraine war disrupted the chances of global economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, at least in the short term. The war between these two countries has led to economic sanctions on multiple countries, surge in commodity prices, and supply chain disruptions, causing inflation across goods and services effecting many markets across the globe. The radio station market is expected to grow to $100.64 billion in 2027 at a CAGR of 3.6%.
The radio station market includes revenues earned by entities by offering services such as broadcasting aural programs by radio to the public. Programming may originate in their own studio, from an affiliated network, or from external sources. The market value includes the value of related goods sold by the service provider or included within the service offering. Only goods and services traded between entities or sold to end consumers are included.
A radio station refers to a complex structure made up of radio transmitters, antennas, and other technical gear used for transmitting, retransmitting, or broadcasting radio shows.
Western Europe was the largest region in the radio station market in 2022. Eastern Europe is expected to be the fastest growing region in the forecast period. The regions covered in the radio station report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, and Africa.
The main types of the radio station are broadcast radio, satellite radio, online or mobile radio. Radio broadcasting refers to using radio waves to send signals to large groups of people who are listening. The different applications include advertising, public license fee, subscription and are used by several sectors such as entertainment, communications, commercial.
The growth in the event advisements in radio broadcasting is driving the radio station market. Radio is one of the oldest media which is very helpful for advisements and is cheaper than television. Radio is a very strong and cost-effective influential medium for reaching many audiences. Many companies are still using radio advertising as their marketing strategy. Companies usually pay radio broadcasters to promote their products or services like television ads. There are various types of radio advertisements such as live-read, Jingle ad, testimonial, personal ad, sponsored to reach out to a vast audience. The advertisement segment in a radio station is one of the fastest-growing segments in radio broadcasting because the radio is the main source of all demographic news and also for entertainment. Rural markets are more responsible for the growth of radio advertising because radio acts as a powerful medium of advertising for rural markets.
Regulations on the radio spectrum are hampering the radio market. Radio spectrum is a radio frequency that is used to transmit the radio waves from transmitters to the user within the radio station coverage area. For each radio station, certain frequencies are allotted to transmit the radio waves. The Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) department in the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) maintains the FCC’s allotted frequencies to radio stations.
Currently, in the US the range of 9 kHz and 275 GHz frequencies are allotted for radio stations to transmit the radio waves and audio signals. These radio frequencies are designated for terrestrial/space radiocommunication services and radio astronomy services under specified conditions quoted by FCC. There are federal rules and regulations on each radio broadcasting company, one cannot use more than the allotted frequency range to cover the larger area. If the radio broadcasting services need to cover the larger area, they need to apply to FCC for the new radio station, which makes it all the more difficult for a radio station to telecast on broader bandwidth thereby restraining the market.
Curated and personalized music over the radio is the latest trend in the radio market. A curated and personalized music option helps the listeners to choose the various personalized radio stations.
Radio companies and online audio streaming companies are updating their apps to enhance the listener experience by adding personalized radio channels. For instance, Spotify, one of the largest online audio streaming companies, added an artist radio feature which helps the audience to feature the personalized radio stations.
Personalized radio stations can be covered with endless tracks from different artists. The personalized and curated music options helped radio companies to continuously engage the audience by recommending personalized content and also many companies took this strategy as a competitive advantage.
In August 2022, Radio One Inc, a US-based radio broadcasting company acquired Blue Chip Broadcasting for $190 million. The acquisition is of huge strategic importance for Radio one and provides it with extended footprint in newer geographies. Blue Chip Broadcasting is a US-based radio broadcasting company.
