BIA: TV Revenues Back To 90's Levels For Three More Years

Normally, this blog wouldn't quote a press release on television, but this one hits home, since you know it applies to radio, more or less, as well:

The television industry will end 2009 with lower than expected revenues of $15.6 billion, a 22.4 percent decline from 2008, in a year that was dominated by shifting advertising budgets and a poor economy, according to BIA/Kelsey, a strategic and financial advisor to media companies in the local marketplace.

The significant drop also begins a leveling-off of television industry revenues to the mid-$10 billion level — not seen since the mid-1990s — through at least 2013, as reported in the fourth edition of BIA/Kelsey’s “Investing In Television® Market Report.”

BIA/Kelsey sees 2010 revenues for the television industry as increasing slightly to $16.1 billion, of which $130 million in additional revenues will come from online advertising. The company notes that online income brought the industry $518 million in 2009, a 12 percent increase over last year’s $463 million. BIA/Kelsey predicts continuous annual double-digit revenue growth from online channels, such as Internet and mobile, through 2013, when the industry should reach the $1 billion mark.

The report also shows that while most markets did poorly in 2009, others will manage to post positive numbers in 2010, primarily due to significant state and local elections.