So How Is Terrestrial Radio Doing in Canada Financially? Not Bad, But There Are Declines

April 26, 2016 Alan Cross 0 Comments 0 min read

Around this time every year, the CRTC releases a report on the financial health of Canada’s private broadcasters. Here’s an executive summary of how my industry is doing these days. (All figures are for the period ending December 31, 2015.)

Number of commercial (i.e. ad-supported) radio stations in Canada: 704 (13 new stations signed on). 508 are FM and 124 are AM.
The number of people employed: 9.500, down 3.4% from a year earlier.
Total revenue: $1.6 billion, down $11.6 million from 2014 (-0.7%)
Total expenses: $1.3 billion, a 1.1% decrease from the previous year.
Average operating margin: 18.9%, up from 18.5% last year.
Local advertising: Down 2.2%
National advertising: Up 2.3%
Revenue from FM radio stations: $1.32 billion, down $6,7 billion from 2014.

For more numbers, go to FYI Music News.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

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