AM radio continues decline in 2010

Private radio stations increased by 20 in the 2010 broadcast year, creating a total of 654 commercial radio stations across the country, the CRTC said Wednesday in new statistical information for AM and FM private radio. According to the CRTC, English-language AM stations faired well and remained steady with total revenues of $272 million. But the new figures also show that the number of AM stations dropped by nine in 2010. “This is not new. It’s been like this for some period of time now. The sound is superior in FM over AM. Some of the music, in most part, has gravitated towards FM. AM is really more for talk,” David Bray, a broadcasting expert and president of Bray and Partners Communications, said in an interview. “Revenue has not been good for AM for some time. But for the most part, AM is not making money and people have started to close down and give back licences because they are not profitable.” In 2010, AM stations' total revenues increased by 0.4 per cent to $307.3 million. Canada counted a total of 141 AM stations for the year, the CRTC said. But the commission reported that French-language AM stations suffered in 2010. Total revenues for the stations fell to $11.2 million from $11.6 million for the previous year, representing a decline of 3.6 per cent. French-language AM stations in the major market of Montreal, earned total revenues of $19.2 million in 2010, down from $19.9 million the previous year. English-language AM stations in the same market reported a slight year-over-year increase of $200,000, to $11.5 million in 2010 from $11.3 million in 2009. AM stations in Toronto and Vancouver also reported slight growth in 2010. Total revenues for Toronto’s AM stations increased to $79 million, up from $78.4 in 2009. Vancouver-based AM stations also reported a year-over-year increase of $1 million for 2010, reaching $40.3 million from $39.3 million in 2009. The commission said the total number of AM stations continues to decline in Canada with many converting to FM stations. During 2010, the CRTC said the total number of FM stations in Canada grew to 513. Total revenues for FM stations alone hit $1.24 billion, up from $1.2 billion in 2009. English-language FM station revenues across Canada grew to $986.6 million, representing an increase of 2.9 per cent from 2009. French-language FM station revenues also grew by 5.8 per cent during 2010, reaching a total of $239.9 million. On both AM and FM frequencies, revenues for ethnic stations grew significantly in 2010. The CRTC said ethnic AM stations' revenues grew to a total of $24 million during 2010 for an increase of 5.7 per cent. Ethnic FM station revenues were $17.9 million for an increase of 10.2 per cent over 2009. In total, the commission said Canada’s commercial radio stations employed 10,100 people in 2010 and paid out $640.6 million in salaries. The CRTC said the number of people employed by commercial radio stations was down by 10 when compared to the 2009 figure of 10,196 positions. dgrenier@thewirereport.ca

AM radio continues decline in 2010

News | 07/13/2011 9:45 pm EDT

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