TV industry revenue dropped 22.4 percent to $15.6 billion last year compared to the industry’s tally for 2008, according to a year-end estimate from BIA/Kelsey. The 2009 revenue figure, part of the financial advisory company’s “Investing in Television Market Report,” marks the beginning of a leveling off in industry revenue to the mid-$10 billion level, which BIA/Kelsey expects to last through at least 2013. The decline returns industry revenue to mid-1990 levels. For 2010, industry revenue is expected to grow a modest $500 million to $16.1 billion. An estimated $130 million of that growth will come from online advertising, according to BIA/Kelsey. In 2009, online revenue accounted for $518 million for the TV industry, up 12 percent from 2008. By 2013, due to continuous double-digit revenue growth from online and mobile channels, the total should reach $1 billion. “While television’s numbers are tapering down due to audience erosion from other media delivery options, we continue to see that local TV remains a valuable way to reach relatively larger audiences, critical for mass communications in political campaigns,” said BIA Advisory Services VP Mark Fratrik. According to the report, several markets will see revenue growth due to state and local elections, including Philadelphia, up 6.5 percent; Pittsburgh, up 5 percent; Las Vegas, up 5 percent; Chicago, up 4.5 percent; St. Louis, up 4.5 percent; and Hartford-New Haven, CT, up 4.5 percent.
