Television revenues fell 7 percent this year compared to last year, according to BIA Research in Chantilly, Va. BIA is pegging TV revenues for the year at $20.1 billion, the lowest since 2001.
Stations on both coasts comprised a bigger drop than those in the Midwest. East Coast stations logged an 8.2 percent drop; West Coasters, 7.6 percent. Midwestern stations came through with 5.8 percent less revenue than last year.
The firm expects a slightly bigger slide in the coming year, predicting a drop of 8.5 percent. But a recovery is expected in 2010, generating 6.4 percent growth.
Station transactions aren’t expected to go beyond $1 billion in 2008, on sales of approximately 65 stations, a large drop from the past two years but equal to levels of 2003-2005.
“The television industry needs to focus more on compelling cross-platform advertising opportunities in order to significantly raise their revenues in the coming years,” said Mark R. Fratrik, Ph.D., vice president of BIA Advisory Services.
BIA research done for the National Association of Broadcasters indicated that by 2012, stations could generate $1.1 billion in ad revenues from multicasting to mobile platforms.
