Townsquare Media has disclosed that it plans to go public. Although this revelation has little to no impact on your radio station, it does allow us to take a deeper look into the operations and revenue from such a “successful” radio group.
As I combed through the numbers, there was two interesting key points that I came across. And radio owners and managers need to take notice.
1. 26% Of Townsquare’s Revenue Comes From Outside Radio
That’s a stunning Townsquare number that’s sure to catch many in the radio industry by surprise. While many public companies are reporting decent growth from digital, events and non-spot revenue, they also admit the total number, compared to over-the-air revenue, is small. For the first quarter of 2014, Townsquare reports in its S1 filing that 26 percent of net revenue was generated from sources other than the sale of terrestrial radio station advertising.
2. Chief Content and Digital Officer is the highest paid of all Townsquare Media Executives and Officials
The CEO and CFO both made less than Townsquare Media’s Chief Content and Digital Officer over the past two years.
These two findings, I believe are what radio owners and managers need to pay attention to. With digital revenues being around 3% of total revenue for the average station nationwide, Townsquare was able to bring this number up to a whopping 26 percent. This would explain why the company is willing to pay their Chief Digital Officer the highest salary in the entire company. With traditional ad revenue relatively flat over the past few years for most radio stations, digital revenue is a stream that is projected to experience rapid growth, and this can be of great significance to many radio stations nationwide.
Inside Radio recently reported that the average radio station raked in nearly $167,000 in digital revenue in 2013. As many groups are seeing the benefits of digital, they are quickly directing the sales and hiring efforts to those who specialize in digital.
Source for article is Insideradio.com