UTV Media puts its faith in radio

A BRITISH radio station aimed at men who like sport is likely to be one of the top performers over the next two months for UTV Media, which has predicted that revenue from its UK radio division will grow 9 per cent this year.

The Belfast-based media group, which operates 14 stations in Britain, claims its radio division, which also includes nine stations North and South, is now one of its fastest growing assets.

In its latest management statement, which covers the 10-month period to the end of October, UTV Media reported an overall increase of 2 per cent year on year in revenues from continuing operations. But with the Christmas season just around the corner, UTV has little cheer to offer in general.

The Belfast group has warned that the current economic backdrop “continues to bring uncertainty and volatility to the airtime”, particularly when it come to television advertising revenues.

“The decline in television advertising revenue is likely to be mitigated by an increase in advertising revenue from Radio GB,” the company said.

“In our Irish radio division, the decline in advertising has flattened in November and December while our new media division is continuing to experience some growth.”

A closer look at how the group performed in the last 10 months shows revenue from its Radio GB division grew by 5 per cent compared to the same period last year, while the UK radio market overall declined by 2 per cent.

In the last 10 months, revenue at UTV’s Radio Ireland division declined by 4 per compared to its performance in the same period last year, with sterling exchange gains accounting for 1 per cent.

Overall the like-for-like drop in sales was 5 per cent but UTV believes this division is continuing to outperform the rest of the Irish radio market significantly.

It is predicting that revenue at its Radio Ireland division until the end of December will be flat compared to last year.