Radio Ad Spending Disappears in 2008…

Wednesday, May, 6, 2009 by Mel Phillips.

The worst thing about those new ad spending numbers in ‘08 was the 11.1 (%) percent plunge in local business.  The best thing about the numbers is that it’s no longer 2008. Now we can start sweating out how bad the 2009 numbers will wind up.  TNS Media Intelligence (are you kidding with that name?) numbers show that U.S. ad spending was down by 4.1 (%) percent overall and down 9.1 (%) percent from Q4 2007 to Q4 2008.  Ouch!!!  Radio ad spending overall was down by 10.3 (%) for the year.  Television ad spending was down (0.1), so was outdoor (1.7), newspapers (11.8) and print (7.5).  There was growth in other media forms, however…

If you’re guessing that the Internet made gains in ad spending, you would be correct.  Web ad spending was up 4.6 (%) percent.  Syndicated TV was also up (6.5), Spanish-language magazines gained 4.9 (%) percent, Spanish-language TV (0.1) and cable TV (2.1) was also up.  Auto spending, down 15.4 (%) percent for the year was still the largest ad-spender of all, spending $12.8 billion compared to $15.1 billion in 2007.  This despite bankruptcy looming.  Maybe that $12.8 billion was part of the reason the auto industry did go bankrupt…

After digesting the horrible numbers from 2008 one can only hope that 2009 won’t be as bad.  It can’t be - can it???   

10 Timeline Memories:

1. 1835] Start the presses: James Gordon Bennett publishes the New York Herald for the first time…
2. 1851] This is a lock: Linus Yale patents the clock-type lock and has the good sense to put his name on it…
3. 1915] Bambino goes yard: Babe Ruth hits his first home run (as a Red Sox pitcher) against the Yankees. Three years later on the same date, he hits one against the Yankees as a position (first base) player…
4. 1937] Oh the humanities: The hydrogen filled German dirigible Hindenburg crashes and burns in Lakehurst (NJ) killing 36 of the 97 people aboard in one of the most vivid scenes ever captured on film…
5. 1954] Run a mile in my shoes: Roger Bannister becomes the first runner to finish a mile under 4 minutes. His time: 3:59:59.4…
6. 1957] Profiles of a Pulitzer: John Fitzgerald Kennedy wins a Pulitzer Prize for his book “Profiles in Courage“…
7. 1960] Wedding Bells: Britain’s Princess Margaret walks stiffly and properly down the royal aisle with commoner Anthony Armstrong Jones. They will stiffly and properly divorce in 1978…
8. 1978] Last Triple Crown Winner: Affirmed captures the Kentucky Derby and will become the last Triple Crown winner…2006] Barbaro wins the Kentucky Derby, a first for jockey Edgar Prado. Sadly, tragedy awaits Barbaro in a tumultuous year for the thoroughbred…
9. 1999] The Long Island Lolita is free: A parole board in New York votes to release Amy Fisher after 7 years for shooting her lover’s wife, Mary Jo Buttafuoco in the face…
10. 2004] Friends no more: An estimated 51.1 million watch the final first-run episode of “Friends” on NBC-TV…

Music Memories:

• 1972] Released on this date: “Rocket Man” - Elton John…
• 1973] O Solo Mio: After 18 singles and 7 albums together as Simon & Garfunkel, Paul Simon goes solo at one of my favorite theaters - The Music Hall in Boston.  Here’s one of Paul’s biggest solo hits…
• 1995] Call them doctors of music: James Taylor and Natalie Cole receive honorary degrees at Berklee College of Music’s 50th Anniversary Commencement…

Commentary:

Although he made his mark in movies, Dom DeLuise rose to fame on television.  Visually, he didn’t belong on television with a face as wide as a hummer and a body to match.  He was however, funny and the perfect foil for Dean Martin, Burt Reynolds, Carol Burnett and whoever he played straight man for.  His avocation was cooking and his constant sampling would make him the size of one of his idols, chef Paul Prudhomme.  DeLuise died Monday night in his sleep at 75 after a long illness.  He was a one-of-a-kind comic who made television and the movies a lot brighter just by his presence… 

“Happy Birthday…happy birthday“: Martin Brodeur (37), George Clooney (48), Roma Downey (49), Tom Bergeron (54), Tony Blair (56), Mary MacGregor (61), Bob Seger (64) and Willie Mays (78)…

Timeline Countdown: 4 days until Mother’s Day, 19 days until Memorial Day and 47 days until Father’s Day…

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