Commercial radio ad revenue was down in January, dipping by 2.1% in compared to the same time last year, according to figures released by Commercial Radio and Audio.

Across Australia’s five major metropolitan markets, revenue totalled $41.811 million in January, compared to $42.698 million a year ago.

The revenue is up on January 2021 by 2.4% and CRA’s CEO, Ford Ennals says, “Radio is holding up well and remains a good choice for advertisers in times of economic uncertainty.

“January was a mixed bag for us, with two major markets up and three down, and we are encouraged by the level of demand that we are seeing now from media agencies and clients.”

Sydney and Brisbane stations reported year on year ad revenue gains for the month of January, with declines in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.

Sydney stations reported a 1.3% year on year increase to $12.601 million, while Brisbane stations were up 3.8% to $6.489 million.

Melbourne stations dipped 4.1% to $13.694 million, Adelaide stations were down 7.1% to $3.527 million and Perth stations dropped 7.4% to $5.5 million.

Audiences remained strong for commercial radio stations in the five metro markets with the last GfK radio ratings of 2022 showing an extra 940,000 listeners compared to the previous year, with 82% of Australians aged 10+ tuning in weekly.

The ad revenue figures include agency and direct ad revenue and were compiled by media data analytics company Milton Data.