Radio & TV Advertising News

Radio and TV advertising news, read from the advertiser’s side. Nothing appears here unless it is about advertising and unless it changes something an advertiser might do.

Updated 17 August 2026

The trade press writes for broadcasters, so it frames the industry from the seller’s position. When a station group reports falling advertising revenue, that is a difficult quarter for the people who own stations. For an advertiser it means close to the opposite: unsold inventory, sales targets to hit, and negotiating room that did not exist a year ago. This page reads the same numbers from the buyer’s side, and is updated daily.

Network radio advertising revenue fell 21.5%

The figure that matters most to a national advertiser sits inside the Cumulus Media second quarter results: network advertising revenue down 21.5% year on year, with spot advertising down 10.6% over the same period. Network radio is the product most national advertisers are actually buying, and a fifth of its revenue disappearing in twelve months means a great deal of unsold inventory looking for a home.

This is what a buyer’s market looks like in practice. It does not mean a seller will volunteer a better rate; it means the room exists if you ask, and that the first number quoted sits further from the last number available than it would have two years ago. See national radio advertising. Cumulus Media Q2 2026 results.

Cumulus advertising revenue down 9.7% as the group works through Chapter 11

Cumulus reported second quarter net revenue of $167.9 million, down 9.7%, with a net loss of $9.2 million and adjusted EBITDA down 28.3%. The company filed for Chapter 11 protection in early March and had its plan of reorganisation confirmed by the court in April.

For an advertiser this cuts both ways. A group working its way out of restructuring has every reason to want your business and some flexibility about how it gets it. It also warrants ordinary commercial prudence: get makegood and preemption policy in writing rather than accepting it as understood, know which entity the contract is with, and be careful about paying substantially ahead of the schedule running. Radio Ink on the restructuring.

Softness reaches the mid-sized markets

Saga Communications reported second quarter net revenue of $26.4 million, down 6.5%, with station operating income down 50.6% to $3.0 million as operating expenses rose 5.4%. Saga operates largely outside the top markets, which makes this the more useful of the two numbers: the weakness is not confined to large groups in large cities.

Falling revenue against rising costs is the combination that produces flexibility on rate, because the alternative for the seller is an empty log. An advertiser buying mid-sized markets this autumn should be asking for considerably more than the first proposal offers. See local radio advertising. Saga Q2 2026 results.

Digital audio ad revenue held flat while broadcast fell

Cumulus digital revenue came in at $38.7 million, essentially unchanged at minus 0.3%, against broadcast declines of 10.6% and 21.5%. Digital audio is not booming, but it is holding while everything around it gives way.

The practical reading is that the softness is concentrated in broadcast inventory, so that is where the negotiating room is. It also means a seller will be keener to move you toward digital, where their position is stronger and yours is weaker. A blended proposal that quietly shifts budget toward streaming is worth reading closely, and the question to ask is what proportion of the money goes to each. See what radio advertising costs. Radio World on the quarter.

The short version

Network advertising revenue down more than a fifth, spot down a tenth, one major group in Chapter 11 and a mid-market operator watching station operating income halve. Every one of those is a difficulty for a broadcaster and an opening for an advertiser with a budget and a reasonable proposition. Buyers’ markets do not last indefinitely, and they end faster than they arrive.

If you are holding a radio, SiriusXM or TV proposal and want to know whether the number is a good one, send it in and it will be read against the points that actually decide it, at no charge. Berk Marketing represents advertisers, not radio stations or media companies. See also SiriusXM advertising and TV advertising.