A big part of radio history is about to end. CBS Corporation recently announced that their radio division will be sold after nearly 90 years in business. Currently there are 117 CBS stations in 26 different markets that around 70 million people tune in to listen to each week. Their decision to sell their stations come from a long and arduous battle the rest of the industry has been fighting as well; young adults spend more time listening to digital music files and subscription services like Spotify, Pandora, and SoundCloud, rather than the more “old fashioned” radio. This trend has also led to bigger spending on advertising for digital platforms from major advertisers such as car dealerships and wireless phone companies. With people always wanting to stay up to date with the ever-changing technological world, this shift represents individuals’ desires to steer towards a more personalized approach to radio.
What might this new trend mean for advertising? While Adam Jacobson, a radio industry analyst and consultant mentions, “for advertisers, radio is just not sexy anymore,” the radio has still proven to be a beneficial and efficient advertising mechanism for many businesses. Looking at the next few months, CBS will likely hang on to their radio division in hopes of raking in millions of dollars for campaign commercials.
