Hidden Key?

"Within each storm of life is hidden a key that will unlock another door that you were meant to walk through."
-- Steve Brunkhorst

Sirius XM is facing bankruptcy.

Automotive companies and their suppliers are already bankrupt.

Advertisers are pulling back and that includes spend on terrestrial radio.

But a hidden key may just be emerging.

MediaWeek ran an article on Sunday that indicated that advertisers are increasingly looking at online radio as a viable advertising channel.

TargetSpot, a key player in the online radio advertising space, indicated that that upfront billings grew 72% so far this year.

Granted, such growth is relatively easy when you are talking about small dollars.

In fact, one media buyer indicated in the article that advertising on streaming radio now accounts for 5 to 7 percent of their network radio budgets. These percentages are still admittedly small...but for radio, any growth at this point should be considered a win.

Let's hope that broadcasters have enough faith to hold onto this key that could provide new significant revenue streams in the future.