Commercial Radio Australia (CRA) has reported a 4% decrease in annual broadcast radio ad revenue for 2023 after total revenue across the five major metropolitan markets fell to $673.25 million, down from $701.4 million in 2022.

However, digital audio streaming and podcast revenue, which is not included in the metropolitan radio broadcast advertising results, reached record levels in 2023, surging by 27% for the year.

In the fourth quarter, broadcast radio ad revenue fell by 6% across the five metro markets, with Q4 2023 revenue standing at $173.915 million, compared to Q4 2022's $185.062 million. Meanwhile, digital audio ad revenue for Q4 2023 was up 31% compared to the same period last year.

''Overall commercial radio ad revenue remains broadly stable despite a challenging market, with sustained strong broadcast radio revenue and record levels of growth in digital audio revenue in 2023," CRA CEO, Ford Ennals said. ''Radio is consistently out-performing other media, and our annual broadcast ad revenue was actually up 1.1% from 2021, but clearly there are pressures on the broader ad market.''

Ennals also expressed optimism about the future despite the mixed result, and noted spending in the travel and automotive sectors was a bright spot.

"We are positive about radio's performance for the year ahead," he said. ''Radio remains the medium where agencies can get value for money when budgets are tight. We expect to see investment to continue at similar levels this year, as agencies and their clients recognise radio's capacity to deliver.''

The quarterly and yearly broadcast radio ad revenue figures were compiled by media data analytics company Milton Data.