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Entercom’s David Field remains upbeat.
With mounting economic evidence the recession is in its final days, Entercom CEO David Field is sticking with his projections the industry could see double-digit growth next year. Field says, “As we see all the signs out there, there’s a good case that we will see good growth in the year ahead.”
He says it’s not just comparisons against weak prior year revenue -- but also several new advertiser commitments. “We have seen business conditions improve over the past several weeks, most notably with national sales, and the tone of advertisers’ discussions continues to improve as more local and national customers are indicating an intent to increase their spending next year.” That will help stations maintain rate card integrity. “We’re already beginning to feel some improvement in pricing,” says Field, adding, “I’m optimistic we will see greater integrity in the quarters ahead as we see demand picking up.”
In a call with analysts yesterday, he conceded advertisers remain cautious and their marketing comeback is “evolving gradually” with a watchful eye on economic conditions. But he’s confident Entercom revenue will improve further in the current quarter. The company reports third quarter revenue fell 14% -- better than the first (-21%) and second (-18%) quarters. Entercom’s digital revenue jumped 27% last quarter, helping offset weak automotive and telecom spending.
