$1.6bn
$XXX.Xm
5,436
203
$XXX.Xm
The industry has suffered from consumers shifting towards alternative audio platforms like YouTube, Spotify and Apple Music. These platforms’ accessibility and tailored experiences – and smartphones’ and tablets’ mounting prevalence – have boosted their usage numbers. This has slashed radio audience numbers and advertising spending. However, radio broadcasting's unique interactivity maintains a loyal listener base by leaning on popular radio personalities. Remote working arrangements’ continued popularity, brought about by COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, has reduced the number of regular commuters – an important market for radio broadcasters. This has challenged radio networks to enhance their program quality and innovate their shows to compete with streaming platforms. Industry revenue is expected to have fallen at an annualised 3.5% over the five years through 2023-24, to $1.6 billion. This includes an anticipated slump of 1.5% in 2023-24.
Despite streaming services and digital platforms’ increased popularity impacting radio broadcasting’s advertising returns and profit margins, the industry has displayed resilient, robust ratings when compared to other traditional media formats. A considerable number of Australians still listen to the radio during their commute. This enduring trend shields the industry against digital disruptions that have seriously harmed sectors like TV and newspaper publishing. However, a pandemic-induced economic upheaval took a significant toll on the radio industry, driving a sharp decline in advertising revenue in 2019-20.
The industry is forecast to enjoy a slight revival in revenue as the economy improves, supported by popular radio shows and daily commutes maintaining a loyal listener base. However, broadcasters face increasing competition from internet-based media, which will be bolstered by enhanced connectivity, faster internet speeds and a growing preference for on-demand content. Growing advertising demand is set to drive industry profitability. However, escalating competition from online advertising – which boasts impressive cost efficiency and targeted reach – will constrain profit margin growth. Despite digital market challenges, the industry's revenue is forecast to expand at an annualised 1.4% over the five years through 2028-29, to $1.7 billion.
Industry revenue has declined at a CAGR of 3.5 % over the past five years, to reach an estimated $1.6bn in 2024.
Market size is projected to grow over the next five years.
Company | Market Share (%)
2024 | Revenue ($m)
2024 |
---|---|---|
Southern Cross Media | 396.6 | |
ABC | 332.8 | |
ARN Media Limited | 303.0 |
To view the market share and analysis for all 7 top companies in this industry, view purchase options.
Industry revenue is measured across several distinct product and services lines, including Metropolitan commercial radio broadcasts, Regional commercial radio broadcasts and Community radio broadcasts. Metropolitan commercial radio broadcasts is the largest segment of the Radio Broadcasting in Australia.
Metropolitan radio broadcasts dominate industry revenue, but a shift towards online advertising remains a threat
Industry companies broadcast audio signals over the air using radio waves to transmit programming. The industry includes commercial, community and public radio broadcasters.
Purchase this report to view all 7 major companies in this industry.
ANZSIC 5610 - Radio Broadcasting in Australia
Get an indication of the industry's health through historical, current and forward-looking trends in the performance indicators that make or break businesses.
The industry has suffered dwindling listener numbers due to smartphones’ and tablets’ rising prominence making alternatives more accessible. However, radio's popular personal...
Learn about an industry's products and services, markets and trends in international trade.
Radio listenership is skewed towards older consumers. Younger individuals are more likely to turn to alternative music streaming platforms or podcasts. Older adults may be le...
Discover where business activity is most concentrated in an industry and the factors driving these trends to find opportunities and conduct regional benchmarking.
New South Wales has the largest share of broadcasters. This concentration is driven by a competitive marketplace, leading to high advertising expenditure across various secto...
Get data and insights on what's driving competition in an industry and the challenges industry operators and new entrants may face, with analysis built around Porter's Five Forces framework.
Alternative media is eating away at advertising spending. This mutes advertising expenditure available for radio broadcasters, threatening the industry’s main source of reven...
Learn about the performance of the top companies in the industry.
Major companies are leaning towards digital transformation. For example, SCA augmented its digital hold in 2023 by enhancing its online platform LiSTNR. This provided persona...
Understand the demographic, economic and regulatory factors that shape how businesses in an industry perform.
The 2021 News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code supports the sustainability of public interest journalism, aiding radio broadcasting. Alphabet and Meta bo...
View average costs for industry operators and compare financial data against an industry's financial benchmarks over time.
Commercial radio networks remained profitable despite pandemic disruptions slashing advertising revenue amid and ongoing shift towards online platforms. A staunchly loyal lis...
Including values and annual change:
IBISWorld has been a leading provider of trusted industry research for over 50 years to the most successful companies worldwide. With offices in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and China, we are proud to have local teams of analysts that conduct research, data analysis and forecasting to produce data-driven industry reports.
Our analysts start with official, verified and publicly available sources of data to build the most accurate picture of each industry. Analysts then leverage their expertise and knowledge of the local markets to synthesize trends into digestible content for IBISWorld readers. Finally, each report is reviewed by one of IBISWorld’s editors, who provide quality assurance to ensure accuracy and readability.
IBISWorld relies on human-verified data and human-written analysis to compile each standard industry report. We do not use generative AI tools to write insights, although members can choose to leverage AI-based tools within the platform to generate additional analysis formats.
Each industry report incorporates data and research from government databases, industry-specific sources, industry contacts, and our own proprietary database of statistics and analysis to provide balanced, independent and accurate insights.
Key data sources in Australia include:
Analysts also use industry specific sources to complement catch-all sources, although their perspective may focus on a particular organization or representative body, rather than a clear overview of all industry operations. However, when balanced against other perspectives, industry-specific sources provide insights into industry trends.
These sources include:
Finally, IBISWorld’s global data scientists maintain a proprietary database of macroeconomic and demand drivers, which our analysts use to help inform industry data and trends. They also maintain a database of statistics and analysis on thousands of industries, which has been built over our more than 50-year history and offers comprehensive insights into long-term trends.
IBISWorld’s analysts and data scientists use the sources above to create forecasts for our proprietary datasets and industry statistics. Depending on the dataset, they may use regression analysis, multivariate analysis, time-series analysis or exponential smoothing techniques to project future data for the industry or driver. Additionally, analysts will leverage their local knowledge of industry operating and regulatory conditions to impart their best judgment on the forecast model.
IBISWorld prides itself on being a trusted, independent source of data, with over 50 years of experience building and maintaining rich datasets and forecasting tools. We are proud to be the keystone source of industry information for thousands of companies across the world.
Learn more about our methodology and data sourcing on the Help Center.
Unlock comprehensive answers and precise data upon purchase. View purchase options.
The market size of the Radio Broadcasting industry in Australia is $1.6bn in 2024.
There are 203 businesses in the Radio Broadcasting industry in Australia, which has declined at a CAGR of 0.4 % between 2019 and 2024.
The market size of the Radio Broadcasting industry in Australia has been declining at a CAGR of 3.5 % between 2019 and 2024.
Over the next five years, the Radio Broadcasting industry in Australia is expected to grow.
The biggest companies operating in the Radio Broadcasting market in Australia are Southern Cross Media, ABC and ARN Media Limited
Metropolitan commercial radio broadcasts and Regional commercial radio broadcasts are part of the Radio Broadcasting industry.
The company holding the most market share in Australia is Southern Cross Media.
The level of competition is high and increasing in the Radio Broadcasting industry in Australia.