A research paper that compares the consolidation that has taken place in the commercial radio industry in the US with the anticipated consolidation in the commercial radio industry in the UK that could follow the legislation of the Communications Act, written by Grant Goddard in March 2003.
4. In the UK the myth exists that, as a consequence of consolidation, there
remain only a handful of radio owners in the US. Nothing could be further from
the truth. Consolidation between March 1996 and March 2002 reduced the
number of station owners by 34%, but there are still 3,408 owners of 10,807
radio stations. During that same period, the total number of radio outlets in the
US increased by 5%.8
Each local radio market in the US is served by many more commercial radio
stations than an equivalent size market in the UK. In May 2002, the average
radio market in the US was served by 23 commercial stations. Of the 285
researched US radio markets, almost half were served by more than 20 radio
stations, and 90% were served by more than 10 radio stations.9
Across all US radio markets in 2002, the average market had 22.3 stations
owned by 9.9 owners operating 10.2 formats. In the top ten markets, an
average of 55.9 stations were owned by 25.4 owners operating 16.2 formats.10
Additional delivery systems are comparatively well developed and well used in
the US, and these offer the average US radio listener a much enhanced choice
of radio stations at a significantly lower cost than in the UK. Almost 60% of the
US population has internet access at home11, and 64% of households
subscribe to cable television systems.12
TABLE 2: COMPARISON BETWEEN TOP 20 RADIO MARKETS IN UK & US (numbers
refer to commercial stations only, local and national)
UNITED KINGDOM
UNITED STATES
market
TSA
stations owners formats market
TSA
stations owners formats
(000s)
(000s)
London
10,384
23
17
18 New York
15,098
42
22
16
Manchester
2,751
10
8
8 Los Angeles
10,407
74
28
Birmingham
2,057
11
7
9 Chicago
7,477
87
37
17
18
Glasgow
1,850
8
7
8 San Francisco
5,952
49
18
16
Liverpool
1,814
9
7
8 Dallas/Ft Worth
4,418
62
25
17
Newcastle
1,415
8
7
7 Philadelphia
4,221
42
23
15
Sheffield
1,317
8
7
7 Washington DC
3,929
47
21
15
Wolverhampton
1,317
11
7
8 Boston
3,839
62
36
18
N Ireland
1,317
10
6
6 Houston/Galveston
4,055
55
27
16
Bristol
1,300
9
6
9 Detroit
3,812
39
17
14
Southend/Chelmsford
1,165
17
10
14 Atlanta
3,617
69
34
16
Humberside
1,142
8
6
15
Maidstone/Medway
1,130
8
Edinburgh
1,109
7
Nottingham
3,377
46
23
5
7 Miami/Ft
Lauderdale
6 Puerto Rico
3,263
93
53
4
6
7 Seattle/Tacoma
3,085
57
27
17
1,072
7
6
7 Phoenix
2,718
46
21
15
Southampton/Portsmouth
977
10
7
7 Minneapolis/St Paul
2,507
45
19
15
Dunstable/Luton
971
18
10
2,416
30
13
14
Brighton/Eastbourne
965
7
6
6 Nassau/Suffolk
2,304
26
14
11
Leeds
952
8
7
7 St Louis
2,170
51
29
15
Cardiff/Newport
901
8
7
8 Baltimore
2,185
31
17
12
8
14 San Diego
Scott Roberts, Jane Frenette & Dione Stearns, “A Comparison Of Media Outlets And Owners For Ten Selected
Markets,” FCC Media Bureau Staff Research Paper #2002-1, Appendix A
9
BIA Financial Network Inc, MEDIA Access Pro database (May 2002)
10
George Williams & Scott Roberts, “Radio Industry Review 2002: Trends In Ownership, Format & Finance,” FCC
Media Bureau Staff Research Paper #2002-11, Appendix A
11
Newspaper Association Of America, “Facts About Newspapers 2002,” at 8
12
FCC, “Annual Assessment Of The Status Of Competition In The Market For The Delivery Of Video Programming,”
17 FCC Rcd 1244, 1254-1255 (2202)