Radio Stations Rising, FM Dominates Trend

While the radio advertising business may be stuck in a prolonged rough patch, that doesn’t seem to be deterring broadcasters from starting new radio stations, judging by the latest figures on station operating licenses from the Federal Communications Commission.

The number of licensed radio stations in operation has increased steadily in recent years -- at least on the FM side. From 6,279 commercial FM stations in 2007, the number grew to 6,404 in September 2008, 6,479 at the end of 2009, 6,512 in September 2010, 6,533 in June 2011, and 6,555 as of March 31, 2012. Educational FM stations continue to proliferate as well, jumping from 2,880 in 2007 to 3,712 today. The number of AM stations has mostly held steady, with a modest decline to 4,762. Overall, the number of licensed radio stations operating in the U.S. increased from 13,938 five years ago to 15,029 today. The uptick is interesting, especially since radio ad revenues have declined steeply over the same period. From $21.3 billion in 2007, total radio ad revenues fell to $16 billion in 2009 before rebounding somewhat to $17.4 billion in 2011.