Commercial radio ad revenue in Australia remained in positive territory in the month of July despite the impact of lockdowns, with revenue up 19.3 percent compared to July 2020, according to data released by industry body Commercial Radio Australia.

Ad revenue for the five major Australian capital city markets totalled A$48.571 million (US$35.7 million) in July compared to $40.724 million a year ago.

“The extension of lockdowns has taken some momentum out of the recovery but it’s encouraging to see growth for radio being sustained at a double digit level,” said CRA chief executive officer Joan Warner.

The figures include agency and direct ad revenue and were compiled by media data analytics company Milton Data, which took over responsibility for industry revenue reporting from Deloitte from 1 July 2021.

Melbourne stations reported a 30 percent year on year increase in ad revenue to $16.408 million in the month of July, while Sydney was 11.3 percent higher at $13.874 million.

Brisbane was up 21.6 percent to $7.654 million, Perth rose 18.4 percent to $6.296 million and Adelaide increased 8.2 percent to $4.339 million.

Metropolitan radio ad revenue had rebounded by 72.6 percent year on year in the month of May and by 40.9 percent in June before the most recent Covid outbreaks.