Latest research shows good news for the radio industry which has seen a growth in advertising of 2.5%, and a huge growth of 14.8% in sponsorship and promotions. The figures from the Radio Advertising Bureau show advertisers spent £563m promoting their products on the radio last year.
The government was by far the country's biggest spender on radio ads, committing £19.9m to the medium. Elsewhere BT, Sainsbury's and News International all spent between £8m and £9m.
Talking about the latest figures RAB director of marketing operations Michael O'Brien told reporters: "Given the continued economic uncertainties, we are very pleased to report 2.5% growth in radio revenues during 2002. With TV revenues expected to be flat during the same period we are confident that commercial radio will yet again have increased its share of total advertising spend."