BIA Identifies Key Radio Advertising Opportunities For 2027.

Radio sellers have several reasons to approach 2027 with confidence, according to analysis from BIA Advisory Services, even as the absence of a major election is expected to weigh on total radio revenue.

Michael Guerity, SVP, Market Intelligence and Strategic Communications at BIA, outlined five opportunities for radio during the Radio Advertising Bureau’s recent webinar, “Radio’s Next Chapter: The 2026-2027 Local Advertising Forecast.” The analysis draws from BIA’s September update to its U.S. Local Advertising Forecast.

The broader local advertising market is projected to reach $186.1 billion in 2026, $1.6 billion higher than BIA’s April forecast. Digital advertising accounts for $105.7 billion, or 56.8%, of the total. Political advertising is expected to contribute $9.7 billion, with local radio capturing $371.1 million of that spending across over-the-air and digital.

Local radio is projected to generate $12.2 billion in 2026, up 1.5% from 2025. That includes $9.8 billion in over-the-air revenue and $2.4 billion from digital.

With no major election in 2027, BIA expects total radio revenue to decline to $11.4 billion. But the topline number masks continued opportunity in digital. Excluding political spending, radio digital revenue is projected to grow 3.4% next year. Digital currently represents about one-fifth of radio revenue and is expected to approach one-quarter by 2030.

“The local ad pie keeps getting bigger, and radio still has a big slice of it,” Guerity wrote on the RAB’s This is Radio blog. He noted that radio continues to generate more local advertising revenue than CTV/OTT and cable combined, despite the growth of streaming video.

Advertiser categories provide another avenue for growth. Finance and insurance, retail and restaurants and food are the three largest radio categories, together accounting for roughly half of radio revenue.

Some categories are growing faster than others. Electronics stores are projected to increase radio spending 4.5%, followed by online gambling at 4% and warehouse clubs at 3.5%.

Guerity also points to real estate as a significant prospect for sellers. Realtors account for $6.6 billion in local advertising and are projected to increase spending 10.3% in 2027, yet only 1.6% of that spending currently goes to radio. The average share across all local advertisers is 7%.

“That’s your opening,” Guerity wrote.

CTV/OTT represents another opportunity for radio companies that have video capabilities. Excluding political spending, CTV/OTT is projected to grow 14.3% to $4.2 billion in 2027. BIA estimates the combined radio and CTV/OTT opportunity at $15.6 billion for stations selling both platforms.

The top 10 radio advertiser categories alone are expected to generate an additional $200.8 million in CTV/OTT spending next year. Radio also continues to generate more revenue than CTV/OTT in 10 of 11 business categories.

The final piece of the sales argument is audience reach. AM/FM reaches 93% of U.S. adults each month, according to Nielsen Audio Today 2026, while Edison Research’s Q2 2026 Share of Ear data puts radio at 62% of ad-supported audio time.

BIA says agencies significantly underestimate that reach, estimating that buyers believe radio accounts for just 26% of ad-supported audio time.

“Closing that gap is one of the easiest conversations a seller can have,” Guerity wrote.

For radio sellers, the forecast is less about simply identifying where advertising dollars are moving and more about translating the data into sales opportunities. That means targeting categories where radio is underrepresented, growing digital revenue alongside broadcast and positioning radio companies as broader audio and video partners.

“The numbers can open the door,” Guerity wrote. “The seller who connects those numbers to an advertiser’s business is the one who can turn opportunity into revenue.”