How is the US out of home industry recovering from covid?  Billboard Insider compiled this chart comparing the change in public company US out of home revenues over the past year against the change in US out of home industry revenues compiled by the OAAA.  We added a column for projected second quarter 2021 revenues based on what we heard on the first quarter earnings calls as our own estimate for the increase in US out of home revenue.

• Insider projects double digital revenue growth for US out of home industry during the second quarter of 2021 because of rebounding traffic, vaccinations and the fact that the previous year’s second quarter was dismal.
• Lamar and Link Media are recovering fastest from COVID because their rural roadside billboards plants have seen healthy traffic volumes.
• OUTFRONT’s urban and transit plant has been slower to recover but CEO Jeremy Male expects to see sharp improvement in the second quarter of 2021.
• Clear Channel Americas has been slow to recover due to a lagging airport advertising business.  The airport business, which accounts for one-fifth of Clear Channel Americas revenues, is down 60%.
• The US out of home revenue decline is steep because it includes several industry segments which are struggling with covid related revenue declines (e.g. airport, transit, place based, cinema).  The US billboard revenue decline was much less.
• Small independent out of home companies have done better than the US industry average because they have roadside plants in smaller markets.  Revenues grew 14% in the first quarter of 2021 for Billboard Insider’s Indiana and Minnesota billboard plant.  Ad spending resumed when businesses reopened and we did some acquisitions and new builds during 2020 which turned out nicely.  Every crisis is an opportunity!

[wpforms id=”9787″]

Paid Advertisement