Saga’s strategic and way late pivot to digital to make up for declining radio revenue is kind of a boilerplate executives use when they don’t have much else left in the tank and for them, it’s game over, lights out.
- Total revenue dropped about 5% year-over-year in the just released second quarter 2025 earnings ($29.7 million down to $28.2 million).
- Same-station net revenue decreased some 6.4%, indicating that even its ongoing operations without new additions are under pressure.
- Gross revenue dropped excluding political ads approximately 4.7%, showing that the revenue decline isn't limited to seasonal or election-related spikes.
What to watch
- Institutional ownership stands at approximately 74.28% of Saga’s total stock – their industry specific advantage over most other radio stocks.
- Over the past 24 months 14 institutional buyers added a total of $8.58 million in stock.
- 6 institutional sellers reduced holdings by $2.26 million.
- Institutions still remain net buyers overall adding much more than they’re selling.
- BUT, recent activity shows a modest reduction in share count for the first time adding pressure to Saga’s pursuit of digital dollars even if they turn out to be digital dimes.
Writing on the wall
- Digital growth hasn’t saved peers — Broadcasters from iHeart to Audacy to Cumulus have pushed “digital transformation” for a decade yet digital is still a small percentage of revenue and margins are weaker than traditional spot sales.
- Late-cycle move — Saga’s digital push comes as Google, Meta, and programmatic platforms dominate local digital ad spend -- competing now means fighting for scraps, not grabbing growth.
- Dividends/buybacks can mask weakness — Maintaining payouts may please shareholders in the short-term but can drain resources needed for actual business reinvestment even as Saga essentially remains a debt-free company.
- Industry headwinds — Radio’s core problems—declining listening time, aging audiences, and advertiser migration to digital—are structural. No broadcaster has found a way to reverse them at scale.
What it means
- Saga’s net revenue has consistently dropped across the last four quarters, with the largest decline in Q2 2025 (–5.0%) even with the onset of a digital startup operation that the company is bragging about.
- The ongoing downward trend in revenue confirms persistent challenges in Saga’s core broadcasting business likely driven by traditional ad market contraction and structural shifts toward digital platforms.
- Saga is no longer a radio-only company, it’s a digital wannabe in a market that has hit the wall.
The bottom line: Saga’s current playbook is the same one that hasn’t worked for its larger competitors only they’re arriving later with fewer resources in a smaller market footprint.
Jerry Del Colliano is a professor at NYU Steinhardt Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions Music Business Program. His background includes Clinical Professor of Music Industry at the University of Southern California, TV, radio, program management, publishing and digital media.
Email me here.
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