Media company UTV has reported a 5 per cent decline in group revenue for the start of 2013 with a 7 per cent fall in radio revenue in Great Britain, including a decline of 10 per cent by talkSPORT and 3 per cent by its Local Radio business.
The figures come through an Interim Management Statement that warned that the UK radio market is expected to decline by over 6 per cent during the second quarter of the year, with talkSPORT's figures expect to 'lag' further behind the market at 14 per cent in comparison with last year when it covered the Euro 2012 championships.
Radio Ireland saw an 8 per cent decline in revenue during the first three months of the year, and is expected to be down by 6 per cent during the second quarter, while the company's total TV revenue decreased by 3 per cent, with net advertising revenue (NAR) down by 2 per cent.
The company's London NAR was up by 5 per cent however, although the UTV has predicted a total decline in NAR of 12 per cent for the second quarter, but stated that expected Ireland's rate to grow by 1 per cent.
An increase of 9 per cent in new media revenue was recorded during the first quarter, while the second quarter is expected to record a 3 per cent increase.
UTV also revealed a reduction in its net debt by nearly £4m to £47.1m over the last year.