MAM
Radio ads show steady but modest growth in 2025: TAM AdEx
MUMBAI: If the airwaves could blush, 2025 would have them glowing, because advertisers clearly couldn’t keep their hands off the radio dial. Fresh data from TAM AdEx shows that radio advertising in India continued to hum along in 2025, posting a modest but steady 2 per cent growth over 2024. It is not exactly a sonic boom, but it is enough to suggest that brands still see value in speaking directly into listeners’ ears, especially when the rest of the media landscape is battling for attention.
The longer arc tells a stronger story. Average ad volumes per station have risen by a striking 40 per cent in 2025 compared with 2021, underlining radio’s quiet resilience even as digital platforms dominate headlines.
Quarterly trends reveal a consistent uptick through the year. Average daily ad volumes climbed from 406 hours in the January–March quarter to 436 hours in October–December, marking a 10 per cent jump between the second and fourth quarters of 2025.
That steady rhythm was largely powered by a familiar set of sectors. Services retained its top spot, accounting for a hefty 30 per cent share of total radio ad volumes. Auto, food and beverages, education, and building materials rounded out the top five, with the top ten sectors together commanding 90 per cent of all radio advertising.
At the category level, real estate dominated the dial. Properties and real estate alone accounted for 15 per cent of total ad volumes, making it the leading category in 2025.
Cars followed with an 8 per cent share, alongside retail jewellers at another 8 per cent. Hospitals and clinics, clothing retailers, electronics outlets, and education courses made up the rest of the top ranks. In all, more than 410 categories advertised on radio during the year, though the top ten accounted for 53 per cent of the total share.
Among fast risers, jewellers sparkled brightest, registering an 18 per cent growth in ad volumes over 2024. Car advertising followed with a 15 per cent rise. Some financial and banking categories, meanwhile, posted dramatic surges, with corporate NBFC advertising jumping nearly 79 times year on year.
When it came to advertisers, the automotive sector had a clear edge. Maruti Suzuki India emerged as the top advertiser of 2025, followed by LIC of India.
The top ten advertisers together accounted for 15 per cent of total radio ad volumes, with names such as Tata Motors, Hyundai Motor India, Honda Cars India, SBI, and Muthoot Financial Enterprises featuring prominently. More than 9,500 advertisers used radio during the year, highlighting the medium’s wide appeal.
At the brand level, Maruti Suzuki Arena topped the charts, with Vimal Pan Masala, Jeena Sikho, Muthoot Financial Enterprises, and SBI among the other leading brands. The top ten brands together contributed 7 per cent of total ad volumes.
The medium also saw fresh entrants. More than 4,800 advertisers appeared on radio in 2025 who were absent the previous year. Among these exclusive advertisers, Sapphire Media led the pack.
Geographically, Gujarat emerged as the leading state with a 17 per cent share of radio ad volumes, followed by Maharashtra at 15 per cent. The top five states together accounted for more than 60 per cent of total ad activity.
At the city level, Jaipur topped the list, ahead of New Delhi, Nagpur, Surat, and Indore. The top ten cities together accounted for 63 per cent of total radio ad volumes.
Advertisers clearly had a favourite time to talk to listeners. The evening band (5pm to 10pm) attracted the largest share of ads, followed by the morning slot. Together, these two time bands accounted for 69 per cent of all radio advertising.
As for ad length, the sweet spot remained the 20 to 40 second slot, which accounted for around 68 per cent of commercials in 2025. Longer ads, those over 60 seconds, also saw a 9 per cent rise compared with the previous year.
In an age of scrolls, swipes, and streaming, radio’s steady gains may seem understated. But the numbers suggest a medium that continues to hold its own, especially in regional markets and high-frequency retail categories.
The growth may be just 2 per cent year on year, but with a 40 per cent jump over the past four years, the old-fashioned radio spot still appears to have plenty of life left in it. After all, while screens may steal the spotlight, the airwaves are still where many brands find their voice.
Most business owners treat their working capital limit like a safety net. It sits there, attached to their current account, ready to be drawn on whenever cash gets tight. And for routine operations, that arrangement works fine. But there are specific situations where a lump-sum loan disbursed quickly into your account is the smarter financial move. Knowing when to pick one over the other can save you real money and keep your business from getting stuck.
The Fundamental Difference People Overlook
A working capital limit, often structured as an overdraft or a revolving credit facility, gives you access to funds up to a pre-approved ceiling. You draw what you need, pay interest on what you use, and replenish it as receivables come in. It is designed for short-term, recurring needs like paying suppliers or covering payroll gaps.
A term loan disbursed quickly, on the other hand, drops a fixed amount into your account. You repay it in instalments over a set period, with a clear end date. The interest rate is typically fixed or at least predictable. These two products solve different problems, and treating them as interchangeable is where businesses get into trouble.
When Speed and Certainty Matter More Than Flexibility
Here’s a scenario that plays out constantly. A retailer gets an opportunity to buy inventory at a steep discount, but the supplier wants full payment within 48 hours. The retailer’s working capital limit is already partially drawn. The available balance might cover part of the order, but not all of it. Requesting a limit enhancement takes days, sometimes weeks, because the bank reassesses your financials.
An instant business loan solves this cleanly. You apply, get approval quickly, and the full amount lands in your account. You buy the inventory, sell it at full margin, and repay the loan over the next few months. The cost of interest on that loan is far less than the profit you would have lost by passing on the deal.
This pattern repeats across industries. A logistics company needs to repair a critical vehicle immediately. A restaurant has to replace kitchen equipment before the weekend rush. A manufacturer lands a large order but needs raw materials upfront. In each case, the need is urgent, specific, and finite. A revolving facility wasn’t built for these moments.
The Hidden Cost of Over-Relying on Working Capital Limits
There’s a psychological trap with revolving credit. Because it’s always available, business owners tend to lean on it for everything, including expenses that really should be financed separately. When you use your overdraft to fund a one-time capital purchase, you reduce the buffer available for daily operations. Then, when a genuine cash flow gap appears the following week, you’re scrambling.
Worse, many working capital limits come with annual renewal. If your financials have dipped, the bank can reduce your limit or decline renewal altogether. If you’ve been using the facility for purposes it wasn’t designed for, your utilisation patterns can actually work against you during the review.
A distinct term loan keeps your working capital limit clean. Your revolving facility handles day-to-day operations. Your loan handles the one-off expense. This separation makes your balance sheet easier to read and your banking relationship easier to manage.
Interest Rate Math That Favours Term Loans
Working capital limits often carry floating interest rates pegged to the bank’s benchmark. The rate adjusts, and over time, especially when monetary policy tightens, your cost of borrowing can creep up without you noticing because you’re only looking at the small daily interest debit.
A fixed-rate term loan gives you certainty. You know exactly what each instalment will be, which makes cash flow forecasting more accurate. For a specific expense with a known amount and a defined payback period, this predictability matters. You can map the repayment against the revenue that expense is expected to generate.
A working capital loan structured as a revolving facility makes sense when your borrowing needs fluctuate week to week. But when you know exactly how much you need and roughly how long it will take to pay back, a term product is almost always cheaper in total interest cost. The discipline of fixed repayments also prevents the slow balance creep that plagues overdraft users.
When Your Facility Is Maxed and Opportunity Knocks
Perhaps the most compelling case is the simplest one. Your existing limit is fully utilised. Business is good, money is coming in, but right now the account is stretched. A new opportunity appears. You can either let it pass or find additional funding fast.
Waiting for a limit increase is not a strategy when timing matters. Applying for a separate short-term loan, getting approval the same day or the next, and funding the opportunity directly is a concrete action with a measurable return. You are not adding long-term debt to your balance sheet. You are financing a specific transaction that pays for itself.
The smartest business owners don’t treat all credit as the same. They match the product to the need. Revolving facilities handle rhythm. Term loans handle moments. Getting that distinction right is one of the quieter advantages a well-run business holds over its competitors.
