National spot radio revenue through June 30 is pacing more than 16 percent higher from one year ago.

National spot radio's top seven categories (excluding political) represent 90 percent of all revenue and are all pacing up in the third quarter over 2009, with the exception of entertainment. Consumer products, auto, professional services, retail and telecom are all up double digits in the second and third quarters.

Leading the spending into the third quarter are Verizon, Safeway, Geico, Supervalu, AT∓T, O'Reilly's, Home Depot, Wal-Mart, JP Morgan Chase, Scotts, Panera, PNC Bank, Allstate, Comcast, Fox, Cricket Communications, American Express, Honda and Dodge.

Radio's continuing momentum is evident across the country as all market groupings are pacing up double digits in the third quarter. Currently, 85 of the top 100 markets are pacing ahead of this time last year.

While demand and pricing vary by market, the increase in demand is forcing prices up. Based on a tracking of markets representing about 90 percent of the industry's sales, June YTD pricing is up mid-to-high single digits. Katz predicts the increased demand from core advertisers is likely to intensify with the August-October political rush.