The Broadcast Research Council of South Africa (BRC) has released an interim radio dataset (surveyed by Ask Afrika) to the industry. The Radio Audience Measurement Survey (RAMS) has been on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We’re extremely pleased to report that radio listening in South Africa is still healthy after reviewing the first wave of the interim radio data,” says BRC CEO, Gary Whitaker. “Since Q1 2020 and our last data release, although media consumption and listening habits have fluctuated and changed, it remains important to alleviate the pressure of radio data being unavailable to the industry.”
Whitaker stressed that comparisons between RAMS and the interim data is not advised as the design between the two measurements differ as is the comparison of a radio currency (diary) to a non-currency methodology.
The interim data indicates that 95% of the population claim they have listened to the radio and 91% of those say they have listened in the past 7 days; 92% of radio listeners claim they listen at home, which aligns with the nation’s past and present lockdown regulations.
The average amount of radio listening time per day (Monday to Sunday) is three hours and 51 minutes, but Sundays are the most listened-to day in the week averaging out at to just under four hours. Core listening during a work week occurs between 6am and 12pm. On a Saturday, listening extends to 6pm while on a Sunday listening is condensed between 9am and 3pm.
Proving that radio is a trusted source of information as well as entertaining, news and music remain the content genres of choice for radio listeners while most still use radio for companionship, keeping informed and listening to talk shows.
“As a trusted media source, radio is an essential asset in media campaigns, and I believe that this survey has once again proved the value, reach and effectiveness of radio as an advertising medium – even, if not more so, in a pandemic,” Whitaker says. “The research is available and can be freely accessed by Telmar and Nielsen licence holders.”
