Radio Increases Share Of Daily Media Consumption
Radio’s share of daily media consumption has increased to 32%, ensuring that it remains the second most consumed media behind TV, according to new research from the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB).
The Radio Days 3 study shows that radio listeners spend around 3.3 hours tuned in to the radio on an average weekday. This is about an hour less than the time they spend watching television, but is nearly five times that spent reading newspapers or magazines.
Radio dominates media consumption at breakfast time, throughout the morning and into the afternoon, whilst television is the most consumed medium in the evenings. Newspapers are most likely to be consumed at breakfast and lunch times.
The study also shows that radio is the most improved medium in terms of quality, with just 4% of respondents feeling that the quality of radio has fallen in recent years, compared to 24% who feel that the quality of TV has declined.
The quality of radio ads also continues to improve, with 60% of listeners now agreeing that some ads on the radio are very noticeable, compared to just 41% three years ago. Magazines have seen a slight increase over this time, although the number of respondents agreeing that some ads are very noticeable on TV and in newspapers has fallen.
Ad avoidance on radio remains much lower that in other media, with only 15% of radio listeners claiming to skip or avoid ads, compared to over 60% for TV and newspapers.
Respondents were also found to tune in to radio programmes using an increasing variety of technologies, including TV, internet and mobile phones. One in three sixteen year-olds said they would listen to the radio via their mobile phone if they could, indicating room for potential growth in this area (see Feature: Radio Makes Waves With New Technology).
Commenting on the research, Lynne Springett, marketplace manager at the RAB, said: “As radio technology evolves, listeners are tuning in through a variety of ways and can now be reached in new listening environments. This research provides valuable insights into the behaviour and attitudes of radio listeners in the new millennium.”
The latest RAJAR audience data for the fourth quarter of 2002 shows that All Radio saw its weekly reach improve by 0.7% year on year, whilst average hours per listener slipped by 2% to 24.2 hours (see RAJAR Results Q4 2002 – All Commercial Radio Sees Share Rise Period On Period).
RAB: 020 7306 2500 www.rab.co.uk
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