TGI: Digital radio listeners
In his latest report for MediaTel NewsLine, TGI media analyst James McCombe reveals that digital radio continues to grow and deliver an attractive audience…
The proportion of British adults who listen to digital radio has reached 19.4 million – equivalent to 39% of the population – according to the latest data from TGI. This represents an 11% rise from last year’s figure of 17.4 million people.
The popularity of DAB appears to have had a positive impact on overall radio listening. TGI data shows that the number of British adults tuning in at least once a week has climbed from 33.9m last year to 34.1m in 2009, while two-thirds of people who listen to DAB say they listen to the radio every day.
Digital radio listeners are a third more likely to be amongst the heaviest 20% of consumers for radio overall. They are also 25% more likely to be in the top 20% for cinema and a fifth more likely to be in the top 20% for internet use. They are, however, less likely than the average to be heavy consumers of television.
More than half (55%) of digital radio listeners use a DAB radio at home, whilst 29% have a digital car radio. More than a quarter (26%) listen through their TV set, 16% listen online, and 7% use a personal DAB digital radio.
The way in which people listen to digital radio varies with age. Two-thirds of digital listeners aged 60 or above use a DAB set at home, compared with 45% or those aged under 30. In contrast, a third of digital listeners under 30 listen to DAB in the car or through a TV set, compared to only a quarter of those in the older age groups. The age group most likely to listen online is 30-39 – more than a fifth do so – whilst the technology with the biggest skew toward the younger end of the market is portable DAB. Those who listen to a portable DAB radio are 30% more likely than the average digital listener to be under 30.
Digital radio listeners are an attractive audience to advertisers. With a 50/50 male-female split, they are 20% more likely than average to be under 30 and a fifth more likely to be in the highest social grade (A). In addition, eight-hundred thousand of digital radio listeners have a personal income of at least £50,000.
London has the highest proportion of digital radio listeners at 44% of adults, followed by the East and West Midlands, East Anglia and the North West. The South West and Scotland have the lowest proportion of listeners at only 34% of residents.
Certain radio stations are more popular with digital listeners than others. Two-thirds of those who listen to Absolute Radio (on at least one day a week) and 63% of those who listen to BBC Radio 5 Live use DAB. In contrast, only 47% of those who listen to BBC local radio and 48% of those who listen to Classic FM use digital technology.