Commercial radio’s weekly audience reached a record 11.2 million listeners in the five metropolitan capital cities last year.
The figures, which represent a 1.3% increase in weekly audiences, have been released by Commercial Radio Australia (CRA) and are based on an average of the eight official GfK radio surveys conducted in 2021.
“Radio continued to be a mainstay for news and entertainment throughout 2021, with trends that commenced during 2020 continuing, including more Australians tuning in from home and growth in the number of listeners during the morning and afternoon periods,” CRA CEO Joan Warner says.
“The summary once again highlights that radio is an effective channel to reach Australians, with its high levels of engagement and influence providing a strong call-to-action medium for advertisers.”
Almost 140,000 listeners were gained in 2021 across multiple platforms. An average of 6.5 million Australians listened to commercial radio at home each week, with the share of listening at home increasing to 50%, up 9% from 2019. Listening to radio in the car remained popular, with 8.8 million Australians tuning in while on the road.
Commercial radio reached 76.3% of all Australians aged 10+ in the five major metro markets. Radio reached 85% of people aged 10-17 each week, 73% of those aged 18-24, 75% of 25-39 year olds, 79% of those in the 40-54 age group, 80% of 55-64 year olds, and 68% of those aged 65 and over.
Morning audiences picked up 54,000 more listeners to 6.3 million people listening and afternoons increased by 80,000 listeners to nearly 7 million listeners each week, overtaking drive on 6.7 million. Breakfast radio remained a popular time to listen with 7.5 million listeners.
Audiences spent a total of 12 hours and 53 minutes listening to commercial radio each week.
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