Radio audience engagement higher during summer, study finds

Radio engagement heats up over summer, with almost 9 in 10 listeners tuning in as much or more often over the summer months in Australia.

Although typically a time when regular on-air talent takes time off, audience engagement is higher.

Figures in CfK’s latest Radio Insights Summer Listening report show that radio reaches 62% of listeners at their holiday destination, while 50% of those surveyed strongly agreed that they would be more likely to listen to media than watch it while on vacation.

Commercial Radio Australia CEO Joan Warner says the summer survey shows that people are often more engaged with radio when they have spare time on holiday.

“People are listening to the radio as they travel and are tapping into the local community at their holiday destinations for information and entertainment,” Ms Warner said.

The report also showed that when choosing a radio station over summer, music (88%) and entertainment (86%) were the most important things that listeners considered.

Radio listeners aged 18-24 were also more likely to increase their monetary spending over summer.

“The Summer Insights once again shows radio is very effective over the summer period in reaching consumers even when they are out of their regular routine,” added Warner.

The GfK Radio Insights Summer Listening Q1 2018 is available here.