With 3.2 million people listening daily, radio remains the dominant audio player in Ireland during Covid 19. More people in Ireland are listening to radio than this time last year. The latest Joint National Listenership Results have been released and cover the period October 2019 to September 2020. Radio continues to dominate the audio landscape in Ireland despite increased competition from other platforms. With an increase of 38,000 year on year, 3,187,000 adults now listen to radio daily.
Chairperson of Choose Radio Gabrielle Cummins has welcomed the latest survey results “we often talk about the unique human interaction that radio provides consistently to millions of people in Ireland each day. During Covid 19, however, that reliable, trusted friend provided vital information and entertained so many of us, at times when we needed it most. The unique value that radio provides to people has really been accentuated during these exceptional times”.
Gabrielle Cummins has also paid tribute to the work behind the scenes at every radio station in Ireland, highlighting that “hundreds of journalists and content creators the length and breadth of the country had to change how they delivered news and entertainment to their much-valued listeners during this pandemic. Our interaction with our loyal audience remained a two-way process throughout Covid 19 and we’ve never taken that special relationship for granted. We’ve heard both the harrowing and heartening stories from our listeners; we’ve been there to listen and share those unique stories. We believe our radio stations have played a key role in strengthening that community spirit which has been to the fore so much during Covid 19.”
The survey conducted by Ipsos MRBI involved a reduced face to face interview panel of 12,200 compared with pre-Covid panel of over 16,000. Due to Covid-19 restrictions imposed earlier this year, there was no interviewing conducted in Quarter 2 (April, May and June 2020). This means the report incorporates 9-months of data across the 12-month period Oct ’19 to Sept ’20.
The message from the Choose Radio group remains focused on the fact that radio’s dominant position in Ireland means it continues to provide a powerful commercial audio offering. Unlike some of its competitors, the group highlights that radio has continued to deliver important messaging promptly, has adapted easily; and at a time when every business owner is cautious about advertising spend, radio remains solid value for money.
People continue to listen to radio for over four hours daily and they’re listening in new ways, with 330,000 now listening on non AM/FM platforms. Evolving radio remains omnipresent.