Malaysia, 24 May 2022 – The Radio Audience Measurement conducted by GfK in the first half of 2022, in partnership with Commercial Radio Malaysia (CRM), revealed that there are 21,273,000 radio listeners every week, each spending an average of 13 hours and 36 minutes tuned in. 

The most recent survey conducted over six weeks from February 28 to April 2 polled 6,000 unique individuals aged 10 years and above in Peninsular Malaysia. GfK utilised 4,500 paper diaries and 1,500 e-diaries to collect valuable insights on the strength and scope of radio listening across the country.

The lifting of COVID-19 restrictions across the country and resumption of normalcy in daily lives and businesses have helped drive radio consumption to a higher level. Results from the study revealed a rise in radio listening across all locations. Both in-car and elsewhere listening have returned to pre-COVID level, with 16,088,000 registered weekly car-listeners, while elsewhere recorded 1,205,000. 15,424,000 listeners continue to tune in to radio at home every week, followed by 2,274,000 who listen to radio at their workplace.

One of the key reasons driving the popularity of radio is its appeal as an essential medium that keeps society connected. More than half of radio listeners (53 per cent) said that besides music, their favourite radio station gives them lifestyle support and company that makes them feel better. In addition, more than 1 in 5 of millennials (25-39 years old) said that their favourite radio station gives them information and exclusive interviews that they cannot get anywhere else.

The radio industry has successfully adapted to the new normal in the last two years, introducing innovative new segments to engage with listeners. The GfK study shows the breakfast timeslot (Monday to Friday, 6am to 10am) recording the highest number of listeners at 15,315,000, with the drive segment (Monday to Friday, 4pm to 8pm) and morning segment (Monday to Friday, 10am to 1pm) trailing closely behind at nearly 14,960,000 and 13,264,000 listeners respectively. Monday to Friday, 8pm to 12 midnight segments recorded the highest growth in listenership, with 8,458,000 listeners; contributing an increase by 36 per cent compared to results from the previous wave.

“Radio has once again proven to be an evergreen medium that is constantly evolving, adapting to changing conditions. Its wide reach and ability to engage its listeners makes it an effective medium for information dissemination to the masses.” said Dhan Andreas, President of Commercial Radio Malaysia.

The GfK survey also revealed that the 25 to 39 age segment, which totaled 6,571,000 listeners, are spending more time tuned in, with an average listener spending more than 14 hours listening to radio in a week. 83 per cent (5,429,000) of them are listening to radio in the car on an average week, while home-listeners make up 67 per cent (4,428,000) weekly.

With digital solutions on the rise during the pandemic, radio remains the most dynamic and engaging mediums, continuously offering its consumers new ways of interaction. Results of the study affirmed that radio is far more wide reaching than just on-air interaction. 6,270,000 people said that they have engaged with the social media page of radio stations in the past month. Among the activities, watching video content on a radio station’s social media page emerged top with 50,012,000 netizens claiming that they have done so in the past month.

FM radio sets remained the most popular way to access radio with 19,447,000 weekly listeners. According to the study, an increasing number are accessing radio via television and mobile phones, which registered a growth in audience size to 5,041,000 and 3,794,000 weekly listeners respectively.

“Local coverage, trust, mobility and its ability to foster participation and engagement in the community are some of the reasons why radio will continue to stay relevant and play an important role to listeners’ daily lives” concluded June Pang, Malaysia Media Measurement Lead at GfK.

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GfK Radio Audience Measurement Wave 1 2022 (20th February 2022 till 2nd April 2022) versus GfK Radio Audience Measurement Wave 1 2021 (5th September 2021 till 16th October 2021).