CRA releases GfK Survey 7 results

Australia’s GfK Survey 7 of five major metro markets has revealed that 12.14 million people listened to commercial radio each week, beating the all-time high of 12.1 million recorded in GfK Survey 6 released at the end of September. This is the eighth consecutive rise in cumulative audience growth. 

The number listening in the car rose 17%, year-on-year, to 9.69 million. Almost a third of commercial radio listening is in the vehicle, averaging 5 hours 22 minutes per week. The number of Australians tuning in at work soared 49% to more than 2.47 million people.

“We’re delighted that commercial radio is continuing to break audience records, and the latest survey suggests 965,000 more people are listening to commercial stations each week compared to last year during Covid,” said Commercial Radio & Audio chief executive officer Ford Ennals.  

Breakfast, weekend and DAB+ figures

Commercial radio weekend audiences increased by 1.3 million, up 15% to a total of 9.8 million compared to a year ago. The number of listeners at breakfast also recorded impressive growth, reaching nearly 8.5 million Australians aged ten and older — an increase of almost 1.5 million or 21% from last year. 

Commercial DAB+ stations again performed strongly with almost 2.8 million weekly listeners, up 28%, with breakfast audiences listening on DAB+ having more than doubled over the last year to over 1 million. 

Ennals said the survey suggests that listeners listen across various stations and widen their favorite stations to include DAB+ stations. The survey results also show that listeners are accessing their favorite stations through multiple platforms — the survey shows continued growth in online listening. “This is a move from traditional radio listening that tended to circulate around people having only one or two favorite stations they would listen to throughout the day. Consumers are now more likely to have a favorite breakfast show, several stations for music and a favorite drive show.”