Arbitron says radio broadcasters added 2.1 million more weekly listeners in the latest RADAR National Radio Listening Report.
“The report shows radio’s continued strength, with a year-over-year increase of about 2.1 million weekly listeners aged 12 and older,” it said in a summary.
“The number of persons 12 and older listening to radio each week now reaches an estimated 241.6 million, representing 93.1 percent of all persons 12 and older.
“As compared to the March 2010 report, the number of radio listeners increased across all major demographics, with adults aged 18 to 34 showing the biggest gains, demonstrating radio’s continued appeal to young listeners. Adult aged 18 to 34 weekly radio listeners increased nearly 508,000 in the past year, reaching 93.7 percent of all people in this demographic group. The number of teens aged 12 to 17 listening to radio also increased, rising 203,000 in the past year.”
Arbitron said over the course of a week, 92 percent of teens aged 12–17, 94 percent of adults 18–34, and 95 percent of adults 18–49 and 25–54 listen to radio.
These numbers are likely to be used, as they have been before, by radio leaders who feel our medium’s reach generally is underappreciated — though the data reflect only gross number of listeners and not other metrics like time spent listening, which many observers believe has declined in recent years.
