Commercial radio recording highest audiences on record

Commercial radio gained 844,000 listeners in the GfK Survey 4 to reach a cumulative weekly audience of 12 million, the highest figure recorded and a 7.6% jump over the past year.

Nearly 5.8 million people listened to commercial radio via digital platforms (DAB+ and streaming), up 24% compared to last year.

Commercial Radio Australia CEO Ford Ennals said: “This is an outstanding result with a record number of Australians listening to commercial radio, almost 850,000 more listeners than last year.

"Commercial radio growth is being driven by radio’s digital evolution with the number of people listening via digital streaming up 34% year on year and via DAB+ up by 27%.

“There was increased listening to commercial radio across all ages with a solid increase in younger listeners with 79% of 18-24s tuning in weekly.

"One in five of this age group listened to commercial DAB+ stations during the survey period, up 63% compared to a year ago.”

Overall 80% of Australians 10+ tuned into commercial radio each week across the five metros with strong growth across all parts of the day. There was also a 7% lift in breakfast audiences, an 11% increase in mornings (9AM to midday) and a 12.2% surge in weekends.