Radio Listening Habits Audience Research

Last week, I conducted a survey about people's radio listening habits. the goal of this task was to highlight any patterns that emerged in people's listening habits and also to highlight trends in the types of radio stations and also individual stations themselves that they would prefer to listen to. The survey was taken by of a sample of 24 people, with 3 people from each age category of:

-12 and Under

-13-17

-18-25

-26-35

-36-45

-46-55

-56-65

-65+

Additionally, I asked why people listened to the radio, in order to investigate the reasons of usage of radio by listeners in the UK. Also, I asked where and how they listened to the radio in order to show the different forms of access people have to Radio in the UK. I believe focusing on these area in the survey have produced accurate results that could be used as a reflection on the whole UK and also can be analysed to identify facts and trends, as I have done so below in graphing some of my results:

This first graph shows the results from the question: 'Which type of radio station do you listen to the most weekly?' for each age category. The aim of this question was to show how your age influences the stations that which you choose to listen to most regularly.

This particular graph shows that overall, National Radio is the station that the sample I interviewed listened to most, in a week, on average. This is not a surprising piece of data as National Radio stations can be accessed by a far larger population than a local station can, and so, will be able to be listened to far easier and in more ways in comparison to a specific local, or community station. For example, BBC National Radio Stations can be accessed via Analog Radio (FM) which can be used in cars, at home etc, it can be accessed online 24/7 on smart phones via the official app, or simply via a reliable Wi-Fi signal and it can also be accessed on the DAB platform.

This portrays how the Radio Industry is changing because as technology progresses, National Radio ensures that their stations are available on these new devices, or forms of technology, to ensure they maintain their large audiences. However, this means that smaller radio stations, such as community radio are being heavily neglected by listeners, as shown by the graph above. It portrays that people above the age of 56 will listen to the station far more than those younger than it, as within my survey, only those older than 56 chose it as the type of radio station they listen to most regularly within a week. Smaller, community stations don't have the budget to broadcast their services upon different platforms, usually other than just FM or DAB radio, as they do not run off profit, but volunteers etc. This therefore means that community stations will rarely receive a younger audience as it is unavailable to listen to, on the platforms they are most likely to access, such as online or via app. The only way in which they may receive a younger audience is if the content of the station is targeted directly at young people as a specific group (making it their chosen target audience.)

Also, as you will see, regional radio isn't favoured by the age group of 46-55 year olds within the sample. This shows that people within that age bracket prefer national or local radio stations. This may be because the content that local radio produces is far more appealing to them and more specific to their location. Therefore, they may favour it as they only want to listen to content that is appropriate to them and their geographical area, not what is being broadcast nationally. This could also highlight the debate that the older we get, the less we wish to feel involved in the fast paced regional broadcasting and instead would prefer to receive more concentrated (geographical) radio from a local station.

This second graph compares my results for the reasons why people listen to the radio and what they wish to gain from listening to the radio, it came from the question 'Why do you mainly listen to the radio?':

As you can see, the most popular reason on average among all age groups is for entertainment purposes. This proves that the majority of people in the UK still listen to the radio simply for entertainment/fun and so, want the programme to be as entertaining as possible. Fortunately, this proves that the radio industry is still continuing strongly in the current economic state of the country, as listening for entertainment applies across the age ranges and isn't concentrated on the younger categories only, which surprised me. 

Also, from this question in my survey, it is clear that listening to the radio for news, both travel and general is incredibly popular for those aged 46-65. Both categories covering this age bracket have 2 people in them listening for news purposes, proving that generally, middle aged people pr fer to listen to the radio for news, much more so than those younger than 45. This may be as it is of more interest and relevance to those of this age bracket, as travel updates for example would barely apply to those in the 12 and Under and 13-17 categories, but would be for those above 45, who are likely to be needing travel updates and wanting to view news updates far regularly than younger people.

These two graphs could be linked, as more people above the age of 45 may listen to the radio mainly for news updates more so than those under the age of 45 due to the type of radio they listen to. Community and local radio is highly favoured by those over 45 on the first graph, which could therefore reflect the purpose for which they listen to the radio for. Local stations are far more likely to be broadcasting accurate travel information for a smaller geographical area that the listener is in, than national radio, who have travel updates that are incredibly more generalised to a national audience. Local stations will therefore be listened to mainly for local news and information, as their entertainment on offer will not be as wide ranged or of good quality than that of a national radio station with a much larger budget.

Therefore, these two graphs can clearly explain one another and show how age and location can impact upon the type of station you listen to most regularly, why you listen to it, and vice versa also.

So, until next time,

Livvy