Commercial radio’s average weekly metro audiences have climbed by 7.1% to nearly 12 million people during the past four weeks, as coronavirus restrictions have eased, according to a GfK Radio Pulse e-diary survey released today.
 
The research shows commercial radio listeners are up by 786,000 people per week, compared to the second official radio survey of the year that was released in April.
 
Commercial radio reached 82.4% of Australians in the latest study, compared to 76.9% in Survey 2 and an average of 77.3% for all of 2019.

Mark Neely has called time on 40 years in radio and radio audience measurement.
 
He had initially planned to retire on June 30 this year, but when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the research industry, he brought the date forward and retired as of 31^st March.
 
Mark joined WIN Television in 1980 as Agency client service executive, working out of the North Sydney office, and joined AGB McNair Anderson in 1986, taking responsibility for servicing the radio station clients and the ad agencies a year later.

GfK will move to an online survey for the five major capital city markets while the official radio ratings are on hold due to COVID-19.

Triple M Newcastle remains at the top in the latest GfK survey for the Hunter, but NEWFM has seen some encouraging signs.

Canberra’s additional DAB+ digital radio stations, which include Coles Radio, My Canberra Digital, KIX Country, The Edge, Club Lime and Hit Buddha, attract an audience of 54,000 listeners every week, according to GfK’s latest Canberra radio ratings survey.
 

Radio listeners are spending more time with radio throughout COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, listening on average for around 1 hour 46 minutes longer per week compared to the weeks prior to the lockdown.
 
This is according to a GfK analysis of ratings data collected during GfK’s Radio Ratings Survey 2 period and looking at a three-week timeframe before the initiation of Government restrictions compared to a three-week period during the lockdown.1
 
 

Kyle & Jackie O continue to have the numbers in Breakfast while Nova 100 took the mantle as the top station in the five metro markets, overtaking Gold 104.3.

Australian audiences are turning to radio as a critical source of information, entertainment, and connection during the COVID-19 crisis.

 
According to audience listening figures compiled by GfK for Commercial Radio Australia, close to 3 in 4 Australians 18+ are listening to radio the same amount or more during the pandemic.
 
On the downside, 23% of people say they have decreased their in-car listening, while 18% in fact report listening to more than before, as social distancing requirements reduce travel via public transport.

CRA has announced a hold on metropolitan radio surveys after the release of survey 2 on April 16.