"We're extremely pleased to report that radio listening in South Africa is still healthy after reviewing the first wave of the interim radio data," says BRC's CEO Gary Whitaker. "Since Q1 2020 and our last data release, it remains important to alleviate the pressure of radio data being unavailable to the industry, even though media consumption and listening habits have fluctuated and changed."

The BRC says that it does, however, need to be stressed that comparisons between RAMS and the Interim data are not advised, as the design between the two measurements differ as is the comparison of a radio currency (diary) to a non-currency methodology.

The interim data indicates that 95% of the population claim that they have ever listened to the radio and 91% of those that have ever listened, claim to have listened in the past 7 days; 92% of radio listeners claim that they listen at home, which aligns with our nation's past and present lockdown regulations.

The average amount of radio listening time per day (Monday to Sunday) is three hours and 51 minutes, but Sundays are the most listened to day in the week, averaging out at just under four hours.

Core listening during a workweek occurs between 06:00 and midday. On a Saturday, listening extends to 18:00, while on a Sunday listening is condensed between 09:00 and 15:00.

"As a trusted media source, radio is an essential asset in media campaigns and I believe that this survey has once again proved the value, reach and effectiveness of radio as an advertising medium. This is even, if not more so, in a pandemic," concludes Whitaker. "The research is available and can be freely accessed by Telmar and Nielsen license holders."

For more information, visit www.brcsa.org.za