The Daily. Wednesday, July 26, 2000

Radio listening

In the fall of 1999, Canadians listened to the radio for an average of 20.5 hours a week, about the same as in the fall of 1998, ending four straight years of decline in radio listening.

Prince Edward Island residents listened to radio the greatest number of hours each week; the lowest listenership was recorded in British Columbia.

Adult males (18 years old or over) listened almost as much as women of the same age. Teenagers' (aged 12 to 17) listening was a little more than one-half that of adults.

Adult contemporary music remains the favorite listening format in the country.

Average listening time varies among provinces

In Prince Edward Island, the average weekly radio listening time increased by almost one hour compared with the fall of 1998, to reach the highest listening time in the country (22.1 hours). In 1998, the longest listening times were recorded in Prince Edward Island and Quebec; previously Quebec had always recorded the longest listening time.

When the data is analyzed according to language, however, anglophone Quebecers' listening was the highest in the country, 23.3 hours a week. Their listening exceeded the listening time of francophone Quebecers by two hours and exceeded the average for all Canadians by almost three hours.

Note to readers The results in this release are based on a survey of 83,268 Canadians aged 12 and over. They were asked to fill out a diary-type questionnaire for seven consecutive days within an eight-week period from September 6 to September 26, October 4 to October 24, and November 1 to November 14, 1999. While the return rate, at 44%, is modest by Statistics Canada standards, it is in line with Canadian and international broadcasting industry practice for audience measurement. Appropriate care in interpretation is recommended. The radio project of Statistics Canada's Culture Statistics Program is a joint venture involving the Market Analysis Division at the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the Broadcasting Policy Branch at Canadian Heritage and the Culture Sub-division of Statistics Canada. The Statistics Canada radio listening data bank integrates files from different sources. The underlying listening data are acquired from the BBM Bureau of Measurement and include the demographics of survey respondents. The CRTC provides the information on the formats of specific stations.

In British Columbia, the average listening time declined slightly from the fall of 1998 to 18.4 hours per week.

Adults listen almost twice as much as teenagers

Listening time and habits differ according to age. Adult men listened to the radio (21.3 hours per week) almost as much as adult women (21.6 hours per week). Teenagers' listening time was the lowest (11.3 hours per week), a little more than half that of adults.

This difference between adults and teenagers concerning habits and listening time is not surprising; adults have easier access to radio during weekdays (at the office, for example). During the week, one-third of the adults listening was between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., and only 9% of teenagers' listening was during these hours. On weekends, teenagers substantially increased their listening time during the day (37%) to reach almost the same proportion as that of adults (40%).

Adult radio listening varies significantly according to employment status. The largest proportion of total adult listening time is attributed to full-time employees (74% for adult males and 54% for adult females). After 3:00 p.m., their listening decreased gradually, and 7:00 p.m. to midnight adult listening levels are at their lowest level, 11%.

Preference for station format varies by province and audience category

The adult contemporary music format continues to dominate, occupying 23% of total listenership. Far behind in second position are the country music and gold/oldies/rock formats, each with 12% of total listenership. These are followed closely by contemporary music (11%), talk (11%) and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (10%).

However, the order of preference of station format varies according to province and audience category. In Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick and British Columbia, adult contemporary music is the first choice of listeners. In all other provinces, country music is the preferred format, especially in Newfoundland, where it is the preference of 55% of the whole listening audience.

Adult contemporary music is especially strong in the 25-to-54 age group. Teenagers, aged 12 to 17, and adults 18 to 24 prefer the contemporary music format. The talk format and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation draw very few listeners from the younger groups. However, as the age of the listeners increases, these formats become popular; they represent the first and second choice, respectively, of seniors 65 and older.

The choice of station format also varies according to the level of education. For example, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has a low listenership (less than 5%) among listeners who have not completed secondary education, but attracts 26% of total listening among those with a university degree. For the country music format, the trend is in the opposite direction.

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Lotfi Chahdi (613-951-3136; fax: 613-951-9040; chahlot@statcan.ca), Culture, Tourism and the Centre for Education Statistics.

Average hours per week of radio listening

Fall 1999

Percentage share of radio listening by station format

Fall 1999