According to the latest Radio Audience Measurement (RAM) survey by GfK in partnership with Commercial Radio Malaysia (CRM), the appeal of radio remains strong with 20.2 million listeners tuning in for an average of 12 hours every week in the first half of the year.
The latest survey was conducted over six weeks from Feb 18 to March 30, covering 6,000 unique individuals aged 10 years and above, in Peninsular Malaysia.
“Some 14 million listeners are tuning into their car radio in a week while home-listening remains prevalent with 12.6 million weekly listeners. This radio-focused survey collects detailed information on the breakdown of live radio listening every 15 minutes for a week, including when and where they tune in. The ability to analyse and plan for every quarter-hour enables radio networks, media agencies and advertisers to make more informed decisions about their radio campaigns,” GfK said in a statement.
FM radio sets continued to be the most common way to access radio, with 17.9 million listeners tuning in, followed by 3.4 million via televisions and mobile phones as well as personal computers or tablets.
Drive segments (Monday to Friday, 4pm to 8pm) attracted the highest number of listeners, with a weekly audience of 13.7 million listeners, while breakfast segments (Monday to Friday, 6am to 10am) achieved 13.2 million listeners.
In terms of language, Malay stations have maintained their lead with 13.2 million weekly listeners, followed by Chinese language stations (4.4 million), English language stations (3.4 million) and Tamil language stations (1.6 million) listeners.
CRM vice-president Rizal Sahimy said radio remains relevant among Malaysians throughout the year, including during festive seasons and school holidays for music as well as entertainment at home or on the move.
He said this was seen in RAM Wave 1 2024 with the first three weeks of school holidays and second three weeks of Ramadan.
Radio listening patterns during Ramadan revealed more people listened to the radio earlier in the morning (Monday to Sunday, 5am to 6am) with 1.1 million listeners tuning in and during the breaking fast period (Monday to Friday, 7pm to 8pm).
GfK Media Measurement Lead – Malaysia, June Pang said radio also has the ability to adapt accordingly in meeting the expectations and demands of audiences while continuing to attract listeners across all ages to tune in wherever and whenever they are.
Radio has also demonstrated a high social media engagement, with 7.2 million people claiming they have read or interacted with a radio station’s/show’s/presenter’s social media page in the past month.