The number of Kenyans who listen to radio daily has declined over the first three quarters of the 2023-24 financial year, a new survey shows.
The audience measurement and industry trends report released by the Communications Authority shows that generally, radio consumption remained steady over the period under review to stand at 14 per cent in Q1 and Q2 and 15 per cent in Q3.
However, the findings show that radio listenership daily took a marginal plunge from a high of 58 per cent in Q1 to 57 per cent in Q2 and dropped even further to 52 per cent in Q3.
“The media consumption patterns observed in Q1 2023-24 and Q2 2023-24 indicate a consistent daily engagement for TV (57 per cent in both quarters) and radio (58 per cent in Q1 2023-24 and 57 per cent in Q2 2023-24), with a little reduction to 52 per cent in Q3 2023-24 for both TV and radio,” the report says.
The survey, however, shows that radio listenership at least once a week grew over the period under review from 24 per cent in Q1 2023-24 to 26 per cent in Q2 2023-24 and rose by two percentage points to 28 per cent in Q3 2-2023-24.
A similar upward trajectory was also noted amongst respondents who said they listen to the radio once a month.
Those in this group grew steadily in numbers from a low of 4 per cent in Q1 2023-24 to 5 per cent in Q2 2023-24 and again rose to 6 per cent in Q3 2023-24.
Demographically, radio is widely listened to in the rural areas compared to urban areas.
Demographically, radio is widely listened to in the rural areas compared to urban areas (72 per cent in Q1 2023-24; 70 per cent in Q1 2023-24 and 71 per cent in Q1 2023-24).
The figures stand at 28 per cent 30 per cent and 29 per cent in Q1, Q2 and Q3 respectively in urban areas.
Agewise, the 25-34-year olds are the biggest consumers of radio at 26 per cent across all the quarters followed by the 18-24-year olds at 22, 22 and 21 per cent across the three quarters.
In terms of gender, the report shows that more males than females listen to radio with the numbers standing at 51 per cent in both Q1 and Q2 and 52 per cent in Q3.
Comparatively, only 49 per cent of females listened to the radio over the two first quarters of the period under review with the number dropping marginally to 48 per cent in the third quarter.
