You've reached our premium or archival content
To access this page, and more great content just like it, you need to become a paid subscriber.
If you already have an account, please login.
Otherwise, registration is quick and you'll have access instantly after payment.
The graph showing the cumes before the covid19 and during the covid19 pandemic for radio listening audiences show a pattern of:
* Between 0600 and 0800, there were more listeners before the pandemic than during the pandemic.
* After 0830 and up to 1500, more people listened to the radio during the pandemic than before the pandemic.
* There was very little difference to listening habits between 1500 and 1600, and between 1900 and 2000 before and during the pandemic. What are listeners' habits during 1500-1600 and 1900-2000?
* In the evening, more people tuned to radio before the pandemic than during the pandemic. There does not seem to be a simple explanation why listenership is down. Perhaps listeners are viewing other media such as TV, dvd/blu-ray/vod consumption, reading a book or going to sleep.
However, in light of the increase in audience share of ratings for talk stations such as 2GB. The curves also do not take into account the patterns of listenership to other talk radio stations including ABC702 (2BL), NewsRadio and RN especially in their coverage of the current pandemic.
For stations whose listenership during the crisis has increased between 0800 and 1500, it may be a boon for sales department to sell the prospective clients the benefits of advertising between these times.
In summary, the story of listeners' habits may well be the rule of thumb on when to sell advertising time during the 0800-1500 period during an epidemic, particularly when listeners are locked down at home and working from home.
The unknown factor is when the lockdowns are relaxed and people are returning to work and school, will the listenership curves return to pre-pandemic patterns?
On the other hand, for those whose occupations are capable of being conducted at home rather than an office, there may be the case where the employer and worker agree that the worker can work from home because it is more productive than working in an office. In this case, the pattern of listenership during the pandemic may well continue post pandemic.
Therefore, when the pandemic is over, the listenership patterns may well be different because there will be workers who can continue to work at home and workers who cannot work at home such as tradespeople, retail workers and those in non-essential services.
More research needs to be conducted on listenership after the pandemic.
Thank you,
Anthony of analytical Belfield