Radio Bite: Looking back at lockdown

Radio is a powerful and often underused platform for advertisers. During these unprecedented times our Radio Bites series will give compelling reasons for brands to continue to be heard on the airwaves and why consumers will be listening.

RAJAR’s special new report, Listening in Lockdown, explores how radio listening changed during different periods of lockdown between March and June.

We now know that radio listening increased quickly in the immediate weeks of lockdown in March, while by late April almost a third of participants in RAJAR’s tracking panel claimed to be listening to more radio than previously – specifically, 20% more hours in an average week for that group.

At the end of May, the number and length of listening sessions was still higher than before lockdown. Those individuals that listened to more radio through this extended lockdown period were listening to 4% more in an average week.

An earlier Bite at the start of June considered that media consumption is settling down into a new normal, with MediaCom’s Chief Strategy Officer Geoff de Burca predicting at our Tuning In Livestream in May that the surge in radio listening will continue, as the rise in numbers of people working from home also sticks around.

Whether the new breakfast peak returns to 8am or not, radio will continue to be a strong platform for advertisers, especially with listeners engaging for longer. It will also remain a companion and a comfort to listeners in times of need, as well as the most trusted medium for news and information.