Russians listen to the radio less often

Average daily radio coverage in Russia continues to decline, as does daily listening time. Market participants explain the trend by the lack of new formats, the transition of consumption to the Internet, as well as a decrease in the purchasing power of the population – Russians are postponing the purchase of cars, and radio consumption through a car receiver has always been the leader. Media holdings expect to improve the situation by attracting a younger audience who are starting to listen to radio through smart speakers: consumption of this format has grown by 10–15% over the year.

“Kommersant” got acquainted with the data from Mediascope (Russia 100+) on the indicators of daily listening (TSL Dly – Time Spent Listening Daily, minutes) and daily coverage (Reach Dly, %) of the radio. It follows from them that the Reach Dly indicator decreased by 0.7%, to 53.5%, TSL Dly – by 15 minutes, to 229 minutes. The rate of daily listening fell the most in January-June 2023, the Russian Academy of Radio (RAR) noted in an industry report in January: the decrease in TSL Dly for the period relative to January-June 2022 was 32 minutes. The main contribution to the decrease in average daily coverage comes from the target groups 30–39 and 40–49 years old, the RAR clarified.

The European Media Group (“Europe Plus”, “Road Radio”, “Retro FM”, “New Radio”) noted that 2022 was “difficult in terms of agenda”, the popularity of information radio stations was growing. The trend is also influenced by the lack of new formats, a Kommersant source close to one of the media holdings is sure: “The viewer goes to music streaming, where you can find tracks, podcasts, on YouTube, RuTube, where you can find news and analytics.” The audience of thematic radio stations, he clarifies, decreased by 56–64% in 2022.

But 2023 “gradually brought back” people, Kommersant’s interlocutor believes: “This is explained by the majority of Russians leaving the hybrid format of work or remote work – in the majority they prefer to listen to music on the way to work, rather than information noise.”

In general, the decrease in daily listening and average daily audience figures is indeed explained by a decrease in consumption in cars, Kommersant’s interlocutor in the media market agrees: “The purchasing power of the population has decreased, people have stopped actively buying personal vehicles.” Thus, many Russians in 2023 postponed the purchase of a car due to the geopolitical situation, noted in B1 (see “Kommersant” on February 19): 8% of respondents completely abandoned the purchase, another 57% postponed it for one or two years. The local increase in auto sales in February (see material on page 1) probably does not indicate a change in the longer-term trend.

At the same time, says Roman Emelyanov, general director of the European Media Group, the audience is partially migrating: “We are seeing a trend toward growth in listening to radio through gadgets and the Internet.” Thus, the growth in listening to the group’s stations using smart speakers was 21% in 2023 compared to 2022, says Mr. Emelyanov. VGTRK (manages Radio Russia, Mayak, Vesti FM, Radio Culture) did not answer Kommersant.

Consumption of radio stations through a car receiver is still in the lead, but is declining annually, while consumption through smart speakers is growing annually by 10–15%, confirms a top manager of one of the radio stations: “For a long time, we focused on audiences with their own transport. The pandemic has shown that the main focus should be on gadgets and smart devices.” Therefore, Kommersant’s interlocutor says, his company is now actively promoting through social networks and is considering integration with online cinemas.

General Director of Gazprom-Media Radio Vadim Tereshchuk (GPM Radio, manages Avtoradio, Energy, Humor FM, Сomedy Radio, etc.) is confident that as a result, coverage is decreasing slightly: “At the same time, there is an increase both daily, and weekly listening in the audience of 12-19 years old, and it is growing in the overall demographic structure.” Therefore, the company expects growth in the next few years. To support the interests of the audience, GPM Radio “adapts content to changing trends in audio consumption.” The top manager did not disclose how exactly.

Yulia Yurasova