SAARF's RAMS 2001B

The South African Advertising Research Foundation (SAARF) has released radio and television audience figures for 2001, collected by its Radio Audience Measurement Survey (RAMS).

National radio listening trends
Radio listening for individual stations is stable on the previous survey. On average, people listen for 27.5 hours per week, or 3.9 hours a day. The pattern of quarter hour listening is stable, mirroring that of quarter hour listenership in past surveys.

Average day radio listenership in total however, has declined significantly over the previous period, continuing a downward trend from SAARF AMPS 2000A.

Monday to Friday listenership is down on the previous period from 79.5% to 78.3%, especially amongst females and those aged 50+. Saturday listening has declined from 75.6% to 74% of the population, with significant changes occurring amongst the rural, KwaZulu-Natal, female, and 35+ demographics.

Sunday listening is also down, from 73% to 71.9%, particularly amongst Limpopo listeners, females and those aged 50+.

On a station level, there have not been many significant changes in listenership from SAARF RAMS 2001A to 2001B. There have however, been a number of significant year on year changes, looking back to SAARF RAMS 2000B.

  • 702 Talk Radio is down year on year in its Saturday listenership, from 0.6% to 0.4%.
  • Ikwekwezi FM has seen a drop in its Sunday listenership, compared to the year previous (3.1% to 2.7%). It has also seen its 50+ audience decline on a Saturday.
  • Kaya FM 95.9 is showing good growth across the entire week. This growth is not significant on the last survey, but is significant year on year. On Sundays, the station has also had an upward demographic shift in its metropolitan, Gauteng and Johannesburg audiences.
  • Lesedi FM has seen a decline in its Sunday listenership year on year, from 11% to 9.9%.
  • Metro fm's Saturday and Sunday listenership is down year on year - from 10.4% to 9.1%, and from 9.6% to 8.5%. It was noted that a number of weekend DJ and programme changes were made during the fieldwork period.
  • Motsweding FM sees a gain in its Saturday listenership over the year previous, from 6.5% to 7.1%. An upward trend is also starting to develop.
  • P4 Radio KZN 98-100fm is up year on year for the entire week, with Monday to Friday listenership sitting at 0.5%, Saturday at 0.6% and Sunday at 0.5%. The station's audience levels are also trending upward across the whole week.
  • RMFM has seen a significant increase for the year previous on its Monday to Friday audiences (0.3% to 0.5%), and on its Saturday audience (0.2% to 0.5%).
  • The weekly numbers for Thobela FM are significantly down year on year, as well as over the last survey period. Monday to Friday listenership is down from 6.7% in SAARF RAMS 2001A to 6.1%, with lower audiences in rural areas and in Limpopo, but more Johannesburg listeners. The station's weekend listenership is also significantly down year on year and over the last period. On a Saturday current penetration stands at 5.8% from 6.5% in the previous period, and on Sunday, penetration is down from 6.7% to 5.9%. Downward shifts in audience can be seen in the rural areas and Limpopo, and amongst 16-24 and 50+. Thobela FM's losses are in its core broadcast area. According to the programme schedules, no programme changes were noted during the fieldwork period.
  • Ukhozi FM is down significantly year on year for the whole week, with a loss of KwaZulu-Natal listeners on Saturday. Notably, this station made programme changes on a Saturday.
  • Umhlobo Wenene FM has seen a significant decline for the whole week, compared to the year previous. A significant demographic change is a fall-off of Afrikaans speakers on Saturdays.

    Demographic shifts

  • Jacaranda 94.2 FM has seen a reduction in the number of English listeners tuning in on a Sunday. On the whole though, the station is showing an upward trend for Sunday listenership.
  • Ligwalagwala FM has seen an increase in its metro listeners from Monday to Friday.
  • Total community radio remains stable, but has experienced some demographic shifts - fewer KwaZulu-Natal and Bloemfontein listeners from Monday to Friday, fewer Free State and Bloemfontein listeners on Saturdays, and fewer Free State, Bloemfontein and KwaZulu-Natal listeners on Sundays.

    Growing trends
    A number of stations are showing upward trends in listenership. East Coast Radio is trending up on Mondays to Fridays, YFM 99.2 in its Monday to Friday, and Sunday listenership, and 94.7 Highveld Stereo from Monday to Saturday.

    Gauteng radio listening trends

    Thanks to Gauteng's 44 radio stations, the province still has the highest average repertoire of stations - 2.32 per person. Gautengers tune in, on average, on 5.81 days of the week, for an average number of 29.31 hours a week.

    Overall radio listenership in Gauteng was stable throughout the week, with no significant changes. There is however, a downward trend developing across the four periods, from SAARF AMPS 2000A to SAARF AMPS 2001B. The current survey shows 78.5% listenership from Monday to Friday, 72.9% on Saturdays, and 70.5% on Sundays.

    Community radio in the province is stable, although an upward trend across the week is developing.

    Ups and downs in Gauteng
    Only two stations showed significant changes over the last period.
    Kaya FM 95.9 grew its Sunday listenership from 3% in SAARF RAMS 2001A, to 5.1%. Its listenership also grew significantly year on year for Monday to Friday (from 4.2% to 5.9%), and on Saturdays (from 3.9% to 5.9%).

    The second significant change was in community station Rainbow FM 90.7's listenership, which grew from 0% to 0.2%, with 9 000 listeners.
    Three stations show significant audience losses in Gauteng when comparing SAARF RAMS 2001B with SAARF RAMS 2000B:

  • 5fm is down from 5.5% to 4.3% in its Monday to Friday audience, and from 4.8% to 3.6% in its Saturday audience;
  • Metro fm is down from 16% to 14.2% (Monday to Friday), from 16.3% to 13.5% (Saturday), and from 14.8% to 12.7% (Sunday). Saturday audiences have seen a decline in 50+ listeners.
  • Lesedi FM has declined on Sundays from 21.8% to 18.4% (part of a national trend). Its Saturday audience however, has an increased number of males.

    Demographic changes in Gauteng
    Stations showing significant changes to their audience profiles were:

  • Thobela FM - up in Johannesburg on Monday to Friday, and Sunday;
  • Munghana Lonene FM - up in Pretoria on Sunday;
  • Umhlobo Wenene FM - up on Sunday for large urban;
  • YFM 99.2 - up on Saturday for 25-34; and
  • 94.7 Highveld Stereo - up on Sunday for Afrikaans speakers.

    Gauteng's radio shares
    The top 10 Gauteng stations, based on percentage of gross ¼ hours, average Monday to Friday are:
    1 Lesedi FM (14.8%)
    2 Ukhozi FM (10.6%)
    2 Metro fm (10.6%)
    3 94.7 Highveld Stereo (9.8%)
    4 YFM 99.2 (9.0%)
    5 Jacaranda 94.2 FM (5.9%)
    6 Motsweding FM (5%)
    6 Community radio (5%)
    7 Kaya-FM 95.9 (4.6%)
    8 Thobela FM (4.2%)

    Listenership by age in Gauteng
    The top five stations in the 16-34 age group are: Metro fm, with a penetration of 21.3%, followed by YFM 99.2 at 19.3%, Lesedi FM at 12.4%, Ukhozi FM with 11.6%, and in fifth position, 94.7 Highveld Stereo at 10.6%.

    In the 35+ group, the top five are: Lesedi FM (17.1%), Ukhozi FM (13.3%), 94.7 Highveld Stereo (7.8%), Metro fm (7.2%) and Motsweding FM with 6.5% penetration.

    KwaZulu-Natal radio listening trends

    There are 18 radio stations in KwaZulu-Natal. The average number of stations listened to per week is 1.64. On average, people tune in on 6.03 days of the week, for 25.21 hours a week (up from 24.72 hours).
    Listening is stable across the week, except for Saturday listening, which is down significantly over the last survey period (from 79.8% to 76.9%). A significant drop in female listeners has occurred from Monday through to Saturday. On Sunday, significantly fewer people aged 35-49 are tuning in.

    Community radio in total is down significantly on the last survey - from 5.5% to 3.5% penetration.

    Ups and downs in KwaZulu-Natal
    P4 Radio KZN 98-100fm has had significant year on year grow across the whole week. Its Monday to Friday listenership is up from 1.3% to 2.6%. Saturday figures are up from 1.2% to 3.1%, and Sunday is up from 1.3% to 2.6%.

    Ukhozi FM experienced a significant listenership change over the last period. This was for its Saturday listenership, which dropped from 59.6% in SAARF RAMS 2001A, to 56.5% currently. Its Saturday listenership was also down for rural audiences, and year on year. Significant year on year on year declines were also seen in Ukhozi's Monday to Friday, and Sunday listenership.

    Other losses seen from SAARF RAMS 2001A to SAARF RAMS 2001B, were community stations Radio Khwezi (from 1.4% to 0.8%), Radio Maritzburg (from 1.1% to 0.4%), and Radio Phoenix (from 0.9% to 0.4%).
    Two stations show significant audience losses in KwaZulu-Natal when comparing SAARF RAMS 2001B with SAARF RAMS 2000B:
    ·bUmhlobo Wenene FM is down from 3.1% to 2.2% on Saturday, and from 3.4% to 2.0% on Sunday, year on year.
    · Metro fm has seen significant audience fall-off on Sundays in KwaZulu-Natal, going from 13.6% in SAARF RAMS 2000B, to 11% in the current survey.

    KwaZulu-Natal's radio shares
    The following are the top five KZN stations, based on percentage of gross ¼ hours, average Monday to Friday. .

    1 Ukhozi FM (65.7%)
    2 ECR (11.8%)
    3 Metro fm (8.9%)
    4 Lotus FM (3.8%)
    5 P4 Radio KZN 98-100fm (2%)

    Listenership by age in KwaZulu-Natal
    The top five stations in KwaZulu-Natal, in the 16-34 age group are: Ukhozi FM, with a penetration of 62.5%, followed by Metro fm at 17.1%, East Coast Radio at 13.4%, P4 Radio KZN 98-100fm with 3.8%, and in fifth position, Umhlobo Wenene with 3.3%.
    In the 35+ group, the top five are: Ukhozi FM (54.8%), East Coast Radio (10.3%), Lotus FM (6.4%), Metro fm (5.3%) and community radio with 2% penetration.

    Western Cape radio listening trends

    Twenty six stations were measured in the Western Cape, two less than in the previous period. The average number of stations listened to per week remains stable at 1.8. The average number of days on which people listen to radio is 5.5 per week, which equates to 23.45 hours a week (up from 23.35).

    Listening patterns in this province are extremely stable, with only one significant change coming through, for Bush Radio, which grew its audience from 1.1% to 2% over the last period.

    One demographic shift came through, for Kfm 94.5 which has grown its rural audience on the previous survey period.

    Two stations are trending upwards - Metro fm in it's Monday to Friday audience, and Radio 786/Voice of the Cape in its Saturday audience.

    Western Cape's radio shares
    The top 10 Western Cape stations, based on percentage of gross ¼ hours, average Monday to Friday are:
    1 Kfm 94.5 (19.1%)
    2 GHFM (16.2%)
    3 RSG (14.5%)
    4 Community radio (13.1%)
    5 Umhlobo Wenene FM (12.8%)
    6 Metro fm (5.2%)
    6 5fm (5.2%)
    7 P4 Radio Cape Town 100-108fm (4.6%)
    8 SAfm (2.4%)
    9 Cape Talk (2.3%)

    Listenership by age in the Western Cape
    The top five stations in the Western Cape, in the 16-34 age group are: GHFM (22.4%), Kfm 94.5 (15.4%), Umhlobo Wenene FM (12%), Metro fm (9.8%) and community radio (9.2%).
    In the 35+ group, the top five are: RSG (17.1%), community radio (15.3%), Kfm 94.5 (15.2%), GHFM (11.5%), and 5fm (9.5%).

    National TV viewing trends

    South African adults watched an additional 18 minutes of television, taking their average time spent watching to 24.9 hours per week, with an average of 3.6 hours a day.

    The pattern of quarter hour viewing is stable, mirroring that of quarter hour viewership in past surveys.

    TV viewership in general is very stable across the week, though trending slightly upwards for Monday to Friday, and Sunday. Patronage currently stands at 64.9% from Monday to Friday, 63.6% for Saturday, and 62.7% on Sundays.

    On a station level however, there has been considerable movement. e.tv continues to grow its patronage, as it has done over the last four periods. It is now within two percentage points of being the second biggest station in South Africa.

    It now commands 19.4% of viewers on a Monday to Friday, up from 16.7% in SAARF AMPS 2001A. These figures correlate well with TAMS data. e.tv's audience has grown in the Western and Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, and North West, as well as in Cape Town and Kimberley, and in the 16-49 age group.

    E.tv's Saturday audience is also up, from 17.8% to 20.1%, with increases in its Western, Eastern and Northern Cape, North West, Cape Town, Pietermaritzburg, and 16-49 year-old markets. Sunday viewership is up from 14.8% to 17.6%, again with a number of demographic gains (urban, Western and Eastern Cape, Free State, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, Cape Town, Reef, and 16-49).

    M-Net has seen a significant decline in its Monday to Friday viewership over the last period, from 6.7% to 6.1%, especially in metros. M-Net's audience has also declined on a Sunday (from 7.9% to 6.6%), but remains stable on a Saturday. DStv viewership is stable on the weekend, except for an increase in Afrikaans viewers on a Sunday.

    The top 10 channels watched through DStv are, in order of audience size:
    1. SuperSport 1 on DStv (1.4%)
    2. Movie Magic (1.2%)
    3. M-Net channel on DStv (0.9%)
    4. Discovery channel (0.9%)
    5. Movie Magic 2 (0.8%)
    6. SABC 2 on DStv (0.8%)
    7. SuperSport 2 on DStv (0.7%)
    8. SABC 3 on DStv (0.7%)
    9. SABC 1 on DStv (0.6%)
    10. BBC Prime (0.5%)

    SABC 1's Monday to Friday viewership is stable. During the week however, SABC 2 and 3 have both seen significant decreases. SABC 2 is down to 21.2% from 22.3% in the last survey. Declines are seen especially amongst males and English speakers. SABC 3 has dropped from 15.4% to 14.4%, with declines in its metro, female, and Afrikaans audiences.

    Weekend viewing of SABC 1 and SABC 3 is stable, with a decline in English viewers for the former on Saturday. SABC 2 sees declines over both Saturday and Sunday, from 25.8% to 23.3%, and from 24.8% to 23.2%. These declines have occurred in the channel's urban, 16-24, and 50+ viewership groups, and in the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Gauteng, Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria. Shifts in Sunday viewers can be seen in its metro, Western Cape, small towns and villages, Reef, female, and the 16-24 and 50+ markets.

    Bop TV is stable across the whole week, with a decline in 16-24 year-old viewers on a Saturday.

    Channels' share
    Television shares, based on percentage of gross ¼ hours, average Monday to Friday, have remained constant on the previous diary period.
    The top channels according to share of time viewed are:
    1 SABC 1 (50.3%)
    2 e.tv (16.4%)
    3 SABC 2 (14.4%)
    4 SABC 3 (9.5%)
    5 M-Net (total) (4.8%)
    6 DStv (3.8%)
    7 Bop TV (0.8%)

    • Source: SAARF


     
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