MUMBAI: Radio has always been a constant companion to everyone, both in good and tough times. It is one medium that has a PAN India reach right from the grassroot level to the metros.

According to the latest research by AZ Research PPL across a sample size of 3300 people among 18+ UA population, 82% people have been tuning in to radio during COVID-19, with FM channels emerging as the second most credible source of information for the masses. As per the research, radio has a credibility score of 6.27, second only to the internet which is at 6.44 and TV at 5.74. Time spent listening to radio increases to 2.36 hours everyday

Infact, the radio industry witnesses a listenership of 51 million people, which is nearly as much as television’s reach of 56 million and social media’s reach of 57 million. A few more noteworthy highlights of the research include radio’s at home listenership which has increased by 22% and has grown from 64% to 86%. The time that people spend listening to radio has increased by 23% to 2.36 hours everyday during the lockdown, second only to television.

According to Anuradha Prasad, President of the Association of Radio Operators for India (AROI), “Radio has always been a powerful medium to reach the masses at all times. The findings of this study go on to show how important radio is, especially in a country like India. I am immensely grateful for the constant love and support that we have received all through the years. We will collectively keep trying to do our best, even in tough times like these.”

Nisha Narayanan, Director & COO, Red FM and Magic FM, said, “Radio has been playing a much bigger role, it has been able to unite the linguistic and ethnic diversity and connect people from all backgrounds with its numerous arrays of frequency. Radio offers last mile connectivity and the latest findings have proved once again that it’s a powerful and trusted medium to deliver messages to the audience. We would like to thank all our listeners who have supported us and believed in the power of radio.”

Source: All SEC 18 + UA : Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Pune and Hyderabad.