German Radio Audience: North Rhine-Westphalia

The most populous German länder is North Rhine – Westphalia (Nordrhein-westfalen), home to four radio channels with the largest audiences in the country, Nielsen zone II for the Media Anaylse (MA) radio audience survey. And, as each German länder sets distinct rules for radio broadcasting, competition in North Rhine – Westphalia is limited to local stations organized together as Radio NRW and the channels of the public broadcaster Westdeutsche Rundfunk (WDR). Results from the MA radio 2005 I survey show total listening in North Rhine – Westphalia jumping to 80.2%, Monday through Friday, from 78.5%.

Since 1999 Radio NRW has had the largest total audience of any radio broadcaster in Germany. In the MA radio 2005 I audience survey the channel maintained its top position with 1.533 million listeners (14 years and older, 0600-1800 Monday-Sunday), about 1% lower than the previous survey.

Radio Audience in Germany
MA radio 2005 I results

Radio audience figures were released (March 9) for the whole of Germany by Media-Analyse, the joint broadcaster research institute.

In general, the Radio 2005 I survey – covering September through December 2004 - shows an increase in radio’s overall reach in Germany, 81.9% of the population uses the medium, up from 81.2% in the previous survey. The current survey reveals a growing difference between the amount of time men spend with radio, 220 minutes, versus 201 minutes by women. Women, however, listen more than men between 0900 and noon and men listen than women between 1700 and 1900. Increasing their time spent listening by 2 minutes over the previous survey are people 30 to 59 years of age, to 243 minutes. The most favored age group for advertisers, 14 to 49 year olds, listen 220 minutes, unchanged from the previous survey.

Privately owned radio stations in Germany have now doubled to 200 since 1989. In 1988 there were 10 private stations. That jumped to 100 in 1989. There are 59 public radio channels, dropping back from 63 in 2003. Of the top ten channels ranked by Monday through Sunday, 0600-1800 listeners, 8 are regional public broadcasters. Bavaria’s Antenne Bayern and the Radio NRW network in Nord Rhine Westphalia are the only privately owned radio chennels in the top ten.

Six separate research companies conduct the telephone surveys and collect data from zones corresponding to Nielsen television survey zones.

Before 2000 the MA conducted personal interviews to survey radio listening. That was replaced with telephone interviews. This method change caused a slight decline in reported daily usage, to 79% of the population from 82.3%, and a time spent listening increase to 209 minutes in 2000 from 179 minutes in 1999.

Subscribers, sales-houses, and regional authorities release radio listening data but selectively. Media-Analyse (ag.ma) does not publicly release radio audience results. Survey results are designed as ad sales currency, results reported include “listeners per advertising hour.”

Articles in this series on radio in Germany focus on the Radio 2005 I Media-Analyse results in the individual Nielsen zones

German Radio Audience: the North
Public broadcasters hold the edge in northern Germany, legacy stations slide.

German Radio Audience: North Rhine-Westphalia
Radio NRW and WDR, no competition.

German Radio Audience: Southwest
Market history no advantage to private broadcasters

German Radio Audience: Bavaria
Big public and private channels post big increases

German Radio Audience: Berlin-Brandenberg
New top station in Germany's most competitive market

German Radio Audience: the East
Targeted local stations gain on market leaders

Each of the 46 Radio NRW affiliated stations are licensed to local not-for-profit community organizations; trade unions, churches and sports associations. They produce – typically - a local morning program six days a week and connect to the larger Radio NRW network for the remainder of their programming. The network program features adult-contemporary music, headline news and well-known DJs and targets 20 to 49 year olds. The targeting has paid off: among 14 to 49 year olds the network has increased listeners for three years, notwithstanding the slight dip between the most recent two surveys.

Two private stations sneak across the Belgian border. Both Das Hitradio 100’5 and Antenne AC have small audiences.

Public broadcaster Westdeutsche Rundfunk (WDR) kept its majority of radio listeners with 54.2% of the North Rhine – Westphalia audience, up 0.1%. Three of its channels – Eins Live, WDR 2 and WDR 4 – rank in the top ten in the whole of Germany.

Eins Live is the premiere public radio youth channel in Germany, celebrating its 10th year April 1st. But its audience level is down 2.6% from the previous survey, to 813,000 from 792,000 listeners, among persons 14 years and older, 0600-1800, Monday through Sunday. Its audience share has dropped to 18.8%, Monday through Friday, from 19.7% in the previous survey. Eins Live has fallen among 14 to 49 year olds since a high point in the MA radio 2004 I of 820,000 listeners to 713,000 in the most recent survey.

WDR 4, the general interest channel, boosted its share to 21.5% from 20.9% in the previous survey. Total audience for the channel was actually down 1.0%, to 969,000. WDR 4 claims the top spot among all “single” German channels, as Radio NRW – with substantially higher aggregate audience – is actually 46 local stations.

News and information channel WDR 2 also increased its overall share, to 18.2%, Monday through Friday, from 17.6%. The channel gained 5.3% total audience, to 732,000 listeners, Monday through Sunday, from 695,000. At the first of March, prior to the release of the MA radio 2005 I figures, the channel announced enhanced news content, with emphasis on “plain language.”

Cultural channel WDR 3 fell slightly, to 2.0% from 2.2%. Talk channel WDR 5 also dropped slightly to 2.7%, Monday through Friday.

German Radio Audience: North Rhine-WestphaliaSecond in a series looking at radio in Germany following the MA radio 2005 I audience survey release.

Radio NRW and WDR, no competition.

German Radio Audience: North Rhine-Westphalia
Second in a series looking at radio in Germany following the MA radio 2005 I audience survey release.