The appetite for DAB+ radio in nation’s capital on the rise

Canberra’s additional DAB+ digital radio stations attract an audience of 54,000 listeners every week, according to GfK’s latest Canberra radio ratings survey.

Those stations include Coles Radio, My Canberra Digital, KIX Country, The Edge, Club Lime and Hit Buddha, with listening on the rise in the nation’s capital.

The DAB+ only stations reach a weekly audience equivalent to 14% of the capital city’s total population aged 10 and over, industry body Commercial Radio Australia said.

Audiences are spending four hours and 47 minutes listening to the DAB+ stations in an average week, the latest survey data shows.

Joan Warner, chief executive at CRA, said the new figures are promising for radio.

“This is a great result since permanent digital radio services were switched on in Canberra in July, and shows the potential of DAB+ to attract more listening to radio,” said Warner.

When all stations are taken into account, including AM and FM stations simulcasting in digital, DAB+ reaches 27% of Canberra’s population, or 110,000 people each week^.

Capital Radio broadcasts Coles Radio, My Canberra Digital, KIX Country and Snow Digital, while Canberra FM has Club Lime Radio, SCA has Hit Buddha and ARN streams The Edge.

DAB+ only radio stations have enjoyed steady growth in Canberra, with listeners up 42% in Survey 1, compared to the same period five years ago when 38,000 listeners first trialled DAB+.

Nationally, nearly 3.9 million Australians listen to DAB+ radio and 75% of all new vehicles sold are factory fitted with a DAB+ radio.