Radio and TV ratings approach pre-Corona levels
In the second half of 2021, linear radio reached 77 percent of the population aged 15 and over resident in Switzerland on an average day. The offerings of TV providers were used live or time-shifted daily by 61 percent of people aged 15 and over. This is shown by Mediapulse's usage data survey for the second half of 2021. In addition, the intensity of headphone usage was quantified for the medium of radio.
The first few months of the Corona pandemic have seen demand for TV stations' information and entertainment services soar, giving the entire genre daily ratings of 68 percent in the first half of 2020 and 64 percent in the second half. In the second half of 2021, the figure is 61 percent, back to pre-Corona levels. This trend is also confirmed for viewing time, i.e. daily TV usage time per person. This increased from 123 minutes in the second half of 2019 to 133 minutes in the second half of 2020 and is at 121 minutes in the past semester.
By contrast, the familiar differences between the three language regions remain unchanged. In the second half of 2021, demand for TV stations in Italian-speaking Switzerland will still be significantly higher than in French-speaking Switzerland (60%, 133 minutes) or German-speaking Switzerland (61%, 116 minutes), with a reach of 68% and a viewing time of 148 minutes.
The TV research conducted by Mediapulse provides information on linear and time-shifted TV usage on conventional TV sets. According to Mediapulse, a measurement solution for the use of TV offerings via alternative devices has already been implemented, but it does not yet fully capture this form of use. For this reason, the corresponding usage data is not included in the statistics for the second half of 2021.
Decline in radio usage
Compared to the second half of 2020, the medium of radio also recorded a decline in reach from 79 percent to currently 77 percent, but still reaches a significantly larger audience than television. This trend is comparable in all three language regions, which means that the traditional reach gap from Svizzera italiana (81 percent) via German-speaking Switzerland (77 percent) to Suisse romande (74 percent) remains.
If, on the other hand, the duration of radio use is considered, German-speaking Switzerland takes the top position among the language regions with a daily listening time per person of 89 minutes, followed by Svizzera italiana with 86 minutes and Suisse romande with 69 minutes.
Quantification of headphone use published for the first time
Mediapulse radio research covers the linear use of radio programs across all analog and digital distribution vectors. For research reasons, however, radio usage via headphones is not taken into account.
Mediapulse quantifies this measurement gap with a supplementary survey study. This shows that if headphone use were taken into account, the reach of the genre would increase by 3 percentage points in Suisse romande and by 2 percentage points in each of the other two language regions. At the same time, daily listening time would increase by about 10 minutes nationwide. It should be noted that this estimate applies only to total linear radio usage and cannot be broken down by individual radio station.
