Primedia Broadcasting - Into the future with new data and momentum

• 947 and Kfm 94.5 have now both surpassed the 1 million mark for P7D listenership,
  
• Kfm 94.5 has 40% more listeners than its nearest competitor in the Western Cape,
  
• 702’s listenership is now 774,681, affirming the work done on the station’s repositioning a year ago,
  
• CapeTalk’s audience count is now 143,014, the station’s largest ever on-air listenership.

Says Deborah Schepers, chief strategy officer: "We are very pleased about the new BRC RAMS Amplify™ approach. As an industry, we now have a much clearer understanding of the South African radio landscape and of our own listener behaviour. The shift from Face-to-Face to CATI DAR as a methodology, as well as the inclusion of a listening panel, represent a huge leap forward."

According to Geraint Crwys-Williams, chairman of Primedia Broadcasting: "Radio has been challenged as a category without its currency, and this release couldn’t have come sooner. Looking at the RAMS results, I am thrilled to see strong listener engagement with the medium in South Africa, particularly on our Primedia Broadcasting stations, and congratulate the BRC on completing a difficult task to deliver this release."

The data exemplifies the fact that radio is experienced (and confirmed in research) as being the single most credible source of reliable news and information. As fake news and misinformation spread, we can and must counter it with courageous, independent news and radio brands delivering credible, market-leading content; a commitment we take very seriously at Eyewitness News.

As humans, we respond to great music and entertainment, and to authentic, relatable stories. When these stories are delivered by people with influence who are trusted by their audiences, the story becomes a powerful catalyst to uplift mood, to empower people and help deliver social change. Brand stories, woven into contextual conversations in this medium by trusted storytellers, are more willingly received and are highly impactful for advertisers.

The strong performance of our talk radio brands 702 and CapeTalk shows the power of the format and the role it plays in our country where two-way dialogue, and the sharing of information and views are so important. You'll recall that in September 2020 702 committed its line-up and content to its new slogan to 'Walk the Talk'. The repositioning of the brand and the tone of the station was informed by listener feedback gathered by our skilled Research and Insights Department (which also works very hard for our clients). In 2019/2020, 702’s listenership was just over 400,000 and although the RAMS methodology isn’t comparable, the station’s audience is now 774,681.

The new audience numbers show that CapeTalk has a substantial 143,014 listeners. For years, CapeTalk has shown an exceptionally high digital streaming uptake, much higher than its reported terrestrial radio base. For the first time, the RAMS numbers now reflect the station’s presence, and the terrestrial numbers are higher than the already impressive streaming figures.

Both our flagship music stations, 947 and Kfm 94.5, now have more than 1.1 million (past seven day) listeners. This is a remarkable achievement, and both teams have worked tirelessly to refine their products and presenter line-ups. Kfm is now the largest and most successful commercial radio station in the Western Cape by some margin, and we are very proud of this extraordinary effort.

We look forward to working collaboratively with you and your brands, to harness this incredibly unique and powerful medium to provide solutions and deliver your strategy.