Media Releases

Consumer Report Confirms Radio New Zealand Number One

Released at 10:16 am on 27 April 2012

A new report by international market research company Nielsen which includes New Zealand media trends, confirms that Radio New Zealand National was the top ranking radio station in New Zealand in 2011 with a market share of 11.1%.

The radio segment of the report provides a direct comparison between leading commercial radio networks and the public service radio broadcaster, Radio New Zealand.

The Nielsen report 2011: The Year that Was has just been released, and shows that radio continues to be a very popular medium for New Zealanders with 82% aged 15+ listening to live radio in an average week in 2011.

Data from the report supports earlier results from the All New Zealand Radio Survey for full year quarter 3 2011 which ranked Radio New Zealand National number one with the biggest market share and the biggest audience size with 522,000 listeners.

New Zealand has more radio stations per head of population than almost anywhere in the world with more than 250 stations competing for a live listening audience.

The Nielsen report also notes the impact of natural disasters in 2011 and the part that radio broadcasting played in reporting those events. Radio proved a vital source of information after the February earthquake in Christchurch. Radio New Zealand, as this country's only designated Lifeline Utility radio broadcaster, played a critical civil defence role after the event.

According to Nielsen, nearly a third of those surveyed about their radio listening habits in the days following the earthquake said that they tuned in more than usual, including a number of people who don't usually use radio. Radio New Zealand National gained 35% of those respondents who said they listened to the radio more following the February earthquake.

Radio New Zealand also experienced a significant increase in on-line audiences immediately after the quake and in the past year the Radio New Zealand website www.radionz.co.nz has consolidated its position as the most visited radio website in New Zealand.

Sources: Nielsen Report 2011 The Year That Was published April 2012 All NZ Radio Surveys, 2011, Nielsen Nielsen Market Intelligence average daily unique browsers, Total Traffic, February 2011