June Pang, GFK
Radio remains strong in Malaysia. Life has somewhat reached a sense of pre-pandemic normalcy again. Throughout the entire country, there’s been a rise in radio listening since the economy fully-reopened. With 21.4 million people, radio reached 97% of people 10 and over in Peninsular Malaysia weekly.
The trend in radio listenership during the past two waves remained stable across the different age groups from people aged 10 to 55, which were around 96% to 98%. Additionally, listeners across age groups tune in to radio with an average listening time of 12 hours and 55 minutes in a week.
Moving on, the peak point occurs during the weekday breakfast and drive segment, attracting the most listeners. The versatility of radio offerings across multiple devices. 19.7 million listen to radio through FM radio set, 4.2 million listen to radio through television, 3.7 million listen to radio through mobile phone and 914k listen to radio through PC or tablet.
Since Malaysia is a multinational country with different races and cultures, the richness of different languages in radio stations tailored to local preferences, such as Malay, Chinese, English and Tamil languages. Also, features of radio stations are important to listeners. Most of the features considered by listeners are fun, religious and radio announcers.
In summary, radio has proven to be a medium that is constantly evolving and adapting to changing conditions.
