Listen Live

Radio Exe online audience up

Lockdown bringing more people to station

Radio Exe's audience appears to be surging during lockdown.

The station's proprietary data shows digital listening has risen by about 36 per cent in the first four weeks after the prime minister told the country to stay indoors on 23 March.

Most of the increased listening is during weekday hours, with the audience seeming to get out of bed a little later than usual and then staying with the station during the day, before falling away slightly earlier than usual, presumably as fewer people are travelling.

The figures reflect industry research by large media groups, which have shown commercial radio listening rising by more than 20 per cent, as indicated by online data. 

Radio Exe's website audience has shot up too. Year on year figures show a rise of about 70 per cent. The station now has about 80,000 unique monthly users, largely driven by local news content.

Managing director Paul Nero says: "Circumstances are difficult for everyone, so we're trying to keep Devon entertained with our usual breadth of music, lively conversation and strong local news bulletins."

The regular quarterly independent research from Rajar will be published on 14 May, based on historic research before the coronavirus crisis began.

The news coincides with independent research called Eurobarometer that shows radio is once again the most trusted medium in the UK.  The survey, conducted to assess the public’s perception about a range of issues in Europe, found that 57 per cent of respondents trust radio, compared with 49 per cent for television and 46 per cent for press. Social media and websites are trusted much less than traditional media with social networks the least trusted of all in 28 out of 33 countries.

More information about the rise of the radio audience can be found here: https://bit.ly/35mp4IJ

More from Local News

Listen Live
On Air Now Through The Evening Playing Spinning Around Kylie Minogue