CHRISTIAN RADIO REACHES NEARLY HALF OF ALL ADULTS IN UNITED STATES
Radio in the United States continues to prove itself an enduring medium. Americans on average listen to 20 hours of radio programming each week. Since 1980, the number of U.S. radio stations, AM and FM combined, has seen a phenomenal 37% growth. An amazing feat, when considering its history! As television was newly introduced in the late 1930’s, many were concerned that radio would not survive. Cynics at the time predicted radio to be overshadowed by the emerging technological revolution of this newly invented “picture box”. However, the medium of radio continued to “emerge” itself over the last several decades, successfully pulling in largely mobile audiences, stay-at-home moms, and others working on the job.
With the advent of Easter, millions of Christians throughout the world are celebrating and reflecting on the resurrection and life of Jesus Christ. As it has been since 1944, the mission of the National Religious Broadcasters (the world’s largest association of Christian broadcasters) remains the same in its commitment to proclaim this Gospel message on public airwaves. Americans are tuning in! According to a report just released by The Barna Group (www.barna.org), more people use various forms of Christian media than attend church. Barna reports nearly half of all U.S. adults (46%) listen to a Christian radio broadcast in a typical month. Although the vast majority tuning in indicate themselves to be born again Christians, nearly 28% of non-Christians listen monthly as well. The Barna poll also revealed that one out of every six U.S. adults (16%) listens to Christian radio on a daily basis. Barna indicates that the percentage of Americans listening to Christian radio has dropped since 1992, but the actual number of those tuning in remains the same. Christian television has remained consistent, as well. According to Barna, 45% of Americans monthly tune in to a televised Christian program.
Numbers from Arbitron indicate similar trends (as highlighted in the chart above). Within the last five years the number of U.S. radio stations grew by 4%, from 13,307 in 2000 to 13,838 reported for 2005. Religious formats continue to be one the fastest growing segments today. The “religious” category, as defined by Arbitron, includes: “Gospel and ‘Contemporary Christian’ formats as well as non-music based religious stations specializing in ‘teaching programs’.” Although the total number of U.S. stations has grown only 4% since 2000, number of religious formatted stations has seen a substantial 14% increase over the same five-year period. The only other format growing at a faster rate, when looking at the total number of U.S. radio stations, is News/Talk/Information. This format grew an amazing 26.39% in the number of stations over the same five-year period mentioned above. Country music stations, on the other hand, have dropped 9% to 2,066 stations. At this rate of attrition, religious broadcasting stations may likely surpass the number of Country formatted stations within the next 1-2 years. The listening audience for religious stations has also grown on average between 20–26% from 1999–2004, depending on what quarterly seasons are compared. This is found in Arbitron’s Format Trends Report located at www.arbitron.com.
For the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB), an association of over 1,500 member organizations representing Christian communicators in radio, television, Internet and film, the recent numbers are encouraging. NRB President/CEO Dr. Frank Wright says, "Growth of any kind is always an indicator. In the case of these data, the noteworthy growth of Christian radio suggests that Americans are increasingly interested in spiritual matters, and that this interest is not peripheral but central to the daily lives of tens of millions of radio listeners."
According to Arbitron, those listening to Christian radio are 19% more likely to have children than the typical American, about three-fourths of religious listeners own a home, 46% of listening occurs at home. Religious stations are popular among African Americans, who make up 35% of the listening audience.
*Much of the statistical data above, including information found in the graphic, is taken from Arbitron’s Radio Today 2000 Edition, Radio Today 2005 Edition, and from the Format Trends Report. For more information and to verify these numbers, log on www.arbitron.com.
For more information, or to schedule at interview with NRB President/CEO Dr. Frank Wright, contact Bob Powers at 703-330-7000, Ext. 513.
