Many of our studies show that people’s overall behaviour changes considerably during Ramadan, especially when it comes to media consumption, as fasting and prayer times take on a renewed significance. The radio listening patterns we see emerging from the Q2 2018 UAE Radio Audience Measurement (RAM) certainly reflect this. While overall listening did drop, it did so in the context of very healthy radio consumption. Notably, the drops in listenership were in line with expectations within the context of behavior during the Holy Month.
Peak listening time shifted during Ramadan, as we noted a dip in reach around 7 p.m., coinciding with Iftar timings and the norm of breaking fast with family and friends at home. Listening levels started to rise again later in the evening between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., as people tended to head out after Iftar for prayers and Suhr.
Looking at the entire second-quarter, the three peak radio listening times throughout weekdays remained the same, with one notable difference driven by people’s changing lifestyles and behaviours during this Holy Month. The evening peak time grew by two hours, ranging from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. instead of from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. as we saw in the last two quarters.
This was also the first quarter where our data showed that more people tuned in later in the evening during the week, than at any other time throughout the day: 5.4 million listeners late in the evening, compared with 4.2 million for the 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. period and and 3.7 million for the 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. period. In both Q4 2017 and Q1 2018, the breakfast/morning time received the greatest reach. As for listening levels over the weekend, we continued to see three distinct peaks throughout the day. At a total reach level, the radio reach an average of 6.51 million weekend radio listeners each week.
Click here to download the Q2 2018 UAE RAM topline report and PwC’s Quality Assurance audit report.
