Having measured for a full calendar gives us the ability to track seasonal trends; and Nielsen’s UAE Radio Audience Measurement fourth-quarter 2018 data release shows that radio regained momentum in the final quarter of the year. Quarter 4 is typically a buoyant period for radio listening across the country, as the cooler autumn and winter months bring residents back from long summer breaks and children return to school. In Q4 of 2018, 93% of the total UAE population aged 10 and above tuned into radio every week, which is a 4% increase (307,000 listeners) in reach from the previous quarter, and is on par with listening levels in Q4 2017.
Nielsen’s UAE Radio Audience Measurement, which measures listenership for 53 radio stations across the country among all individuals aged 10+, revealed that residents in Dubai and Northern Emirates were predominant in driving the growth in listenership during the quarter. Abu Dhabi remains the strongest Emirate for radio listening, with an almost 100% radio reach among individuals 10+in Q4’18.
With people returning to the UAE post-summer, we saw growth in listening of 10% from Filipinos and 5% growth from South Asians. Most nationalities reflect a stronger reach of 90%+ compared to Q3 listening.
With a full year of radio measurement complete (Q1 to Q4 2018), we can now see that the large late evening audiences is a consistent part of radio listening in the UAE. Data from Q4, also highlighted radio between 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. reaches more listeners than morning or drive-time.
Click here to download the Q4 2018 UAE RAM topline report and PwC’s Quality Assurance audit report.
