Radio-data Survey: Fewer Contacts, Longer Listening Time

The third Radio-data survey of 2026 shows stable listening volume despite a decline in listening contacts during the summer quarter. The 26 radio stations included in the survey reach a total of 3.71 million gross contacts per month and a calculated listening volume of 3.83 million hours.

Radio-data Survey: Listening Figures Remain Stable

For the 22 stations already included in the second measurement, the number of gross contacts fell by 5.9 percent. Listening volume remained virtually unchanged, with an increase of 0.1 percent. The median average listening duration rose from 58.5 to 67 minutes. According to the report, the results suggest that during the summer quarter, there were fewer listening sessions, but they were longer.

For the adjusted comparison, two stations are excluded: Powerup Radio, whose figures are preliminary, and Rundfunk FM due to the one-time effect of the festival. Among the 20 remaining stations, listening volume fell by only 0.7 percent, while gross contacts declined by 11.0 percent.

Radio Tell leads in contacts, my105 in hours

With 963,750 gross monthly contacts, Radio Tell is once again slightly ahead of my105, which has 949,645 contacts. In terms of calculated listening volume, however, my105 leads with 1.23 million hours, ahead of Radio Tell with 1.08 million hours. Despite declining contact figures, Radio Tell increased its listening volume by 6.4 percent, and the average listening duration rose from 56 to 67 minutes.

In third place is Rundfunk FM with 334,317 gross contacts. This exceptional increase is due to the annual Rundfunk Festival in Zurich. GDS.FM follows in fourth place with 321,833 contacts.

Longer listening time with fewer contacts

The third measurement highlights the difference between the number of listening contacts and listening duration. For many stations, the number of listening contacts is declining, while at the same time the average duration of individual listening sessions is increasing. Radio 2Go is listened to for a particularly long time, with an average of two hours and 54 minutes; Hope Radio at two hours and 12 minutes; Magic Radio at one hour and 51 minutes; and Radio LoRa at one hour and 50 minutes. Sixteen of the 26 stations achieve an average listening duration of more than one hour.

For smaller local, niche, and specialty radio stations, listening time is an important supplementary metric. It shows how intensively a service is used, even if the absolute number of contacts is comparatively low. For the advertising market, the combination of contact volume and listening time provides additional criteria for evaluating the various radio offerings.

Four New Radio Programs

With Radio Morcote, The Stage, Radio Schaffhuuse, and Radio Souvenir.com, four additional stations are being included in the third survey. The newly founded Radio Schaffhuuse went on the air for the first time on July 1, and Radio Souvenir.com has also been broadcasting on DAB+ since July 1. The published analysis now covers 26 stations and networks. The growing number of programs included in the survey expands the data set for Switzerland’s independent radio landscape.

On the Methodology of Radio-data Measurement

Radio-data is the first standardized, IP-based method for measuring the reach of radio stations in Switzerland. Developed by UNIKOM in collaboration with Sotomo and UPLINK Digital, the method combines comprehensive streaming data with representative surveys to provide a comprehensive picture of usage across all distribution channels, from DAB+ to streaming to FM.

Gross contacts are extrapolated Total Audio figures. They are based on streaming server log files, which are extrapolated to reflect total radio usage via streaming, DAB+, FM, and TV using survey-based channel shares. With this now being the third measurement, an increasingly meaningful time series is emerging. However, additional measurement periods are required to draw reliable conclusions about seasonal trends.