Although challenged by the proliferation of content offerings and tougher competition from streaming platforms, radio media has confirmed its leadership in an increasingly rich audio universe.

Listened to every day by almost 7 in 10 French people, radio, whether live or as a podcast, enjoys a special bond with its listeners and accounts for 56% of audio listening volume, all offers combined.

"As a historic pillar of an audio universe that continues to expand with digital technology, radio is still the leader in this ecosystem, regardless of the type of content. With the power of live broadcasting and its podcast offering, it accounts for the vast majority of the listening volume of “spoken content”, and when it comes to listening to music, French people choose radio first and foremost.
Médiamétrie is at the heart of the dialogue with the market and continuously adapts its audience measurement in order to understand the specific nature of the radio medium and changes in behaviour as much as possible." 

Emmanuelle Le Goff, Director of Radio & Total Audio

A powerful, universal and specific medium 

During the 2023-2024 season, radio attracted nearly 39 million listeners every day. 
Over a month, radio even brings together almost all French people, with nearly 93% of them listening to it.
With an average of 2 hours 45 minutes of listening per day, listeners spend 14% of their daily time (between 5 am and midnight) listening to the radio. 
And every weekday morning at 8 am, more than 12 million French people tune in, during the medium's daily peak audience. Radio’s prime time is soon after most French people get up and this moves to 10 am at weekends.

Radio is a medium for all audiences, which is also specifically aimed at each generation. Very popular with people aged 35-64, 76% of whom listen to it every day, the medium also attracts more than 1 in 2 young people (52%) aged 13-24 every day.

Radio is a mobile medium that follows French people throughout their day and their travels: half of radio listening volume occurs outside the home, 34% of which takes place in the car. 
Deeply rooted in certain regions, radio creates a special bond with each territory, particularly in urban areas of less than 100,000 inhabitants and rural communities, where people need to travel more (with 73% of the population listening).

Digital radio audiences on the rise

Reflecting the digital life of French people, digital radio audiences continue to grow over the seasons: today, 9.7 million French people listen to radio on digital media every day (i.e. 37% more than 5 years ago).

For this 2023-2024 season, 23% of the daily radio listening volume was achieved digitally, up 67% compared to 5 years ago.

This increase in radio listening on digital media is driven by mobile phones, which come out on top with 5.9 million daily listeners, followed by voice-controlled speakers, which continue to make inroads (1.5 million).

Podcasts, the digital audio format par excellence, are attracting ever-increasing numbers of listeners: 22 million French people every month (or 44% of the population), with 2 main themes: comedy/entertainment and culture/society. 

There is a strong connection between working people and the radio

" Because it accompanies French people on a daily basis, from the morning and throughout the day as they travel, radio has a special place in the lives of working people. But working people do not all listen to the radio in the same way, nor at the same time and most importantly, they adapt their listening behaviour according to their pace of life and their working conditions."

Julie Terrade, Director of National Radio

Among the working population, disparities in radio listening behaviour appear according to on the socio-professional category of the listeners. Therefore, more people in higher income groups listen to the radio: 73% of them listen to the radio every day compared to 68% of people in lower income groups. But people in lower income groups listen to it for longer: 2 hours 58 minutes on average per day and per listener (compared to 2 hours 30 minutes for listeners from higher income groups).

Finally, an integral part of working life since the health crisis, working from home also influences radio listening among working people. When they work from home, working people listen to the radio for an average of 2 hours 32 minutes, per day per listener, or almost 20 minutes less than working people who go to their workplace (2 hours 51 minutes).