AM/FM is increasingly becoming a thing of the past. Digital radio has seen a huge increase in listenership over the last five years. In 2022, it represented 42% of listenership in French-speaking regions of Belgium – a massive jump from just 17% in 2018. The findings were published by Maradio.be and Ipsos on Friday.
The study was conducted on a sample of 1,501 French-speakers aged 12 and over between November and December 2022.
Despite the fact that analogue (FM) radio remains the most common band in Belgium, it is quickly losing ground to digital, dropping from a share of 82% in 2018 to 58% in 2022. This means that nearly a third of French-speakers have since switched to digital channels.
The survey reveals that French-speaking Belgians who listen to the radio daily (around 66% of the population) are increasingly likely to do so using digital technology. Most Belgians alternate between both formats; 74% of daily listeners now use digital against 84% who use FM, which shows that the gap is closing in recent years.
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DAB+ is the fastest-growing digital channel and has grown around 18% since 2018, now accounting for 20% of total listenership, or almost half of digital listening. Online streaming accounts for 16%, and radio on television represents 7%.
