The first pan-Pacific quantative research commissioned by the ABC has revealed strong figures for the ABC’s international radio and online broadcasting arm – Radio Australia.
“The survey results indicate that Radio Australia is gaining support in the Pacific, and positioned as the market leader for international broadcasters. These figures show how we have reinvented ourselves by broadcasting in target centres through our 24 hour FM transmission, as opposed to five years ago, where we only broadcast into the Pacific via shortwave transmission,” remarked Radio Australia’s CEO Hanh Tran.
Comprehensive and detailed results were gathered measuring audience response to brand awareness, listening frequency, favourite programmes, listenership in the last day and listenership in the last week, means of accessing media and more.
The survey figures shown below indicate audiences in each location that have listened to an! ABC Radio Australia programme in the last seven days:
PNG [Papua-New Guinea] (Port Moresby and Lae) 27.3 per cent;
Fiji (Suva and Nadi) 22.8 per cent;
Vanuatu (Port Vila and Santo) 58.2 per cent;
Solomon Islands (Honiara) 56.9 per cent;
Samoa (Apia) 22.7 per cent.
Conducted by Fijian-based Tebbutt Research, the assessment was commissioned across five Pacific nation capitals and major urban centres to measure the local weekly audience listenership of ABC’s Radio Australia.
Surveyed locations included Port Moresby and Lae in Papua New Guinea, Honiara in Solomon Islands, Port Vila and Santo in Vanuatu, Suva and Nadi in Fiji and Apia in Samoa.
“Radio is a mature medium in the Pacific with numerous local services based in each region, making the range of choice for local audiences diverse. Establishing distinctive content in this important neighbouring marketplace has been a priority for us and something we have worked hard! over the past five years at achieving,” stated John Westland, manager of Radio Australia’s partnerships.
Local audiences in each urban centre have the ability to connect to the ABC’s international radio service through locally leased 24 hour FM transmissions, rebroadcasts on local radio stations or shortwave radio.
Radio Australia continues to broadcast via shortwave but now also broadcasts via 11 FM transmitters in major urban centres throughout the Pacific, with an expected three more transmitters to be included in the Northern Pacific by the end of the year.
Radio Australia’s Pacific FM network: PNG – Port Moresby and Lae 101.9 FM; Solomon Islands – Honiara 107 FM; Vanuatu – Port Vila and Santo 103 FM; Fiji – Suva and Nadi 92.6 FM; Samoa – Apia 102 FM; Tonga – Nuku’alofa 103 FM, Kiribati – Tarawa 90 FM; Cook Islands – Rarotonga 93 FM.
Radio Australia’s Asian FM network: Cambodia – Phnom Penh and Siem Reap 101.5 FM; East Timor – Dili 106.5 FM; Laos – Vientiane FM 96