Reaching more than 16 million listeners per week on 1,504 stations, Contemporary Christian drew 2.7% of all radio listening in Fall '09, up for the second year in a row and 50% above its ratings in Spring '02, with the greatest gains in afternoons and evenings.
About 64% of Contemporary Christian’s audience was within in its 25-54 target, with nearly half between 35-54. The audience is gradually getting older, with the 45+ composition rising from below 37% to 43% since Spring ’05, as the 35-44 segment has reduced from 28% to 22%. But Contemporary Christian had a wide appeal, ranking seventh with teens and in the top 10 with adults 55+.
Contemporary Christian’s adult listeners were among the most well-educated, as seven in 10 either attended college or earned a diploma - that's third-highest of the 16 primary formats in this study. Nearly one-third had a college degree or better, also third-highest. About 57% resided in households producing $50,000 in income annually, ranking seventh.
Here is a summary of various activities for Contemporary Christian listeners.
- Most of these listeners were homeowners (78%).
- Listeners were above the norm for planning the purchase of a used vehicle in the next 12 months.
- This group was also inclined to tackle automotive repairs—although most had all repairs done at a shop, 39% could accomplish some repairs without professional assistance.
- Most listeners had cell phones (87%), and they were above average in their use of them for texting, taking pictures and e-mail.
- When it came to online use, this audience group was practical, being above average for going online to pay bills and download coupons.
- They were also more likely than the total online population to be listening to radio and visiting radio Web sites, reading or writing blogs and accessing podcasts.
- Contemporary Christian listeners were well above national norms for doing volunteer work.
Source: Arbitron Radio Today 2010
