Like overall listening, time spent listening was stable - indeed identical - over RAMS Aug 2012.
Unlike that release however, the current RAMS boasts a number of radio stations with significantly improved audience levels, with a handful registering declines.
RAMS Oct 2012 contains the new small-urban/rural data from January to June 2012. The small-urban/rural database is updated twice a year, in April/May and October, as each new AMPS instalment is released.
The update consists of flooded data, where diaries are obtained from all available adults aged 15+ in the household.
It covers fieldwork done for January to June 2012, and has been merged with the last two large-urban RAMS waves, to produce this national October release.
All RAMS releases will carry this same small-urban/rural component until April/May 2013.
SAARF RAMS June 2012 covers the large-urban period from early May to late August 2012, combined with the new small-urban/rural component for Jan-June 2012.
The stability seen in the previous RAMS release has carried through to the current survey. No significant changes were seen in overall listening levels, except on an average Saturday, where listening from 2pm to 4:45pm declined, although not enough to impact on overall Saturday listening.
Large-urban listening was significantly down on the previous RAMS, both on a past-7-day level, and on Sundays. Year-on-year declines were seen for average Monday to Fridays, and Saturdays. Quarter-hour listening is down slightly in the morning across the week, with lower weekend afternoon levels.
The new small-urban/rural sample shows higher listening levels across the week. There is more listening in the morning, with late-afternoon growth bringing audiences close to year-previous levels.
Total time spent listening (TSL) is unchanged over RAMS Aug 2012: 3h32 per day, and 24h42m per week.
Movements in TSL in large-urban areas and small-urban/rural areas precisely balanced each other out. Over RAMS Aug 2012, large-urban lost seven minutes per day (3h20 per day), while compared to Jul-Dec 2011, the small-urban/rural component grew its TSL by seven minutes (3h44 per day).
May 2012 population update. Please continue to be cautious of making comparisons between surveys prior to and post RAMS May 2012. Updated population figures were introduced in May 2012, using the population estimates provided by IHS Global Insight. The methodology employed in the IHS demographic model differs in a number of technical areas to that used by the previous supplier, BMR.
After a universe update, audience figures in thousands may not be directly comparable with one another.
Only statistically significant differences are quoted in this release, and are based on percentages, not on number of people.
Four commercial radio stations posted audience levels that were significantly changed over RAMS Aug 2012: two up, and two down (reach quoted is national).
Twice as many community radio stations as commercial posted significantly changed audience figures over RAMS Aug 2012, with only two of these changes being declines.
The growth of these six stations was not enough however, to boost the total figures for community radio as a sector. Weekly listening to community radio is stable at 25.0%, with gains in listening in the North West, and declines in Limpopo and Johannesburg (reach quoted is provincial, and for a past-7-day period).
The final release of SAARF RAMS for 2012 will take place on 4 December.
For more, download the latest RAMS audience analysis.