Our audience on Shortwave

Even the largest broadcasters on Shortwave cannot accurately estimate the size of their audience to any program they air on Shortwave, to the same or even a comparable level of accuracy that any FM or TV station can do for any particular market. Since 1979, we have been working with several Radio Ministries, the BBC, the United Nations, UNESCO and other major International broadcasters and media, and with those involved in the audience and International media research. Only the largest organizations like the BBC or Voice of America can afford the cost of conducting some sort of audience research on Shortwave. Some empirical data exists on the number of Shortwave receivers in each country, which lead to a potential audience of more than 10 million in Europe and about the same in North Africa and the Middle East, i.e. regions that we are able to cover with a Grade-A signal using our newly started 100 kW service. Most of the time we know that people are listening, because we monitor continuously our signal quality in several countries, and because listeners write to us and/or to our members or program producers. According to Merlin Communications, which operates the BBCs worldwide transmitter sites, "latest research shows that shortwave radio listeners are growing globally, with shortwave penetration at its highest in the developing countries. That is not to say that shortwave is not having an impact in the Western world. Recent surveys revealed that in 1999, 97% of regular business travellers listened to international shortwave". The increase in the shortwave audience, says Merlin, is "spelt out dramatically by just one factory in China that is frantically producing 300,000 shortwave radio sets per month just to support demand. Grundig in America reports growth each year on their sales of shortwave receivers. There are at least 600 million shortwave radio sets worldwide".

NEXUS-IBA and European Gospel Radio started broadcasting on Shortwave in 1988, and most of our experience dates back some 30 years. Even at the time of writing this we strongly believe the words of Graham Mytton, former head of Audience Research of the BBC, who stated: "People will go through the trouble of listening to shortwave, even when reception is difficult, if it provides something that they otherwise cannot get."

Our experience, in fact, is that - if your program has an impact, and is not available on local FM/AM in Europe - then people will tune into our station to listen to it. Someone calls it word-of mouth propagation, and for this reason and our long-standing experience we are well known among Shortwave listeners worldwide for our high-quality radio relay services, at non-profit cost.

Most of our members do tremendous work to advertise their broadcasts among their own church or community members overseas. Once they know that we provide a good and powerful signal in the target area, then they tune and may call other people to listen to, in a snowballing effect. This is something you have to consider doing when you start airing, i.e. using your existing contacts to spread the news about time, frequency and area that we cover. We can provide help to people tuning in, and we usually forward letters or emails addressed at the station that mentions your program, but we cannot usually go as far as keeping you connected with the audience of your own program. You should consider this as part of your mission as a Shortwave Broadcaster!

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