The Unknown Audience: Typologies of Radio Listeners in Germany

The dramatic increase in the number of radio stations in Germany over the past few years and the coincidental growth of competition have confronted German radio researchers with new challenges concerning contents and methodology. Increased competition has demanded a more precise measurement of the audience's needs and wishes. At the same time the growing complexity must be matched by a corresponding multivariate approach to data analysis. This study compares two methods of identification and delimitation of target audiences. The traditional approach utilizes sociodemographic characteristics—age, sex and education—to attain such a typology. This study proposes an alternative: an explorative segmentation of the audience using cluster analysis. The cluster analysis produces four types of listeners who are compared with regard to their listening behaviour, their loyalty to two popular Bavarian radio stations and sociodemographic attributes. The typology produced by this explorative approach appears to be superior for a sharp delimitation of specific target audiences. A series of path analyses is conducted to determine how perception of the quality of various aspects of radio programme content influences the evaluation of radio stations, and how these patterns vary among different listener types. The analyses show that quite diverse motivational structures seem to determine how different listener groups arrive at their evaluation of radio stations.