CANADIANS TUNING OUT RADIO
By Adnews Staff
Canadians are tuning into radio less and less. Time spent listening to the radio last year fell to 19.9 hours a week, compared to 20.2 hours in 1996, according to a report by Statistics Canada. This is the fourth consecutive year radio listenership has declined. Newfoundland and New Brunswick were the only provinces to show a slight increase. Ontario and Quebec listenership remain unchanged. The largest share of Canadians listen to adult contemporary and oldies rock music, with 38.7% choosing this music. Country music came in a distant second at 13.4%, while talk radio had 13.2%. Francophones tuned into radio 20.7 hours a week last year, while Quebec anglophones listened to their radio 22.5 hours. British Columbia reported the lowest listening rate of 18.1 hours a week. In 1993, Canadians listened to an average of 21.6 hours of radio each week.