The Shortwave Audience

What kind of audience can a specific shortwave broadcaster hope to reach? Dr. Graham Mytton, former head of BBC World Service audience research, says: "You may have audiences of less than 0.1%.... But this does not mean an insignificant achievement necessarily. Shortwave broadcasters are niche broadcasters. Often they are not aiming to reach mass audiences , but people with specific needs, interests and tastes.... If your average reach was, let us say, one person in 10,000, that is 0.01%. On a global scale that is a lot of people -- about 350,000 of them. The problem is that we can never afford the scale and number of surveys that would necessarily prove it."

The Resurgence of Shortwave Radio

However, many sources agree that shortwave radio is experiencing a resurgence. According to VT Communications, which operates the BBC's 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 developed countries. The increase in the shortwave audience, says VT Communications, 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 report growth each year on their sales of shortwave receivers. There are at least 600 million shortwave radio sets worldwide."

Surveys cited by VT Communications show that in France, 70% of households with radio have access to shortwave. In Slovakia, the figure is 77%, "What is most interesting," according to VTC, "is the growth over the last 10 years in shortwave usage by business travellers, diplomats, aid workers and others who move about the world as a result of their jobs. This change has occurred because of the portability of new sets and the simplicity of their use. Modern synthesized sets, which have the facility of actually entering the precise frequency number, made shortwave easy for everyone. People learned to pre-tune their sets, forgetting about kHz, MHz and wavebands. The new sets went in pockets, handbags and briefcases. Now sets weigh as little as 220 grams and are easily available and affordable."

TeleDiffusion de France, which operates Radio France International's extensive shortwave transmitter network, says that "an estimated 2.5 billion people tune in to programs broadcast on shortwave, and about a billion receivers pick up shortwave transmissions. At any given moment, over 200 million receivers are tuned in to shortwave broadcasts. Shortwave remains the only means of reaching a broad audience anywhere in the world, via a simple portable radio that can be bought for around $25. Listeners include expatriates, business travellers, tourists or simply people who want to hear programs in a language other than their own or who want to open a new window on the world."

Large government-owned broadcasters like the BBC and the Voice of America have been able to carry out listenership surveys in certain countries. These surveys reveal that around 1% of the population of Jamaica and the United States listens regularly to shortwave radio stations. In Brazil, Mexico, Peru and Trinidad, listenership to shortwave is between 1% and 5% of the population. In Ecuador, it is between 5 and 10%. Guyana in South America has a shortwave listenership rate of between 10 and 30% of the population. Other countries -- especially certain African countries -- have a shortwave listenership rate of over 30%. In Barbados, 39% of households with radios have access to shortwave. Listening rates are often higher in countries like Peru and Brazil, where shortwave is used for domestic broadcasting as well. The Voice of America has estimated its weekly Spanish-language audience in Latin America at 3.2 million adults, and this does not include the Radio Marti broadcasts to Cuba. Country-by-country listening rates for VOA in Spanish range from 1% to 10% of the adult population.

WRMI attended the National Meeting of Mexican Shortwave Listeners in Veracruz in 2004

In 1998, Los Medios y Mercados de Latinoamérica carried out international radio listening surveys in 18 Latin American countries. Regarding shortwave stations, Medios y Mercados said: "When we consider any local market, their audiences may be miniscule. However, their strengths lie in their broad coverage and they may have sizeable listenership when aggregated across many local markets." Indeed, the survey found that 9.2 million people between the ages of 12 and 64 in the 18 countries surveyed had listened to at least one of the eight government-owned shortwave stations included in the survey within the past 30 days. The highest rating was for Radio Nacional do Brasil, with 3.5 million listeners. "In terms of demographics," the study concluded, "the listeners to the international radio broadcasters are more affluent, better educated and have a higher occupational status (owners, managers, professionals)."

The Cuban shortwave audience is a special case. Since the government controls all media on the island, a great many Cubans tune in to foreign radio stations for news and other programming. And thanks to the Soviet legacy, many if not most radio receivers in Cuba have shortwave bands on them, so listening to shortwave is very commonplace on the island. In a 1988 survey in four cities (Havana, Santa Clara, Holguin and Santiago) carried out for the U.S. Government's station Radio Marti, about half of all adults reported having access to shortwave radio, and 12% had listened to a shortwave stations within the last week (22% within the last 12 months). As much as 21% of respondents in the city of Santiago indicated they had listened to Radio Marti within the past week, and Radio Marti had a total weekly audience of 220,000 in the four cities. One Cuban exile program aired by Radio Miami International, La Voz de la Fundación, had a 2% weekly audience rating in Santa Clara.

Listener correspondence can also provide some helpful information about a station's audience. An analysis of listener letters received by WRMI in 1999 showed that the largest percentage of correspondence (39%) came from Latin America and the Caribbean, and the second-largest (29%) was from the United States and Canada. (The North American service of WRMI had just begun at that time.) Europeans produced 23% of the correspondence, which is interesting since we don't specifically target that continent. Six percent of the letters came from Asia and the Pacific, and the remaining 3% were from Africa. Breaking down the origin of the correspondence from Latin America, by far the largest amount (35%) was from Cuba. Brazilians contributed fully 20% of our Latin American correspondence, even though we have very few programs in Portuguese. (The Brazilians listen to Spanish and English programming, as well as Portuguese.) After Brazil came Argentina (13%), Venezuela (11%), Mexico (7%), Uruguay (5%) and Peru (4%).

Mexican listener Pepe Gonzalez accepts a Freeplay shortwave receiver as a contest prize given away by C. Crane Co. and WRMI

WRMI Radio Miami International, 175 Fontainebleau Bd., Suite 1N4, Miami, Florida 33172 USA
Tel +1-305-559-WRMI (9764) Fax +1-305-559=8186 E-mail: info@wrmi.net www.wrmi.net

Selected Comments from Listener Correspondence

Costa Rica (Raul Saavedra) - Radio Miami International heard on 9955 kHz this morning after 1300 UTC while playing Wavescan with a huge story about Singapore radio beginnings. Magnificent audio for a SINPO 45333.

Minoo, Osaka, Japan (Satoshi Wakisaka) - I am a 50-year-old Japanese shortwave listener. Last night I heard the program of "Minivan Radio" which is reported to be relayed from your Juelich [Germany] transmitter. I send this E-mail to you for asking the verification of Minivan Radio. If you find my report useful and correct, I would greatly appreciate receiving your confirmation, mentioning the date, time, frequency of my reception. The details of my reception are as follows: Date and Time; May 17, 2006, 1600-1630 UTC. Frequency: 13620 kHz. Program Details: Dhivehi service. Anouncement "This is Radio Miami International." Opening music (sound effects: drum and a trumpet shell). Announcement “Mee Minivan Radio.” Brief instrumental music. Reception condition: Overall merit was fair. Thank you very much for your transmission.

Dessau, Germany (Eckhard Roscher) - I made DX-ing holidays with friends in Denmark for one week. We went to Fjerritslev in North Denmark, near Skagerag. On this place I had very good reception conditions for listening to your radio station. Your signal strength was fair in Denmark. There were no interferences by other stations, fortunately. So I could enjoy the programme. I heard about the programmes of Radio Republica some months ago.

Florida Vicente López, Prov. De Buenos Aires, Argentina (Ernesto Paulero) - El 14 Mayo 2006 a las 10.34 UTC on 9 955 Khz, escuché WRMI con SINPO: 5 4 3 4 4 usando mi receptor Philips D 2935. Programa escutcheon fue un informe de Glenn Hauser. Les envío un afectuoso 73 a todos los integrantes de la emisora y espero recibir la QSL de la estación.

An avid shortwave listener in Peru sent this photo

Recife, Pernambuco, Brasil (Antônio Carlos de Macêdo Schuler) - Estimados amigos: Me gustaría divulgar mi nueva direccion postal. Aprovecho la oportunidad para solicitar materiales informativos de vuestra emisora. Muchas gracias. Saludos cordiales.

Pasto, Nariño, Colombia (Eduardo Erazo Acosta) - Sirviendo de corresponsal de vuestra emisora les informo que el volcan de mi ciudad, Galeras, se encuentra en inminente erupcion, nivel 2. El problema radica en que el crater se encuentra obstaculizado por un domo de lava.

Ryazan, Russia (Dmitriy Kutuzov) - Reception report to: WRMI. Date: 15.04.2006 Time: 04.00-04.30 UTC Frequency: 9955 kHz Language: English Program details: identification, program World of Radio, talks on various themes, broadcaster male voice. Receiver: R-250M2 professional. Antenna: outdoor 20m Long Wire. If this report is correct, please send your verification QSL card.

Pueblo Llano, Mérida, Venezuela (Leonardo Santiago) - NOMBRE: Leonardo Santiago. DIRECCION: Las Agujas, Pueblo Llano, Estado Mérida 5124, Venezuela. RECEPTOR: JWIN, JXM14, DIGITAL. ANTENA: Externa de tipo TV.
KHZ UTC FECHA SINPO PROGRAMA
9955 0000 08-04-06 55344 Conversando entre Cubanos
9955 2300 09-04-06 55445 Trova Libre
9955 0132 09-04-06 45343 Conversando entre Cubanos
9955 1200 15-04-06 55445 Peoples Gospel Hour
COMENTARIO: Estimados amigos, reciban cordiales saludos desde Venezuela y otro nuevo reporte que seguro les será muy útil, sobre todo en esta nueva temporada radial. Los programas resultan de gran interés para mí por sus commentaries acerca de mi país. La recepción de Radio Miami Internacional en esta frecuencia es muy Buena, sin interferencias. Les agradezco finalmente el envío de su QSL y algún otro recuerdo de su emisora. Muchas gracias. En Cristo Jesús. Leonardo Santiago.

Kapfenberg, Austria (Heinz Haring) - Hello. How are you? Hope well. Here is a reception report for AWR Wavescan via WRMI on 25.04.2006, 0430-0500 UTC, 9955 kHz, 31 Meter Band. Program: Announcement from AWR, Female Voice and Male Voice announced Singapore WAVESCAN! All the best and many greetings! God’s Blessing! If you feel it’s enough for a verification, we will happy. Perhaps this frequency is really just for the Americas and the Caribbean.

Granada, España (Alvaro López Osuna) - Ayer escuché por primera vez Radio República con un programa denominado Barrio Adentro en la frecuencia de los 5910 Khz desde las 01:01 hasta las 01:20 (UTC). Un saludo para todos.

Puerto Rico (María Burgos) - God bless you all! This is a message sent from Puerto Rico. I need to now what can I do to promote my music on your radio station. María.

Mansfield, Victoria, Australia - RECEPTION REPORT from Mr. David Martin. 21 February 2006. I was pleased to hear your programme ‘Voices from the Diaspora’ on Saturday the 2nd of July 2005, from 20:00 to 20:30 hours UTC, on 9405 kHz, shortwave. Reception was generally fair to good. The fair signal was always audible and readable, and there was no interference noted on this frequency. I enjoyed being able to hear your station. I am a 38 year old machinist and have been a radio hobbyist since 1985. I particularly enjoy tuning to distant shortwave stations worldwide. May your station have continued successes with its programs in the future. Best Wishes from Australia.

Boussy Saint-Antoine, France (Georges Lecomte) - Dear Friends. I am still tuned in to the frequencies of your station. Please, find enclosed a new report. Best regards and meet you soon on the airwaves! Conversando Entre Cubanos from RADIO MIAMI INTERNATIONAL DATE: 12 02 2006. TIME UTC: 01 00. MODE: AM. FREQUENCY: 9955 KHZ. S2 I2 N2 P2 O2. PROGRAMS: Commentateur voix masculine, langue Spanish "CONVERSANDO ENTRE CUBANOS" PO Box......... Miami Florida (repete 2 fois) EQUIPEMENT: RX = JRC NRD 535D + SONY ICF-2001 D. ANTENNA = LONG WIRE.

Montreal, Quebec, Canada (Richard Casavant) - Good day Jeff!! I met you for the first time at the 1982 ANARC [Association of North American Radio Clubs] Convention in Montreal. I believe, then a few years later at another ANARC Convention in Toronto. I heard you last night on the DX Party Line program. Where did life go? I’m 57 years old. Well I just wanted to say Hi after all these years. A la prochaine!

Kirov, Russia (Igor Sannikov) - RECEPTION REPORT to: Radio Miami International as heard in KIROV (Vyatka) (Eastern European part of RUSSIA). I am pleased to inform you that I received your shortwave broadcast in Spanish with the following data: Date 08.02.2006. Time: 00:00 - 00:30 UTC. Frequency: 7 160 kHz Reception quality: 44433 SINPO. Program details: Radio Republica: "Barrio Adentro" (entrevista sobre Consejo Cubano). Receiver: ISHIM 003-1 (Soviet-made). I will greatly appreciate your QSL card. Some basic information about your station will be also welcome as I plan to write a book about international broadcasting. Best regards.

Summit, New Jersey, USA (Edward J. Insinger) - I have been a shortwave radio listener since 1968, when I built my first radio from a kit. Despite the popularity of computers and the Internet, I find that radio is a better medium because it allows you to use more imagination and it sharpens your listening skills by requiring greater levels of concentration. In addition, there are excellent program features to be found on shortwave, which require only a moderately priced radio and the desire to explore other peoples of the world. So 35 years later, when the computer age and Internet are blossoming, I still prefer the medium of shortwave for communication.

Hillsdale, Michigan, USA (Marlin A. Field) - This report of reception comes to you from Hillsdale, 100 miles from Canada and the city of Detroit in south-central Michigan. A retired school librarian, college political science instructor and community college administrator, I have been a Dxer over 40 years. My interests include genealogy -- I have published five books -- photography, vegetable and flower gardening, travel and folk music. As a Christian, I am active in the Baptist Church. In my radio hobby over the years I have specialized in listening to and writing articles about religious broadcasters for publications.

Vries, Netherlands (Jouke van der Galien) - Interesting to hear DX programmes and DX news.

Thomaston, Connecticut, USA (Samuel Barto) - This letter is to report the reception of your station here in Thomaston, Connecticut. I heard you from 0045 to 0059 hours UTC. Your signal strength was very strong. I am 50 years old and have been involved in monitoring broadcast stations since the late 1950’s. I am employed as a town planner and land use officer for a small town in Connecticut.

Buenos Aires, Argentina (Javier Zaffora) - Tengo 37 años, soy ingeniero electricista y productor radiofónico, y una de mis activities libres preferidas es la escucha de onda corta. Disfruté mucho tanto de la captación, como de la programación de Radio Miami Internacional, por lo cual seguiré sus emisiones en cuanta oportunidad tenga. Mi lugar de escucha es la ciudad de Saladillo (interior de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, a 180 kms de la ciudad de Buenos Aires). El programa escutcheon fue “La Verdad para el Mundo.” Respecto a la programación que escuché, me resultó muy interesante el comentario del evangelistaque me aclaró bastante sobre la falsedad de los papados. Muy buena sintonía, con buena señal y muy baja interferencia.

Brownsville, Texas, USA (José E. López) - The
bicultural, bilingual community of Brownsville is fast becoming a popular venue among wintering Texans. Nearby South Padre Island and Matamoros, Mexico offer an intriguing mix of recreational and cultural opportunities.

Atlanta, Georgia, USA (Naoya Ohmori) - The overall reception condition was very good in Atlanta. The signal was strong enough to enjoy your program, and there was little interference around your frequency. I heard the “DX Partyline.” I am 35 years old and an employee of the world’s largest clock manufacturer in Tokyo, Japan.

Cordoba, España (Juan Antonio Morales) - Gracias por vuestro apoyo a la onda corta. Soy Juan, oyente de ondas cortas. Si teneis banderín, pegatinas, etc. me gust aria que me las mandeis ya que soy coleccionista de recuerdos de emisoras de onda corta.

Tinian, Northern Mariana Islands (Albert J. Muick) - I had the great pleasure to hear your broadcast on the frequency of 7385 kHz from 0821 to 0853 UTC. The signal strength was good. My location is on the island of Tinian in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a territory of the United States. We are located to the east of the Philippine Islands, and to the west of Hawaii. I have been a shortwave listener and amateur radio operator for many years, and am currently employed as the contract Station Engineer for the Voice of America relay stations on Saipan and Tinian.

Durango, Durango, Mexico (Luis Alejandro Vallebueno) - Me gustaria establecer un contacto puesto que estoy muy interesado en sus transmisiones, en especial las transmisones de tema cubano, por ejemplo Radio República. También estoy muy interesado en las producciones de corte técnico tales como “World of Radio” de Glenn Hauser. Es por eso que les pido lista de su programación en onda corta, de las diversas etransmisiones que realizan. Quedo en espera de su respuesta.

Sao Luis, MA, Brasil (Ana Lucia Ribeiro Pereira) - Tudo bem? Eu estou ótima e sigo na escuta desta maravilhosa rádio...porém desde que mudei eu tenho sentido falta da correspondência desta equipe excelente,sou professora e as vezes falo para os meus alunos que escuto a rádio e eles dizem: como mais tão longe? só acreditam mesmo que poso ouví-los com um simples rádio quando vêem algum material. a sw é minha vávula de escape porque internet só de cyber,os livros e jornais são caros e pra eu obter informações atuais só ouvindo sw...ainda bem que é um hobby prazeroso!! Gostaria de receber também a tabela de programação, horários, agenda e quero ambém comunicar o meu endereço. Aguardo ansiosa a carta de vocês e mando um beijão para todos os ouvintes e o pessoal da rádio.