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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 Blvd., 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
Eisleben, Germany (Ralf Urbanczyk) On 4 July 2009 at 0430
UTC I heard Radio Praga (programme of Radio Prague in Spanish
language) with noticias, then political commentaries about critics
of former Czech prime minister Svoboda about relationship of EU
to Cuba, and about the international film festival in Karlovy
Vary. I was amazed about some weeks ago that I could listen to
WRMI on shortwave even with my simple equipment. How good may
be reception for listeners with a good antena. Reception was possible
almost every day, with best results between 0400 and 0500 UTC.
El Paso, Texas, USA (Luis C. Camarillo) Desde El Paso,
Texas los saludo un radioescucha de su emisora. Quisiera una lista
de su programación con los horarios y frecuencias desus
programas en español para USA, México y el Caribe.
Gracias por todo. Su amigo mexicano.
Decatur, Gerogia, USA (Steve Carper) I heard you at 0800
with ID's in English and Spanish, then you began relaying Radio
Prague. This is the first time I have heard your station. I have
been a shortwave listener since I was 12 years old. I am 48 now.
Tegucigalpa, Honduras (Denis Tábora Sanabria) - Escuché
la siguiente programación: Conversando entre Cubanos con
artículo sobre la posibilidad de Obama de tener negociaciones
con la Habana. 0045 UTC Escuché el programa la Verdad para
el Mundo con el pastor y evangelista Philip Grey con el tema "Cómo
podemos saber con certeza de que las Escrituras son la palabra
de Dios?" 0100 UTC continuó la emisión con
un programa cristiano en idioma ingles.
Hanover, Germany (Rolf Hacke) I heard your transmission
to the Horn of Africa from Radio Oromiyaa Liberation on 13820
kHz. I have received your station for the first time.
Pukerua Bay, New Zealand (Dene Lynneberg) I have just
had the pleasure of listening to your station's programming broadcast
on the frequency of 9955 kiolhertz. I must point out that my reception
was not made from New Zealand, but via a remote controlled receiver
of Globaltuners.com located in State College, Pennsylvania, USA.
Globaltuners.com is a web based organisation of radio enthusiasts
who have dedicated receivers connected to the web which listeners
can gain access to and operate via the web, no matter where they
themselves are located in the world. You may be intersted to know
that for the last 40 years I have worked in the broadcating industry.
I began working as a technical trainee with the New Zealand Broadcasting
Corporation in 1967. I was also responsible for the shortwave
frequency planning of Radio New Zealand's shortwave service during
my seven and a half years working at the Quartz Hill monitoring
and receiving station.
Fyzabad, Trinidad (Robin Tancoo) I have been tuning to
your broadcast on 9955 kHz and would like some more details on
your programs. Could you send me details of the Happy Station
show? I listened to the first edition.
Fallston, Maryland, USA (William Patalon III) Greetings
from Baltimore! Tuning your station is local re-connecting with
a treasured old friend. I really mean that. Putting Wavescan on
WRMI was a brilliant move. I think it will drive traffic and will
buttress your fan base. Shrewd move, and one that I know is appreciated.
I wish you all the best!

An avid shortwave listener in Peru sent this photo
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