A Tale of Two Audiences

Public radio and public television audiences overlap but they’re hardly a hand-in-glove fit.

First, public television’s glove is far too big.

Each week, more than four times as many Americans watch public television as listen to public radio.

The math is clear.

Most public television viewers don't listen to public radio.

It's not because they haven't heard of us or can't get a signal.  They simply choose not to listen because they aren't the type of people to whom our programming appeals.

As a group, public radio listeners have far more education than public TV viewers, and so – unsurprisingly – they earn more money.

 

The best educated groups of Americans are baby boomers and Gen Xers.  Again, no surprise that public radio serves them in much higher concentrations than public television (note that this difference diminishes during television’s evening prime time hours).

Public TV viewers may be better educated than most Americans, but they do not approach the educational attainment of public radio's listeners.  Because of this disparity,

public radio's programming just doesn't appeal to most public television viewers.

Both media may be "public," but the two publics they serve are significantly different.

– Leslie Peters
– Jay Youngclaus
– David Giovannoni
AUDIENCE 98 Core Team

 

Audience Research Analysis
Copyright © ARA and CPB.  All rights reserved.
Revised: September 01, 2000 12:38 PM.