Commercial Radio & Audio (CRA) has welcomed the GfK Metro Survey 4, 2026 results. Commercial radio reaches 12.8 million Australians weekly – up 356,000 listeners year-on-year (YOY).1
Lizzie Young, Chief Executive Officer at CRA said: “We continue to see the same trend – despite fragmentation, economic uncertainty and ever-increasing competition for attention – record numbers of Australians continue to choose commercial radio for news, information, sport, entertainment from their favourite hosts, and community connection. On the one hand I feel a bit like a broken record, on the other I know the consistency we deliver survey after survey compounds into a strong case for marketers.
“As Professor Mark Ritson pointed out recently at Cannes - audio is the secret to profit and trust for brands. The case for audio’s effectiveness is unequivocal; in every market we’ve studied globally audio is the catalyst that makes your whole campaign work harder."
Last month, Professor Mark Ritson presented a session titled ‘Audio: the secret to profit and trust’ at Cannes Lions. The findings proved campaigns with audio outperform those without on profit (+75%), trust (+81%), price insensitivity (+81%) and customer acquisition (+19%) - with an average uplift of 22% across 14 measures.2
In an economic climate where budgets are under pressure, this is the power of audio in action. Audio doesn't ask brands to spend more – it makes everything else in the media mix work harder.
For the full 2026 survey dates and historical data, visit: https://cra.au/metro-ratings
Sources: 1. GfK Radio 360 Ratings, SMBAP S4 2026. All people 10+, Mon-Sun 12mn-12mn, Cume (000's), unless otherwise stated. All numbers refer to commercial radio results unless otherwise stated. Historical results available on request. 2. The Secret to Profit and Trust: Audio, presented by Mark Ritson at Cannes Lions, 2026. Based on the Effie x System1 Databank (1,262 UK, Ireland, Europe and US campaigns, 2007 – 2023).