Victor Pinchuk: Russian television and radio broadcasting network broadcasts 233 radio stations on air, and we are ready to further develop the FM broadcast network

On February 13, Russia and the whole world celebrated World Radio Day for the ninth time. “We are diversity” became this year’s motto of the holiday. This refers to a wide range of topics and formats of radio programmes and a plenty of methods for their delivery to listeners. Today you can listen to radio through home and car receivers, smartphones, computers, televisions, smart speakers and even a watch.

“Russian television and radio broadcasting network broadcasts 233 radio stations. We are ready to further develop the FM broadcast network, including in small towns. The disconnection of analogue broadcasting in 2019 created new opportunities for commercial radio. In large cities, conditions for the development of frequencies reappear. Many regions are quite capable of building a radio network with almost 100 percent coverage, ” First Deputy Director General for Management, Operation and Development of the Russian Network Pinchuk said.

According to the research of Mediascope company, at least once a month, 87 per cent of Russians over the age of 12 years (107 million people) listen to the radio, 57 per cent of the country's population (70 million people) turn on the radio daily.

In Russia, radio is the only media that evenly covers all major age groups: from adolescents to senior citizens. At the same time, the audience often combines listening to the radio with everyday activities.

At the global level, radio remains the most widely used media.