The 2025 Finney Media Why Listen?® Survey gathered data from more than 11,000 Christian radio respondents from three different formats: Music stations, Music and Teaching stations, and Teaching stations and programs. Fascinating findings!
We presented respondents with 16 different reasons they might listen to their Christian radio station. Two months ago, we looked at the TOP FIVE MAIN REASONS CCM LISTENERS LISTEN. And, last month, the BOTTOM FIVE MAIN REASONS – Reasons no. 12 through no. 16. This month, we present the Top Five Reasons broken out by Gender and Age. The numbers are the percentage of respondents who indicated that’s a Main Reason they listen:
HYBRID
Younger Women (Ages 54 and under) |
Older Women (Ages 55+) |
| 1. It helps you worship God | 91% | 1. It helps you worship God | 92% | |
| 2. You like worshipful Christian music | 89% | 2. You like worshipful Christian music | 91% | |
| 3. It helps you grow spiritually | 85% | 3. It helps you grow spiritually | 85% | |
| 4. You want to be encouraged | 83% | 4. You want to be encouraged | 81% | |
| 5. It’s safe for you and your family | 68% | 5. The presentation is calming | 63% |
Younger Men (Ages 54 and under) |
Older Men (Ages 55+) |
| 1. It helps you worship God | 90% | 1. It helps you worship God | 82% | |
| 2. You like worshipful Christian music | 86% | 2. You like worshipful Christian music | 80% | |
| 3. It helps you grow spiritually | 85% | 3. It helps you grow spiritually | 76% | |
| 4. You want to be encouraged | 72% | 4. You want to be encouraged | 67% | |
| 5. It’s safe for you and your family | 71% | 5. Understand the Bible better | 63% |
TEACHING
Younger Women (Ages 54 and under) |
Older Women (Ages 55+) |
| 1. It helps you grow spiritually | 98% | 1. It helps you grow spiritually | 93% | |
| 2. Understand the Bible better | 92% | 2. Understand the Bible better | 85% | |
| 3. It helps you worship God | 89% | 3. It helps you worship God | 84% | |
| 4. You want to hear sermons | 83% | 4. You want to hear sermons | 77% | |
| 5. You want to be encouraged | 71% | 5. You want to be encouraged | 75% |
Younger Men (Ages 54 and under) |
Older Men (Ages 55+) |
| 1. It helps you grow spiritually | 90% | 1. It helps you grow spiritually | 90% | |
| 2. You want to hear sermons | 86% | 2. Understand the Bible better | 84% | |
| 3. Understand the Bible better | 85% | 3. It helps you worship God | 80% | |
| 4. It helps you worship God | 84% | 4. You want to hear sermons | 78% | |
| 5. You want to help spread Truth | 65% | 5. You want to be encouraged | 67% |
Keep in mind that the respondents to our survey come from station databases – the most loyal, most interested, likely P1 superfans.
Women and Men. Younger and Older. Very similar . . . with one exception. “Safe for you and your family” scores with younger, not with older.
Hybrid listeners respond in a manner similar to CCM listeners. High scores on worshipful Christian music and help with worshipping God throughout the day. Two key words for Hybrid listeners: Spiritual Encouragement.
Teaching listeners answer differently, Growing spiritually is their no. 1 reason. Note how strongly sermons score. Worship still high. And a much stronger response to “you want to understand the Bible better.” Two key words for Teaching listeners: Spiritual Growth.
Coming next month: From the 2025 Why Listen? Survey, we presented our respondents with a number of topics we might talk about on the air. We’ll show you the Top Five Show Topics for Hybrid and Teaching listeners.
