Increased number of people turned to US Christian media during pandemic

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – US Christian radio and television stations that broadcast the Gospel message saw a remarkable increase in listeners and viewers during the 16 months of COVID-19 lockdown, the Washington Times reports. The US has over 4,000 Christian media outlets.

Commenting on the increased popularity of Christian media during the pandemic, Bill Reeves, who runs the Christian networks K-LOVE and Air-1 Radio said in a statement: “We have also continued to increase in our domestic streaming numbers, and hold a strong Top 10 audio-streaming position in the US.”

Reeves, who is also CEO of the Christian nonprofit Education Media Foundation added: “We also launched our podcast platform, AccessMore, in May of 2020 and have had a very strong first year.”

In another example of good news during the pandemic, radio station WAVA-FM, which serves the Washington DC/Maryland/Virginia areas, reported an estimated increase of over 300,000 listeners each week during the pandemic, the Times said. Similarly, a contemporary Christian music station based in Maryland reached around 400,000 listeners a week, Nielsen Audio reported.

According to a 2021 survey published in RadioWorld, 80% of Christian radio listeners are the most likely to recommend their preferred outlets to others, the Times reports. Public radio listeners came in second at 75%, while news/talk listeners came third at 34%.

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