What did we listen to on the radio in 1953?

Seventy years ago, workers listening to the radio preferred light entertainment, known as variety programmes, to music. Farmers, on the contrary, stood out with a preference for religious broadcasts. Managers relatively often listened to serious music. These were the results of a CBS survey on the radio’s position in leisure activities in 1953.

The survey had been conducted at the request of the Ministry of Education, Arts and Sciences. That Ministry wanted to understand the cultural and social meaning of the radio to the Dutch population. CBS conducted a sample survey among 1.8 thousand adults (18 years and over) in the period between 12 and 25 April 1953 and analysed the number of people who listened to five genres: light-hearted music, serious music, variety programmes, spoken-word broadcasts (such as news reports and radio plays) and religious broadcasts.

Social meaning of the radio

Since CBS also knew the occupational background of those surveyed, the social profile of radio listeners could be deduced from the responses. The groups differentiated were agricultural workers, other workers, wage-earning middle class, at-risk middle class, farmers and managerial groups.

Variety programmes

The average listening rating for an evening broadcast was 1 million. Variety programmes had the most listeners, about 2.75 million. These were shows such as Negen heit de klok (KRO), Tierelantijnen (KRO), Showboat (VARA) and the Bonte Dinsdagavondtrein (AVRO), filled with sketches, short plays, games and songs. News reports were listened to by 1.3 million people, radio plays by 1 million listeners, and programmes with mixed light-hearted music also attracted 1 million listeners. People were least likely to listen to serious music (140 thousand) and religious programmes (350 thousand).

None of the differentiated groups was overrepresented among listeners to the variety programmes. Working-class and middle-class groups did tend to be overrepresented among listeners of light-hearted music, while managers relatively often listened to serious music, and farmers to religious broadcasts.

‘Loss of Dutch character’

Light-hearted music made up over a quarter of the programme range, but had a less prominent presence than before the war (1935: 48 percent). Spoken-word programmes had actually gained in prominence, from 21 percent in 1935, to 38 percent in 1953. This shift in programming to the detriment of music was ascribed to fears of loss of morals and mass entertainment. The latter was prompted by the wide range of Anglo-American music on offer. A year later, a committee from the Our Light Music Foundation noted that this great foreign influence led to spiritual impoverishment and a ‘loss of Dutch character’. This committee, headed by ethnomusicologist Jaap Kunst, explored the possibility of developing entertainment music in a Dutch style. Ideally, the research should lead to the formulation of guidelines for composing recognisable, Dutch light music. However, with the melodic and rhythmic elements of the songs that had been taken as examples – including peasant dances – that proved impossible.

A radio in almost every living room

By then, radio was widely popular. By 1954, PTT’s Listening Licensing Service had already registered 2.0 million radios. Added to this were over half a million so-called distribution connections (wire broadcasting). This came down to 86 possibilities for radio reception per 100 families.

Show datatableRadios and radio connections (x million)Hide datatableRadios and radio connections (x million)

Radios and radio connections (x million)

Jaar	Radios	Wire broadcasting
1946	0.697	0.471
1947	0.939	0.492
1948	1.132	0.506
1949	1.337	0.501
1950	1.482	0.486
1951	1.621	0.484
1952	1.728	0.488
1953	1.841	0.491
1954	1.964	0.508
1955	2.092	0.528
1956	2.235	0.544
1957	2.362	0.526
1958	2.49	0.508
1959	2.605	0.49
1960	2.645	0.481
1961	2.587	0.477
1962	2.605	0.468
1963	2.637	0.46
1964	2.659	0.435
1965	2.687	0.406
1966	2.752	0.383

The questions

1. How does CBS collect data?
2. How much do we cycle per week on average?
3. Who are most likely to work part-time?
4. How many people visited Bonaire by cruise ship?
5. Are people happy with the house they live in?
6. How many young women encounter street harassment?
7. What do the over-65s do online?
8. How many wind turbines in the Netherlands?
9. How far is school by bike?
10. How many museums are there?
11. How much electricity in the Caribbean Netherlands is renewable?
12. How many adults are overweight?
13. How many cargo ships dock at Dutch seaports?
14. What did we listen to on the radio in 1953?
15. What is the average lifespan in the Netherlands?
16. Where did we go for a holiday in 1947?
17. How much fish is landed?
18. Where were people in the Netherlands born?
19. What do we spend money on?
20. How old are Dutch first-time mothers on average?
21. How much cheese do we produce?
22. How are goods transported through the Netherlands?
23. How many people fall victim to cybercrime?
24. What is the most spoken language or dialect at home?
25. How many shops are there?
26. What is the value of Dutch beer exports?
27. How often do we have a goosebump moment?
28. How many cows graze in fields?
29. What are the most popular majors?
30. How tall are Dutch people?
31. How is the urban bird population doing?
32. Where do most people work?
33. What colour is our car?
34. How does CBS handle your privacy?