Radio Still Leads Time with Audio

News of Radio's Death is Greatly Exaggerated

Edison Research is reporting that Americans spend 54% of their audio time with AM and FM radio. This is giood news for Public Radio. Lately there's been a debate that Public Radio is losing it's grip. Podcasting is the hot platform and the disruption will soon eclipse radio broadcasting.

Not So Fast

Podcasting is just another means of reaching the public media audience. According to the research...

• 54% of the timeis spent with AM/FM
• 16% of the time is spent with owned music
• 15% with pureplay streaming audio
• 7% with SiriusXM
• TV music channels such as Music Choice command 5% 
• Podcasts account for 2% of all time spent with audio.

You can read more about time spent with audio by linking to Inside Radio.

To be sure, younger listeners are gravitating to mobile devices, but the amount of time spent with radio suggests Content and Program Directors continue to pay attention to the craft of good radio.
I remember looking at some of the early research done for public radio by Church and Bailey. The research mentioned that public radio listeners were avid consumers of all media. The same is still true today. There's just a lot more platforms and a many more opportunities.

Podcast Fans - Lovers of Audio

But the headline said...

The headline posted on Inside Radio made me pause. Were people who love podcasts really listening to podcasts six hours a day?  After I read the article I was reassured because if this was true, there would be no future for public radio.

Podcast Fans Love Audio—Six Hours Daily

What the data from Edison Research’s quarterly “Share of Ear” report shows is that podcast lovers listen to a lot of audio. Edison uses a broad definition of audio including radio, satellite, streaming, music videos on YouTube and a consumer’s personal music. 

These are younger, well educated listeners using mobile devices. They spend most of their time listening to podcasts...about  33%. Radio is second with 20% of their time.  They spend over six hours a week listening to audio. The average American spends about fours a week.

Sound Familiar?

Public Radio's audience also consumes a lot of audio. The benchmark in the early 2000's was over six hours a week. The core audience at a station with strong audience appeal was around 12 hours a week.

Other findings, reported by Inside Radio on Friday, include: The shorter the podcast, the more likely listeners will listen to the full podcast. Half of all podcast time spent occurs on mobile devices, followed by computers. And middays and nights are podcasting “primetime.”

What's In It For Public Radio?

A reality check. According tot he research, 5% of all Americans are into podcasts. 95% are not!

 Most of Public Radio's resources need to be centered on drivetime. The content that continues to appeal in drivetime is the news and information public radio produces.  Drivetime is still radio's most important day part. Drivetime should continue to appeal to public radio's biggest audience.

The podcast crowd listens to public radio. We need to make sure we're on the platforms used by this audience. Podcasting is the best way for our content to reach these highly educated consumers of audio. Podcast lovers choose middays and nights to listen to content on their favorite platform. The top ten chart published by iTunes testifies to the appeal of public radio's content to this market segment.

• 1Hidden Brain
• 2This American Life
• 3TED Radio Hour
• 4Serial
• 5Radiolab
• 6Stuff You Should Know
• 7Undisclosed: The State Vs. Adnan Syed
• 8Fresh Air
• 9Guys We F****d
• 10Freakonomics Radio

Is it a question of resources? Local stations need to look at partnerships that will get them into the podcasting game.

Internet Radio Listening is Strong.

The Infinite Dial 2014 is reporting that the weekly audience for on-line radio is now 36% of all Americans. The findings are from Edison Research and Triton Digital. 94 million Americans now listen on-line.

Some of the highlights published by All Access Music Group include:

• Monthly Online Radio Audience Approaching Half of Americans
• Three-Quarters of 12-24s and Half of 25-54s Listen to Online Radio Monthly
• PANDORA leads the music only services with 31% of the audience

Mobile devices are creating a surge in on-line services. According the Triton COO, Mike Agovino “Scaling connectivity across a plethora of devices is enabling tremendous growth in online radio consumption."

This might mean adapt or get lost in the shuffle. Radio is still relevant but, the way it is being consumed is shifting rapidly to a variety of platforms.