Listening to AM/FM radio in US stays strong despite growing use of digital audio platforms

According to the latest study by Arbitron and Edison Media Research, The Infinite Dial 2007: Radio’s Digital Platforms, consumers are continuing to explore radio in all its digital platforms - Online Radio, Satellite Radio, HD Radio®, and audio podcasting - while maintaining a broad use of AM/FM radio.

Key findings:

AM/FM radio continues to have a big impact on people’s lives. The study asked consumers to rate the impact different digital audio platforms has on their lives. Nearly one in five (19%) consumers said radio has a big impact on their lives; ranking second only to mobile phones (35 percent) as the audio platform/device that has the biggest impact on the lives of its users.

Those who listen to digital radio platforms do not spend less time listening to AM/FM radio. Among all persons 12 and older who participated in the study, the average time spent listening per day to AM/FM radio was 2 hours, 37 minutes compared with 2 hours, 45 minutes a day among those who use radio’s newer digital platforms (listened to online radio in the last month, or subscribe to satellite radio, or have ever listened to an audio podcast).

The weekly Internet radio audience remains steady over the past year at an estimated 29 million. Eleven percent of the US population age 12 and older have listened to Internet radio in the past week; 16 percent of persons age 18-34 and 14 percent of persons 18-49 have done so.

iPod/Portable MP3 player ownership continues to rise. Thirty percent of Americans age 12 and older own an iPod or other brand of portable MP3 player; this figure has risen from 22 percent in 2006 and 14 percent in 2005. More than half (54 percent) of those age 12-17 own a digital audio player.
Fewer than 10 percent report less time with over-the-air radio specifically due to time spent with their iPod/portable MP3 player. Seventy percent of Americans age 12 and older do not own an iPod/portable MP3 player, and an additional 15 percent report the device has had no impact on radio listening. Nine percent say they are listening less to over-the-air radio due to time spent with their iPod/portable MP3 player.

Awareness of HD Radio nearly doubled in the past year, but that has not yet translated into high interest. In January 2007, 26 percent said they had heard or read about HD Radio recently, compared to 14 percent in January 2006; however, only 6 percent said they were “very” interested in HD Radio.
While awareness of podcasting is up significantly, usage of audio podcasting is only up slightly. Awareness of podcasting has jumped from 22 percent in 2006 to 37 percent in 2007. In that time, those having ever listened to an audio podcast have risen from 11 percent to 13 percent.

“Consumers have shown increasing interest in and usage of radio’s digital platforms over the years,” said Joe Lenski, executive vice president, Edison Media Research. “Advertisers who start early will gain invaluable insight into refining their advertising business practices, resulting in a more effective use of these newer digital audio platforms.”

How the Study Was Conducted

A total of 1,855 people were interviewed to investigate Americans’ use of various forms of traditional, online and satellite media. From January 17 to February 18, 2007, telephone interviews were conducted with respondents age 12 and older chosen at random from a national sample of Arbitron’s Fall 2006 survey diarykeepers. In certain geographic areas (representing four percent of the national population), a sample of Arbitron diarykeepers was not available for the survey, and a supplemental sample was interviewed through random digit dialing.

This study, as well as previous studies, may be downloaded free of charge via the Arbitron and Edison Media Research Web sites at www.arbitron.com and www.edisonresearch.com.

Source: Media Network

Latest news stories..

• Get our news headlines for your website • Submit your news story

• Visit our bookshop